Meet the Makers: Introducing TAO RUSPOLI

Tao Ruspoli is a talented man, an Italian-American filmmaker, though he was born in Thailand and raised in Rome.  

He is also the founder of LAFCO, The Los Angeles Filmmakers Cooperative, which operates out of a school bus that has been converted into a mobile production house, complete with editing bays, a library, and room enough to sleep five people comfortably. With an array of talented artists, Ruspoli and LAFCO have worked on several features, documentaries and music videos.

I was lucky enough to screen two new films from this inspiring group.

‘BEHIND THE WHEEL’ is the story of The LAFCO Bus as it travels from Los Angeles to New York City. It’s a documentary about art as activism, politics and underground culture.

I think this is as important a film as I have ever watched, like a window into parts of America rarely seen by eyes outside of the communities it explores. It has the meditative beauty of Herzog’s best documentary work, but it crackles with an energy and compassion all its own. If you’re lucky, you can siphon a little bit of this energy for yourself. Just make sure you spread the love.

Make sure to check the film’s blog for screener updates:

http://behindthewheelmovie.blogspot.com/

‘FIX’

‘FIX’ is a narrative feature by Tao Ruspoli. It chronicles the events of a single day in Los Angeles as a trio speeds around the city trying to raise the $5,000 needed to get Leo into rehab by 8PM†¦ or he goes to jail for three years.  

Stellar performances abound, especially from Shawn Andrews as Leo. He’s magnetic and reprehensible. The performance is a tour de force of manic addiction and reckless abandon. The cinematography is all cinà ©ma và ©rità ©, mesmerizing in its complete control of the chaos it records. It is a compelling film with a sucker punch of an ending, but most of all it feels like what you are witnessing is truth: You never think that this is not happening. This movie has an infectious life all its own and Ruspoli speaks with such a distinctive voice that it really feels like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

for upcoming screenings:

http://fixthemovie.blogspot.com/

This is the true independent cinema. This is the real deal. I urge you to find these movies and support them; they are the next step in the evolution of American cinema.

The emerging talent promised in these films feels so vital, so sincere, that it is almost heartbreaking, all the more so because this talent screams with a blistering optimism rarely found in post-modern film.

  

Want to learn more?
http://www.ruspoli.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/ruspoli
http://www.lafco.tv