Among the filmmakers in attendance included David Sauvage (Carissa), Denny Tedesco (The Wrecking Crew), Senain Kheshgi and Geeta Patel (Project Kashmir), Jon Dunham and Mark Jonathan Harris (Spirit of the Marathon), Makoto Sasa (Fire Under the Snow), Tom Miller (ONE BAD CAT) and Susan Morgan Cooper (An Unlikely Weapon). In addition, the Venerable Palden Gyatso, the Buddhist monk who is the subject of Fire Under the Snow, made an appearance.
The party also attracted enough IDA presidents--current and former--to construct two Mount Rushmores. I spotted diane estelle Vicari, Richard Propper, Michael Donaldson, Lisa Leeman, Mel Stuart and Chuck Workman, and I suspect that Harrison Engle must have been there too, representing, along with neighbors Propper and Vicari, the Sherman Oaks Welcoming Committee for DocuWeek 08. And while such DocuWeek subjects as matadors, third grade soccer players and Philip Glass either skipped the do or sequestered themselves far from the maddening crowd, the rest of the attendees showed their nonfictional enthusiasm.
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Left to right: Makoto Sasa, director/producer, Fire Under the Snow; Sandra Ruch, director emeritus, IDA; The Venerable Palden Gyatso, subject of Fire Under the Snow. Photo: Kayte Deoima.