Posted by Ava

Check out FALLOUT: Coming Home from the War in Iraq at the NewFilmmakers Summer Festival on July 4th!
The 2009 NewFilmmaker Summer Festival will take place July 1 - 6 at Anthology Film Archives in New York City. On Saturday July 4th NewFilmmakers in the Deren Theater celebrates the Fourth of July with first hand accounts of the Iraqi War and its aftermath. FALLOUT: Coming Home from the War in Iraq begins at 6pm. Admission is $6.

FALLOUT: Coming Home from the War in Iraq is a documentary about three veterans of the war in Iraq. Each veteran speaks about their experience as a soldier in Iraq and the challenges they faced while readjusting to civilian life here at home. These firsthand witnesses explain how their experiences have affected them and altered their views on the war, the media, the public, and the leaders who put their lives on the line. FALLOUT is the premiere film of Ava Lowrey, an 18 year old film/video activist from rural Alabama. Together with her brother Gordon, Ava set out with a single camcorder and drove across the South East to interview three veterans. Honest and straightforward, this unbiased documentary gives Staff Sergeant James C. Bailey, Corporal Michael Prysner, and Staff Sergeant Charlie Carlson a platform to open up with the public and share stories and opinions that might otherwise go unheard.

Date: Saturday, July 4, 2009
Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Avenue
New York, NY


View the trailer below -

0 Comments

Posted by Ava

0 Comments

Posted by Ava

As some of you know, I've recently been working on finishing up my first "full-length" documentary. This project was a two person project(my brother was a huge help with planning our filming trips and took still photography for the film) and self funded. It was a hard and at times incredibly frustrating experience, but sitting down with each of these veterans and listening to their stories inspired me to keep going. I wanted to give these three Iraq War veterans a platform to tell their own stories with viewers.

I learned so much through this experience, things that I will take with me when I begin my college studies in the fall. Thank you for the support and encouragement, and I hope you like the film.


Watch it now at -
http://www.iraqfallout.com

1 Comments

Posted by Ava

Beginning tomorrow "FALLOUT: Coming Home from the War in Iraq" will be available for online viewing at the film's website: www.iraqfallout.com

FALLOUT has also been accepted to the NewFilmmakers Summer Festival in New York City. I will have more details within the next few weeks. Thank you everyone for the encouragement and support. I learned a lot through making FALLOUT, my first full-length film. It's been a hard and long process, but it has been worth every moment and every penny.

Tomorrow!

- Ava

2 Comments

Posted by Ava

A short clip from FALLOUT: Coming Home from the War in Iraq

Iraq War veteran Mike Prysner talks about the role of the media in the war.
www.iraqfallout.com

1 Comments

Posted by Ava

This is a rough edit of the first six minutes of what will be a 50min+ documentary. I'm currently working on finishing up and hope to put it online next month. I have a rough edit complete and am currently in the process of doing some sound editing and smoothing out some transitions. It's a work in progress!

A little bit of information about this documentary and its progress:
I finished interviewing the veterans about a year ago, but a majority of the funding came from my savings, and my pocket emptied from filming expenses. As a result I didn't have money to pay for HQ b-roll footage from Iraq. After sitting on the footage for awhile I decided to take what I had filmed and work with it and footage from Iraq that I was able to find online. As a result most of the b-roll footage isn't high quality which is disappointing, but considering the obstacles thrown my way I'm happy with how the documentary is progressing. It is my first attempt at "full-length", and I've learned a lot from the experience that will help avoid the same mistakes in the future.

1 Comments

Posted by Ava

I remember beginning to think about which schools I was going to apply to about two year ago. At the time I told myself and everyone that I would apply to no more than 7, and preferably about 5. As the time to apply crept closer and closer the neurotic worrying and stress that many students suffer began to sink in and my list of schools grew. I ended up applying to 10 schools. Today I heard from another school, completing the admission process for me. I'm absolutely thrilled and honored with the results of my late night essay writing, and I'm certain that my Mom is glad that the process is over and I can now stop with the constant rushing to check the mail and refreshing my email inbox.

Below is a list of the schools I applied to and the admission decisions I received. Yes, I'm saving the announcement of the school I'll be attending until the very end of this post. It's more fun that way!

NYU - Accepted
UCLA - Accepted
Berkeley - Accepted
Harvard - Wait-listed
UNC Wilmington - Accepted
Pratt Institute - Accepted
Boston University - Accepted
Ithaca College - Accepted
Alabama - Accepted
UT Austin - Rejected (I now have an excellent reason to pull against UT's football team )


And now for the best part. I'm absolutely thrilled and honored to announce that I'll be attending what has long my dream school and top choice, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where I will be majoring in film & television. I have also been admitted as a Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholar. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholars major in one of the eight undergraduate divisions at NYU. In addition, they participate in a rich combination of seminars, domestic and international travel colloquia, research, educational and cultural activities, and community service. Scholarships and grants make the school affordable for me, and the film program is the best out there. After visiting the campus, and talking with current students and faculty I am certain the NYU is the place for me. I loved the campus, loved the students, loved the faculty, loved everything about it! I felt at home at NYU and I'm happy and excited to have finally found a place that I know will be perfect for me! I look forward to the fall. I can't wait to attend NYU and continue growing as a filmmaker and as a person.

