Evento

Bob Birdnow's Remarkable Tale of Human Survival and the Transcendance of Self

VOD IRL

Nov 17

(Eric Steele, 2013, United States, 78 min)

Seattle premiere!
Filmmakers in attendance!
Co-presented with Fandor

Tuesday, Nov 17 at 08:00PM
"One day, on a flight from Cedar Rapids to Dallas, I opened up my laptop and thought, 'If I were pulled into another 'motivational conference' somewhere in the Midwest, what could somebody say that would actually change my life?' Thus writer-director Eric Steele began to pen Bob Birdnow, first as a one-man stage play about a former pilot who lost two limbs in a horrific crash and lived to tell the tale as a somewhat reluctant motivational speaker. Steele then adapted the play into his first feature film: an experimental endeavor in deconstructing both the concept of the motivational speech and the format of the feature length film.

Set in a conference room in Dubuque, Iowa, Bob Birdnow stars lauded theater actor and renowned coach for television anchors Barry Nash, as he gives a singularly epic monologue. Unbounded by TED talk strictures, Bob presents a sprawling, visceral account of his life and struggles to a dumbfounded sales team. Nash took on his first cinematic role for the film adaptation of the play, which he also starred in.

A film about the accomplishment of human survival and transcendence of self, Bob Birdnow explores what motivates us to persevere and overcome formidable challenges.

The second edition of VOD IRL: video-on-demand screenings in the movie theater, brings this remarkably unusual film to Seattle audiences for the first time.