No Arena in Chinatown
In progress
In 2023 I started shooting video at anti-arena events in Philadelphia. The first event was was a huge march from Chinatown to City Hall on June 10.
So far, our several short films have not exactly gone viral, but they have explained the idiocy of the plan to build a new Sixers arena on Chinatown’s doorstep, destroying a 150-year-old neighborhood.
This is the latest episode in our series of shorts — filmed and edited the week before Christmas. Just another day of lobbyist activity in the spooky corridors of power in America’s 6th largest city.
Earlier this year, I adapted a lecture by activist and community organizer Debbie Wei. A key part of her talk focused on the history of encroachment that Philly’s Chinatown has suffered for many years.
Danny’s Guitar Shop
2013-2016
This music series debuted on a little cable infomercial station in Egg Harbor, NJ, We had to pay $300 to air each episode. By the time we had amassed four shows in our lineup, we moved to WHYY, Philadelphia's public TV station, where we had a regular time slot for three years.
Danny Gold is the host, and he’s a natural in front of the camera who actually owns a guitar shop. Larry Freedman recorded and mixed the sound for all our shows. My role was as cameraman/director/editor. All three of us produced and wrote.
You can a view all 13 episodes right here.
My Main Squeeze was our tribute to the accordion and was our final half-hour episode.
Big French Dance
1972-2020
Published in October of last year, this photography book is the culmination of a music documentary project that began in 1972 — when my wife Fay and I moved to south Louisiana to study regional French music. We completed the project in 1974, or so we thought, with the release of a compilation album that captured the best Cajun, Zydeco, and Swamp Pop music of the era, all together on one record, with booklet full of articles and pictures.
Four decades later, I revisited my old box of negatives and over a couple of years created an exhibition and the book.
Big French Dance is an unexpected time capsule of Louisiana life and culture.
Small Town Big Top
1987
This film took me a year to make — moonlighting while I held a job as the producer at a big ad agency’s DC office. Once I sold National Geographic Explorer on my idea, I took a research trip to the Mohave Desert in the spring to follow the Culpeper & Merriweather Circus on their 1986 tour. I returned in late summer with a crew to film them as they ended up in idyllic northeast Iowa.
Small Town Big Top is the story of a determined eight-person troupe who carry on the traditions of the traveling tent circus against all odds. The film ended up airing for several years on National Geographic Explorer — and on passenger airplanes around the world. As soon as editing was finished, I got hired as a director at a Philadelphia film production company.
Roosevelt
2006
I’ve shot a lot in this style — just me with a little camera, close to the subject. Roosevelt is an extremely shy and soft-spoken person, but he loved the process of documentary filmmaking because, as you’ll see, he loves to improvise. The video helped him expand his reach in the art world, and for the past 3 years he’s mounted exhibitions and demonstrations at the Philadelphia International Airport, one of the city's most active and prestigious art venues.
Music: Sam Stanford
Mendocino Film Festival, Main Line Film Festival
yo soy hechicero (I am a Sorcerer)
1996
Back in 1995 my friend Iván Drufovka found a Cuban-American in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey who allowed us to document his religious practice. What we captured is an unprecedented look into the much-maligned but little-known religion of Santéria.
yo soy hechicero played in many film festivals, and Iván and I traveled widely to present the video — San Francisco State, University of South Florida, and the Musée de l'Homme in Paris. Iván flew with Eduardo to Miami for his appearance on Univision’s The Cristina Show, seen all over Latin America. Right when it mattered, Eduardo became wildly possessed during the live show.
To the right: 3:40 excerpt of 48 minute film
Director/camera/editor: Ron Stanford
Producer/translator/co-editor: Iván Drufovka
Just Move
1992
Commissioned by Tylenol for airing on Lifetime Medical Television, Just Move is representative of lots of work that I shot and directed for the healthcare industry over the years. The goal of this show was to encourage physicians to encourage their patients to get some exercise. Tylenol claimed that it was effective in relieving muscle pain after exercise. Kind of a stretch, but that’s pharmaceutical advertising for you.
An especially notable thing about Just Move is its great original Latin score created by Frank Ferrucci, composer and jazz pianist. Several A-list Latin players contributed to the track. Shooting locations were Sonoma County and Northeast Philly, where the water aerobics scene to the left was captured.
To the left: 3:40 excerpt of 26 minute program