The program pairs filmmaker David Ullman’s underground documentary Inertia: Re-Making The Crow (2001) with James O’Barr’s The Crow (1998), his no-budget, shot-on-video adaptation of the gritty comic, who’s making the documentary chronicles.

Created by a group of small-town Ohio teenagers during the 1990s, the two films together capture both an ambitious act of DIY filmmaking and the singular energy of high school friendships. A program about artistic obsession, friendship, frustration, and youth. The screening on Friday the 13th features a virtual Q and A with David Ullman himself. (59min)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13th – 7:30PM  w/Q&A
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17th – 10:00PM
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd – 7:30PM

JAMES O’BARR’S THE CROW
Dir. David Ullman, Matt Jackson. 1998
United States, 59 min.
In English.

A year after his own tragic death, a young man rises from the grave to seek vengeance for the brutal murder of his fiancée. Through painful flashbacks, he relives their deaths and remembers their life together. Donning a sinister, mime-like visage, he stalks the murky alleyways and rain-slicked city streets, determined to exact a terrible and bloody revenge upon the gang that killed them.

This shot on video high-school adaptation of James O’Barr’s graphic novel, THE CROW, was created from 1994-1998 and is often more bleak and depressing than its blockbuster counterpart. The low-budget, suburban, black and white photography gives the film an often black-metal music video feel… a fact that’s helped by its use of authentic heavy metal and hardcore music. More than a few fans of the comic consider it the more faithful adaptation.

CW: Sexual Assault, self-harm

INERTIA: RE-MAKING THE CROW
Dir. David Ullman. 2001
USA. 60 min.
In English.

A raw and self-reflective coming-of-age documentary, Inertia: Re-making The Crow follows two small-town teenagers in the 90’s as they obsessively recreate James O’Barr’s graphic novel. What starts as a simple after-school fan project becomes a four-year odyssey that consumes their entire high-school existence, and accidentally portrays the birth of two artists.Through intimate behind-the-scenes footage and candid interviews, the film reveals the passion, persistence, and resourcefulness of youthful creativity. (61min)