Compelling Clips

East Coast Stories

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This CD has exclusive new tracks by Bruce Springsteen & Pete Seeger, Jon Bon Jovi, Mario Frangoulis, Buffalo Tom, Natalie Merchant, & more in collaboration with currently or formerly homeless musicians on benefit CD to fight homelessness.

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The Documentary

“There is No Good Reason” is the documentary short by director Michael Mierendorf and editor Larry Marshall with help form many other people (full credits below). At present it has been featured in 26 film festivals across the United States thanks to the generous work of Larry Marshall, receiving the Indie Special Recognition Award at the Boston International Film Festival in 2008. A full list of film festivals with links where the documentary is featured appears to the left. Please contact us if you would like to use this documentary short at your event.

“There is No Good Reason” is a provocative song from the CD, Give US Your Poor: 17 New Recordings to End Homelessness (Appleseed Recordings). Nichole Cooper wrote the song when she was 15 years old, living in a Minnesota homeless shelter, expressing the emotions and experiences that accompanied her homelessness. The song was so impressive and impassioned that, upon hearing it, celebrity artist, Natalie Merchant, decided to gather a group of homeless and formerly homeless musicians and record the track.

The process of recording of “No Good Reason” turned out to be equally impressive. One musician drove across the country in a car that had no business driving that far. Boston hotels donated rooms, local restaurants donated food. Merchant, had less than three days to arrange and record the song—a process that normally takes weeks or months. Finally, working with several artists who had never set foot in a recording studio, Ms. Merchant completed the track.

The journey of the recording session was captured by filmmakers Michael Mierendorf and Lawrence Marshall in a documentary by a same name. “No Good Reason” chronicles musicians and singers from around the country, people who had never met and who are or had been homeless. The diverse group gathered in Boston to record Nicole’s song. The documentary short, “No Good Reason”, has been shown in numerous film festivals around the country. Please come see this captivating look at homelessness, collaboration and the power of music to bring us together.

Give US Your Poor: 17 New Recordings to End Homelessness is now available through Appleseed Recordings http://www.appleseedmusic.com

Our sincere thanks to all the people that made this recording session happen.

• Sarasota Fringe Film Festival (Sarasota, Florida - screened April 4)
• Boston International Film Festival (screened April 16 - "Indy Spec Special Achievement" Award)
• Los Angeles United Film Festival (screened May 5)
• Florida Music Festival / Indie Film Jam (Orlando, screened May 15)
• Ohio Independent Film Festival (Cleveland, screens June 5)
• Breckenridge Festival of Film (Breckenridge, Colorado, screens June 13)
• deadCENTER Film Festival (Oklahoma City, screens June 13)
• Flickerings @ Cornerstone Festival (Bushnell, Illinois, screens July 3)
• Woodstock Film Festival (New York, screens sometime between September 30 and October 4 - TBD)
• Utah Arts Festival
• Imago Film Festival in Illinois on Mar. 30-Apr. 3. www.imagofilmfestival.com
• The Bayou City Inspirational Film Festival in Houston, Texas, on August 15. www.bciff.com
• 2009 United Nations Association Film Festival on October 17-25 in Stanford, California. www.unaff.org
• The Tacoma Film Festival in Tacoma, Washington on October 1-8. www.grandcinema.com
• Spirit Quest Film Festival in Pennsylvania on September 6-8. www.spiritquestfilmfest.com
• 11th Annual Milwaukee Short Film Festival in Milwaukee, WI on September 13th. www.milwaukeeindependent
  filmsociety.org
• Montana Independent Film Festival in Missoula, MT on September 26-27. www.mtiff.com
• Tacoma Film and Music Festival in Tucson, AZ on Oct. 9-11. www.upstairsfilm.com/tucson
  filmandmusicfestival
• Utopia Film Festival in Greenbelt, Maryland on October 19 -25. www.utopiafilmfestival.org
• The New Hampshire Film Festival, October 15-18, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. www.nhfilmfestival.com/
• The Big Easy Shorts Film Festival, From Nov. 12 – 15 in New Orleans, LA. www.bigeasyfilmfestivals.com
• 5th Annual River's Edge International Film Festival, From Nov. 5 - 8 in Paducah, Kentucky. www.riversedgefilmfestival.com
• The Third Annual Rockport Film Festival, November 5-8, in Rockport Texas. www.rockportfilmfest.com