from
The Boston Globe:
“Bulletproof,” an indie film having its local premiere May 30 at
the Coolidge Corner Theatre, may strike some viewers as hard to
categorize, if not downright surreal.
Is it a Western? Sort of. A period piece? Yes and no. A
comedy-drama-musical? Without question. A film about living with
disability? That one’s a head-scratcher.
In fact, the movie’s 45-member cast and crew features 18 actors with
physical and cognitive disabilities. Three are in wheelchairs. For
several, speaking parts are clearly a challenge, albeit one they gamely
meet.
Yet the 35-minute film, produced by the staff of Zeno Mountain Farm, a
Vermont-based group of camps for the disabled, is not about its actors’
limitations, according to camp cofounder Will Halby.
“It’s all about making an awesome movie,” not a statement, says Halby.
Zeno has released eight previous films, several featuring cameos by
Hollywood celebrities. But the buzz around “Bulletproof” is unusually
loud as screenings this year are taking place in Los Angeles, New York,
and Washington, D.C., as well as Boston and Vermont. On Sunday, the film
will be shown at the 11th annual Sprout Film Festival, held at New
York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, a showcase for films featuring people
with disabilities.
Adding to the buzz is the independent documentary that is being shot
about the making of “Bulletproof.” The documentary — directed by Michael
Barnett, whose film “Superheroes” aired on HBO — is being readied for
release this year.
“Bulletproof” opens with a bar owner being threatened by a
takeover-minded casino developer. Cutting between the present and the
Old West, it tells the colorful story of the bar owner’s ancestor Earl
“Bulletproof” Jackson, a traveling magician who rescued the people of
fictional Cole Junction from a gang of bad guys long ago.
The film was shot at Pioneertown, a 1940s-era Western movie set
that’s now a tourist attraction. Paying homage to its cowboy roots,
“Bulletproof” boasts authentic Western costumes, saloon brawls,
showdowns at the poker table, and a noisy, if bloodless, gunfight on the
town’s main street.
Zeno’s other films, all shot on budgets of $25,000 or less, include a
pirate-themed musical and mockumentary about a defunct 1960s rock band,
with cameos by Ozzy Osbourne and Johnny Knoxville.
Like its predecessors, “Bulletproof” is wholly original, from its
script to its score to its unique mix of able-bodied and disabled
actors, none of whom is paid.
Jeremy Vest, 27, (pictured) who plays Bulletproof Jackson, has Williams
syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder. Two of his costars are Alec
Bandler, 20, who has Down syndrome, and Judy Moscariello, 51, who has
cerebral palsy.
When one character speaks about having to “face life on life’s
terms,” he may be channeling the Gary Cooper classic “High Noon.” But
he’s also voicing a sentiment that runs through the filmmaking process
itself; all cast members, no matter their level of disability, are
expected to do their jobs professionally. They must show up on a time
and in costume (the rest of the cast is made up of camp volunteers) and
set aside their own needs for the greater goal of making a movie.
Barnett got the idea for his documentary after attending a Zeno film premiere three years ago.
“It blew me away,” the filmmaker said, speaking by phone from
California. “There was so much spirit and heart to it. I felt like I’d
stumbled into this wonderful community nobody knew much about.”
Unsure of how to tell the camp’s story — “I didn’t want to make a
camp commercial,” Barnett said — he decided to focus on the filmmaking
process, as adapted to accommodate the camp’s special needs community.
As the two crews worked side by side during the shooting of
“Bulletproof,” any boundaries between them quickly dissolved, he says.
“Special needs were not the biggest hurdle. The filmmaking process
was,” said Barnett. “What Zeno creates is a different landscape from the
world as we know it. They level the playing field for disabled people
so they can create something of value.”
The Zeno back story is compelling itself.
Will Halby and his brother, Peter, have been working at camps for the
disabled since volunteering at Camp Jabberwocky on Martha’s Vineyard in
the 1980s. Founded in 1953, Jabberwocky is a residential vacation camp
for adults and children with disabilities, primarily cerebral palsy. The
Halbys also began a close association with AccesSportAmerica
, an innovative sports program serving disabled children and adults.
In the mid-90s, the Halbys began organizing their own specialty camps
— music, art, sports — in Mississippi, Florida, California, and
elsewhere, each lasting from a week to a month. The film camp, based in
Southern California, was established in 2003 as a nonprofit.
Producing an original film every year “was really just to give us
something to do together as a group,” Will Halby recalls. “We’re very
project-based, and for a reason. If you have a goal, it makes day-to-day
challenges like personality issues or lack of sleep almost irrelevant.”
In 2008, the Halbys bought 20 acres in Lincoln, Vt., to use as their
East Coast base-camp facility. It now hosts a monthlong performing arts
summer camp and a winter sports camp. That same year, they absorbed
their other far-flung camp entities into a single organization, Zeno
Mountain Farm. All run on donations. Campers do not pay to attend, and
staffers volunteer. The Halby brothers and their wives, Vanessa and Ila,
serve as directors.
As rather playfully described on Zeno’s website, the community
consists of “people with Cerebral Palsy, Down syndrome, law degrees,
Autism, a love of art, teaching certificates, Cognitive Delay, carpentry
skills, Williams Syndrome, a willingness to dance in public and Spina
Bifida.”
In 2002, a group of Jabberwocky campers blazed a trail of sorts when
they starred in “How’s Your News?,” an on-the-road-in-America TV news
documentary with a disability twist to it. The film’s backers included
“South Park” cocreators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. “How’s Your News?,”
which has since inspired two sequels, one covering the 2012 presidential
campaign, aired on HBO and made underground stars of its cast.
One was Ronnie Simonsen, who had cerebral palsy and died in 2010.
This summer, his name will be attached to a new theater building at the
Vermont facility.
Simonsen harbored a deep affection for such B-list stars as Chad
Everett. Thanks to Simonsen, Everett agreed to join a group of
celebrities who have played small roles in Zeno films: Ted Danson, David
Arquette, Lou Ferrigno, Mario Lopez, Joe Manganiello, and Rob Delaney,
among others.
“Whether they show up or not doesn’t really matter anyway,” says
Halby. “We work on the fly, guerrilla style. That’s what makes it fun to
do. And to watch, we hope.”
The “Bulletproof” cast will attend the Coolidge Corner screening
Thursday. Audience donations will help fund next year’s film, which has
already been scripted and shot. The film tracks a single $1 bill as it
migrates from owner to owner, according to Halby.
Beyond that, he says, it’s hard to categorize.
