JIMMY IN SAIGON is a documentary exploring the 1972 mysterious death of Peter McDowell’s eldest brother, 24-year-old James. Executive produced by Dan Savage, JIS touches on themes of unspoken grief, family secrets, and honoring those lost long ago.
BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW for our Bay Area benefit on October 7th from 6:30-8:30pm at the Laundry in San Francisco to help fund post-production costs (editing, sound, picture, animation, titles, distribution) for this film, estimated at $45,000. Together with benefits in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Champaign-Urbana, IL, we hope to raise this full amount to finish the film and submit to Sundance in 2020.
The event will feature a 14 minute clip, an interview with Peter, a musical performance by singer/songwriter Dylan Rice, and a dance duet by Nadine Lollino & Trey Donovan.
Also included: silent auction, bottle pull (take a wine or spirits bottle home!), not to mention hors d’oeuvres from Dolores Park Cafe, Rice, Paper, Scissors and West of Pecos and sweets from Ocho, as well as wine/beer.
Tickets are available now, and are in tiers: $40 (general admission – one drink ticket included) and $75 (benefactors – two drink tickets and reserved seating
included); with a $25 limited income ticket option as well. Buy your tickets now, before they sell out!
If you are unable to attend, we welcome any donations (tax-deductible) through our Fractured Atlas fundraising page.
Filming and editing are still underway, and your kind donations aid in the completion of the film.
Moreover, 10% of this event’s proceeds will go to Warrior Films
Warrior Films is a Bay-area nonprofit that is shining the spotlight on how veterans can use traditional and non-traditional rites of passage to heal from the emotional and psychic scars of war.
Frederick Marx is the visionary co-creator of Hoop Dreams, produced in association with Kartemquin films, and the founder of Warrior Films. Peter, Frederick, and Peter’s late brother Jimmy share the common bond of having graduated from University of Illinois high school (“Uni High”) in Urbana, IL.
Peter and Frederick will discuss Jimmy in Saigon with Peter on stage at the event.
Thanks to our host committee and performer Dylan Rice (see more about him below) for their generous participation in this event:
Dan Savage, Frederick Marx, Norma Rodriguez, Ari Salomon and Yoriko Yamamoto, Emi Takahara, Beau Takahara, Guy Brenner, Dylan Rice, Debbie Ng, Karim Baer, Derek Chen, Leah Willett, Julie Trachtenberg, Sherwin Gooch, Jon Crosby, Dinesh Das Sabu, and Jill Linwood.
ABOUT DYLAN RICE:
Singer-songwriter/guitarist Dylan Rice’s music can be described as “Rock and Roll Americana with a twist of Goth and New Wave.” Before moving to San Francisco in 2016, Dylan honed his musical chops in Chicago fronting different rock acts for over 20 years in the city’s club and festival scene. Dylan has opened for Paula Cole, Shelby Lynne, Eric Hutchinson, Maps and Atlases, Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), and has recorded musical collaborations with John Stirratt (Wilco), Chuck Panozzo (Styx), Johnny Iguana (The Claudettes), and Polish jazz singer Grazyna Auguscik. Recently he was lead singer of the synth-rock band Software Giant. Since 2017, Dylan has been working with engineer/co-producer Adam Munoz (Fantasy Studios) on recording his forthcoming solo album, expected in fall 2019.
Check out Dylan’s previous work on Spotify:
Software Giant’s “We Are Overcome” (lead vocalist)
“Electric Grids and Concrete Towers” (solo)
Sony/Columbia compilation “Music With A Twist: Revolutions” (solo)