3 Comments

Posted by Ava

Watch the Video: QuickTime | Vimeo | YouTube
FALLOUT: Coming Home from the War in Iraq is a documentary about three veterans of the war in Iraq. Each veteran speaks about their experience as a soldier in Iraq and the challenges they faced while readjusting to civilian live here at home. Unbiased, this documentary aimed to have each veteran profile their own Iraq war experiences.

A film by Ava Lowery

Read more 11 Comments

Posted by Ava

In the summer of 2007 I began filming for my first full-length documentary. I traveled to different parts of the country to interview veterans of the war in Iraq. In 2008 the production of the documentary came to a halt due to lack of funding. A majority of the funding had been coming out of my pocket(my car fund had become a documentary fund), but eventually my money dried up.

A couple of weeks ago I sat down and began to review the footage I have. I was hoping to have a bigger project with more interviews to include, but while reviewing I realized what I did have was enough and that the veterans I interviewed had stories that needed to be told.

Now I'm in my studio(my bedroom) working on editing the film. My goal is to release the documentary via the internet very soon. I'm on track to achieve that goal and I'm very excited to share this project with you all. I'll have some teaser photos and maybe even a few clips up on a website and myspace page for the documentary soon. Keep an eye out for it!

Thanks everyone for the amazing amount of support I've received both with my website and with this new project. As I get ready to leave for college in the fall I know that my time will not allow me to post as often - though I will continue creating videos on a regular basis. I'm excited to pursue film in my university studies and I'm looking forward to finally sharing my first full length film with you all.

- Ava

1 Comments

Posted by Ava

Watch Video: YouTube | Vimeo
My little sisters wanted to celebrate inauguration, so this afternoon we decided to make a cake dedicated to this amazing day! Happy inauguration day, or as they said - "Happy Obama is President Day!"

YES WE DID!

You can watch below or at the links provided above.

6 Comments

Posted by Ava

Read more 2 Comments

Posted by Ava

I'm 18. Much of my life has been during the disaster that was the Bush Administration. I've been politically "active" since I was 10 - during the 2000 election. I campaigned for Gore locally and read about the political process during that election. When I was 14 the 2004 election took place, and I was absolutely certain that Bush would be voted out. It didn't happen, and it was a kick to the stomach.

This time around I did as much as I could do for the Obama campaign. I'm a young person in Alabama, one of the most republican states in the country, and was limited in what I could do. I still campaigned locally, did a lot of online activism, created viral videos about the campaign, and encouraged my peers to register to vote and to vote for Obama. One election day I went into the booth for the first time and proudly voted for Obama. Then I went home and held my breath until the results came back. I was afraid of getting my hopes up, and it would be harder this time than it was in 2004. A few hours later the results game back, and my ability to have complete hope was restored. Election day really did mark the beginning of a new America, where the American promise isn't a false promise, and where people aren't afraid to have hope anymore.

Tomorrow I will watch the man who won my first vote take the oath of office, and I'll be watching complete hope for the future. I feel like I've taken my future back from the warmongers and hypocrites and I feel that change for the better is coming - starting tomorrow. I feel like I can be proud of my country. I feel hopeful. That one word really does sum up this campaign, tonight, and tomorrow - HOPE. Tomorrow morning I'll watch with pride as a man that I have hope in takes office. Finally, I have a President I can look up to.

5 Comments

Posted by Ava

Four years ago George W. Bush was asked if he thought he had made any mistakes as President. He was unable to name one. This morning Bush held his final press conference and was again asked if he believed he had made any mistakes as President. You can read the full transcript here, but I believe this portion sums up his answer:

"There have been disappointments. Abu Ghraib obviously was a huge disappointment during the presidency. Not having weapons of mass destruction was a significant disappointment. I don't know if you want to call those mistakes or not, but they were -- things didn't go according to plan, let's put it that way."

"Disappointments" and "things didn't go according to plan" are such nice ways to say "My Presidency was a miserable failure from the start," and "my lies caused the deaths of over 4,000 American troops and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians."

In true Bush-style, George couldn't even get his last press conference right. He's had 4 years to contemplate his answer to the question asked, yet he considers the war in Iraq among other failures of his Presidency to be "disappointments." Then again, what does he have to worry about? He'll retire to a ranch in Texas where won't be held accountable for his actions.

Heck of a job Georgie.. heck of a job.

Let's hope that President Obama will hold himself responsible for his actions, unlike George Bush.

3 Comments

Posted by Ava

Watch Video: QuickTime | YouTube | Vimeo
After 8 Years of the Bush Presidency, I figured it was about time I made a tribute video to Dubya. So this one is for you George...

Here's to your retirement.... finally!

And here's to a new year and a new President!

4 Comments

Posted by Ava

In honor of our past and current military members on this Veterans Day - Since this video was made, unfortunately the death tolls in both Iraq and Afghanistan have increased. It is an important reminder of why we have to end the wars and bring our troops home safely.

1 Comments