KNIFE SKILLS An Oscar Nominated Short Subject Documentary (40 Minutes) from Academy Award Winning Director Thomas Lennon (The Blood of Yingzhou District) Knife Skills follows the launch of an haute cuisine restaurant in Cleveland, staffed by men and women recently released from prison. It is a film about re-entry, second chances, and the healing power of fine food. Over 650,000 people are released from prison every year. Trailer for Knife Skills https://vimeo.com/227171872 Darwin Hailey, trainee at Edwins. After graduating from Edwins, Darwin rose to become sous chef at the restaurant. Photo Credit: Lara Talevski Marley Kichinka, trainee, previously struggled with heroin addiction; at Edwins she discovered a passion for restaurant work. 1
Synopsis What does it take to build a world-class French restaurant? What if the staff is almost entirely men and women just out of prison? What if most have never cooked or served before, and have barely two months to learn their trade? Knife Skills follows the hectic launch of Edwins restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio. In this improbable setting, with its mouthwatering dishes and its arcane French vocabulary, we discover the challenges of men and women finding their way after their release. We come to know three trainees intimately, as well as the restaurant s founder, who is also dogged by his past. They all have something to prove, and all struggle to launch new lives an endeavor as pressured and perilous as the ambitious restaurant launch of which they are a part. Brandon Chrostowski, founder of Edwins, on his motorcycle outside the restaurant. Brandon trained at top restaurants in the U.S. and France before opening Edwins in Cleveland. Paupiettes de merú, a classic French dish on the menu at Edwins, features grouper wrapped in crispy potatoes with haricot verts and beurre rouge. 2
An Edwins trainee plates steak au poivre, a classic French dish of steak coated in peppercorns. Photo Credit: Lara Talevski Filmmaker Statement - Thomas Lennon When I began filming, I had no background in criminal justice, and no agenda. I just filmed what I saw: an improbable group of men and women caught up in a truly improbable endeavor. Their whole lives seemed to be on the line. I m excited to share the film with audiences for the first time at a moment when criminal justice reform and re-entry are such pressing public issues. The United States is a global leader in incarceration, with more than 2.2 million people in state and federal prison. Over 650,000 people are released from prison every year, and that number is on the rise. Almost everybody on the left and the right agrees that our country has too many people in prison, and that many need to be released. This film says, Yes, absolutely and then what? That transition out into the world is a time of incredible stress and risk, and I hope the film captures that, gives it a human face. About Thomas Lennon (Director/Producer/Cinematographer) Veteran filmmaker and journalist Thomas Lennon s work in documentary film has earned him an Academy Award, four Academy nominations, two national Emmys, two dupont- Columbia awards, two George Foster Peabody awards, and two films that premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Lennon (along with editor Nick August-Perna) recently completed Sacred, which draws on the contributions of more than 40 filmmakers around the world to explore the role of prayer and ritual in daily life. He founded, with Ruby Yang, the China AIDS Media Project; their AIDS awareness messages were seen over a billion times on Chinese television and the Internet, making it probably the most far-reaching AIDS media campaign ever created. Filmography: Knife Skills (2017), Sacred (2016), Angle of Attack (2011), The Warriors of Qiugang (2010), Tongzhi in Love (2008), The Blood of Yingzhou District (2006), Becoming American: The Chinese Experience with Bill Moyers (2003), Jefferson's Blood (2000), Unchained Memories (2000), The Irish in America: Long Journey Home (1998), The Battle Over Citizen Kane (1996), Battle of the Bulge (1994), 7 Days in Bensonhurst (1990). 3
About Nick August-Perna (Editor/Co-Producer) Nick August-Perna is a New York based filmmaker and documentary editor. His projects have enjoyed international theatrical release, and aired on National Geographic, PBS, and HBO. Among the works he has edited, directed, or produced: Colliding Dreams, a three-hour history of Zionism that opened in theaters in March 2016; a 2012 documentary for National Geographic on the world s polluted oceans; and The Swell Season, a 2011 feature-length documentary about Academy Award -winning musicians Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova that won awards internationally and was released theatrically in the U.S. and overseas. Nick also edited the Emmy-nominated short film Delano Manongs: Forgotten History of the United Farmworkers. Festivals & Awards Traverse City Film Festival Audience Award for Documentary Short Rhode Island Film Festival Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Woodstock Film Festival Chagrin Documentary Film Festival Pembroke-Taparelli Film Festival SFFILM Doc Stories Cucalorus Festival Napa Valley Film Festival Meet the Press Film Festival with AFI DOC NYC Irvine Film Festival Inspire Film Festival Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival Annapolis Film Festival Official Film Website http://www.knifeskillsthemovie.com Social Media Facebook: KnifeSkillsDoc Twitter: @knifeskillsdoc Credits Produced, Directed & Filmed by THOMAS LENNON 4
Edited & Co-Produced by NICK AUGUST-PERNA Field Producer JONATHAN RAPOPORT Associate Producers JUSTIN LEVY EMMA D. MILLER Music by ROBERT MILLER Additional Editing JOSEPH SINGER Additional Cinematography JONATHAN RAPOPORT LAURA PAGLIN Additional Sound ELI COHN STEVEN GUERCIO Assistant Editors MAHALIA COHEN DAPHNE RUSTOW SAMUEL ZUCKER Music Supervisor EMILY LEE Archival Research PHOEBE BROWN Julia Child footage courtesy of the WGBH Media Library & Archives Marriage Of Figaro-Voi Che Sapete Courtesy of APM Music Keyboard Concerto in F Minor, BWV 1056: II. Largo Written by J. S. Bach - Performed by Camerata Cassovia Courtesy of Naxos - By arrangement with Source/Q Lay My Burden Down Written by Trad., arr. Furry Lewis, Terry Manning Muldoon Music (BMI) - Courtesy of Lucky Seven Records Performed by Furry Lewis 5
Sound Design & Dialogue ANDREA BELLA MICHAEL FEUSER Color Correction STEWART GRIFFIN Re-Recording Mixers TOM PAUL KEVIN PETERS Distribution Advisory Services RO*CO FILMS INTERNATIONAL LLC Special Thanks to DAVID WALTUCK ED LEVINE GERALYN DREYFOUS Co-Executive Producer JANNAT GARGI This film was supported by SOROS JUSTICE FELLOWSHIP OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE MARGARET AND DANIEL LOEB THIRD POINT FOUNDATION NY COMMUNITY TRUST JOAN GANZ COONEY & HOLLY PETERSON FUND HASTINGS/QUILLIN FUND SILICON VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Executive Producers JOAN GANZ COONEY HOLLY PETERSON 2017 TFL Films LLC - All Rights Reserved Press Contact Adam J. Segal The 2050 Group Publicity 212.642.4317 (Office) 202.422.4673 (Cell) adam@the2050group.com www.the2050group.com 6