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Feb. 7, 2008/FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Marla Carpenter, 336-770-3337, carpem@ncarts.edu NCSA TO SCREEN "PURPLE STATE OF MIND" SATURDAY, FEB. 9 AT 7 P.M. “A Real Conversation About The Things That Divide and Unite All of Us”
WINSTON-SALEM – The North Carolina School of the Arts will screen PURPLE STATE OF MIND at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, in Babcock Theatre in the ACE Exhibition Complex of the School of Filmmaking. The screening is free and open to the public. The documentary is 80 minutes long and will be followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Craig Detweiler and John Marks. Here is their directors’ statement: “According to Wikipedia, conversation is ‘communication by two or more people, or sometimes with one's self, often on a particular topic. Conversations are the ideal form of communication in some respects, since they allow people with different views of a topic to learn from each other. A speech, on the other hand, is an oral presentation by one person directed at a group.’ “That nails it. We've become a nation of speech-makers. Everyone has their bullet points. Everyone takes aim. Left versus right. Gay versus straight. Atheist versus believer. The shrapnel has caught all of us in the crossfire, and we struggle to respond like soldiers; we fire back, but our own guns fail us. As a person of faith, Craig is troubled by the perception of Christians as judgmental and hypocritical. How could Jesus, the great defender of the poor, the hungry and the hurting have been turned into a hater? As a reporter in the Balkans, John witnessed the process by which religious and ethnic identity drives division. He's unnerved by the potential for a war of words to become something far worse. “PURPLE STATE OF MIND, our movie, is an 80-minute effort to bridge the cultural gap, to push past politics, and wade into the middle ground where most people live. PURPLE STATE, the web experience, extends that effort out into the homes, dorm rooms, churches, offices and playing fields where people are struggling to have their own conversations. In a world of increasing tension, we hope PURPLE STATE OF MIND offers an alternative--a warm, humorous, genuine conversation that at the same time pulls no punches. “We didn't start with a plan, just a mutual desire to find some common ground despite our differences. We had four conversations in four states over the course of one year. We started at a polite distance, before we plunged into our past, and faced our genuine disagreements. Those haven't gone away. But we've renewed our respect for one another and won a hard understanding of our differences. Making PURPLE STATE OF MIND was an act of hope, but it's only the beginning. “We want to serve as stand-ins for friends and family around the world who desperately need to talk. May the conclusion of our film spark conversations that continue long after the credits roll.” This is a special screening for NCSA School of Filmmaking faculty member Drew Detweiler's course, Stereotypes in Conflict. Drew Detweiler is Craig Detweiler’s brother.
John Marks is a novelist, journalist and a former “60 Minutes” producer. His first novel, “The Wall,” was named a New York Times Notable Book in 1998. His second, “War Torn,” made Publishers Weekly's Best of 2003. His third novel, “Fangland,” appeared in January 2007 and has been optioned for a feature film by Hilary Swank. His “60 Minutes” segment “Submission,” about the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, received a 2006 Gracie Allen Award from the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television for Best Hard News Feature. Craig Detweiler is a filmmaker, author, and cultural commentator who's been featured in The New York Times, CNN, and NPR. Films he has written include THE DUKE (1999) for Disney's Buena Vista and the comedic road trip EXTREME DAYS (2001). His one-hour documentary, WILLIAMS SYNDROME: A HIGH MUSICAL SPECIES (1996), premiered at the Boston Film Festival, won a Cine Golden Eagle, the Silver Award at WorldFest Charleston, Best Documentary at the Carolina Film and Video Fest, and the Crystal Heart Award at the Heartland Film Festival. For more information, visit www.purplestateofmind.com/home.cfm, or see the attached flyer. ###
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WINSTON-SALEM – The North Carolina School of the Arts will screen PURPLE STATE OF MIND at
7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, in Babcock Theatre in the ACE Exhibition Complex of the School of Filmmaking. The screening is free and open to the public.

The documentary is 80 minutes long and will be followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Craig Detweiler and John Marks. Here is their directors’ statement:

“According to Wikipedia, conversation is ‘communication by two or more people, or sometimes with one's self, often on a particular topic. Conversations are the ideal form of communication in some respects, since they allow people with different views of a topic to learn from each other. A speech, on the other hand, is an oral presentation by one person directed at a group.’

“That nails it. We've become a nation of speech-makers. Everyone has their bullet points. Everyone takes aim. Left versus right. Gay versus straight. Atheist versus believer. The shrapnel has caught all of us in the crossfire, and we struggle to respond like soldiers; we fire back, but our own guns fail us. As a person of faith, Craig is troubled by the perception of Christians as judgmental and hypocritical. How could Jesus, the great defender of the poor, the hungry and the hurting have been turned into a hater? As a reporter in the Balkans, John witnessed the process by which religious and ethnic identity drives division. He's unnerved by the potential for a war of words to become something far worse.

“PURPLE STATE OF MIND, our movie, is an 80-minute effort to bridge the cultural gap, to push past politics, and wade into the middle ground where most people live. PURPLE STATE, the web experience, extends that effort out into the homes, dorm rooms, churches, offices and playing fields where people are struggling to have their own conversations. In a world of increasing tension, we hope PURPLE STATE OF MIND offers an alternative--a warm, humorous, genuine conversation that at the same time pulls no punches.

“We didn't start with a plan, just a mutual desire to find some common ground despite our differences. We had four conversations in four states over the course of one year. We started at a polite distance, before we plunged into our past, and faced our genuine disagreements. Those haven't gone away. But we've renewed our respect for one another and won a hard understanding of our differences. Making PURPLE STATE OF MIND was an act of hope, but it's only the beginning.

“We want to serve as stand-ins for friends and family around the world who desperately need to talk. May the conclusion of our film spark conversations that continue long after the credits roll.”

This is a special screening for NCSA School of Filmmaking faculty member Drew Detweiler's course, Stereotypes in Conflict. Drew Detweiler is Craig Detweiler’s brother.