PODCAST: Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden

While on my panel about distribution and marketing for filmmakers, a question arose about whether it was futile to get a film out to audiences when it didn't have a star-powered cast. As a case study, I pointed to last week's Goodbye Solo and this week's latest example, Sugar, a riveting new drama from Half Nelson writer-directors Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (and no, you don't have to care a lick about baseball to get sucked into this smart, sophisticated slice of humanism):

"Sugar follows the story of Miguel Santos, a.k.a. Sugar, a Dominican pitcher from San Pedro De Macorís, struggling to make it to the big leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. Playing professionally at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States’ minor league system; but when his play on the mound falters, he begins to question the single-mindedness of his life’s ambition."

As the film follows my travels this week from AFI Dallas to the Sarasota Film Festival (before it finally opens in limited release this weekend), I spoke with Fleck and Boden over the phone about that issue of non-professional actors, what they learned about the real-life exploitation of minor-league baseball players, and why they, as a couple, doesn't bicker when they collaborate.

To listen to the podcast, click here.

Sugar opens on Friday in New York and Los Angeles. For more info, visit the official site.

Posted by ahillis at April 1, 2009 1:48 PM