Until three weeks ago, I hadn't heard of Raspberry Magic. It's not the kind of movie that's going to get much mainstream press, as the term "limited release" is being too generous in describing its distribution. It's been playing the festival circuit over the past year, where it's garnered pretty positive reviews, with most critics saying that it's a simple but heartfelt drama that isn't groundbreaking but is far from terrible. I'd agree with that assessment. It's nothing terribly original, but for a film produced with a very low budget it's extremely well-made, with solid performances by some relative unknowns and enough variety in the cinematography to make you think it cost a lot more than it did.
The plot follows Monica, an 11-year-old girl working on a science project for school about whether raspberries will grow faster when stimulated by human touch. However, after her father loses his job, her family life starts to fall apart, and it’s soon clear that raspberries aren’t the only thing in need of a little nurturing.
I had the chance to interview the director of the film, Leena Pendharkar, along with the producer, Megha Kadakia. Both of them were extremely friendly and open about the process of making the film, which was definitely a labor of love. The budget was under $1 million, and as they mention in the interview, it can be hard to secure funding when you're a pair of South Asian women approaching wealthy male investors. But they pulled it off, and the result is a charming little coming-of-age story about the importance of family and personal relationships. I wouldn't be surprised to see a future film of theirs get a more substantial release, as it's clear they have a lot of talent and interesting stories to tell.
This past weekend the Hopscotch Music Festival took place in downtown Raleigh. Approximately 120 bands covering a variety of music genres hit the numerous festival venues to perform concerts every evening, while special events and activities took place during the day. One such event was a screening of ODDSAC, a new film directed by Danny Perez with the collaboration of the band Animal Collective. Described as a "visual album," the film is an experimental mindbender with a combination of live-action vignettes and digital pattern and light manipulation. Let me put it this way: by the time it was over, I felt like I had done a few hits of LSD and my spirit-being was occupying the dimensional space between my chair and the Twilight Zone.
After the screening, I got a chance to sit down with Perez one-on-one to discuss the film. We were joined by one of the founding members of Animal Collective, Noah Lennox, who goes by the stage name Panda Bear. Danny was out-going and very open to talking about the movie. Noah, in contrast, was a bit quieter and seemed shy. But once we started talking it was obvious they both had a lot to say about the project and what went into making such a trippy film.