Manifesto Film Festival

We just returned from the Manifesto Film Festival in Amsterdam. It was by all accounts a huge success. This was the first opportunity many friends and family had to view the film and ask questions.What a great night. Kudos to the Manifesto Film Festival organizers!

A Positive

I spoke with Film Critic, Nate Brown by phone for about 30 minutes prior to the Adrian Film Festival in Adrian Michigan. This was just after after he watched our film.

After visiting his website it seemed clear that Nate views films with a critical eye and assesses with honesty. He actually criticizes... as critics tend to do. Nate grades every film he reviews and hands out B's and C's with an occasional A. I knew we were going to get an honest review but not sure if we'd get a good one. He gave us an A.

Here's a small excerpt:

"Johanning doesn’t waste time setting up the narrative structure and does so like a seasoned veteran. We get hooked immediately, after we find out that VanDerZalm, in order to avoid life imprisonment for crimes he did not commit, comes up with a plan to stash himself inside a small wooden crate and travel eight hours via plane, out of Dubai, to his brother's house in Amsterdam. He faced every obstacle in the book, (pressurization, oxygen levels, water etc) and still lived to tell the tale.

Talk about a story...

The entire review can be read here: 

Review - Amereki Kum, Escape From Dubai

MAY Festival Screenings

Amereki Kum, Escape From Dubai has been selected in several festivals over the past 6 months or so. Upcoming screenings this May include the Adrian International Film Festival in Adrian Michigan just outside of Detroit, The Romford Film Festival in London as well as the Manifesto Film Festival in Amsterdam.

May 18 - Adrian International Film Festival, Adrian MI
Adrian Film Festival

May 25 - Romford Film Festival, London

May 28 - Manifesto Film Festival, Amsterdam w/ Q&A

Adrian International Film Festival

TRAILER Amereki Kum, Escape From Dubai

WTMJ interview

In June I was interviewed by Eric Bilstad on WTMJ Radio in Milwaukee. Take a listen.
SoundCloud - Ted's Story

Around International Film awards Amereki Kum, Escape From Dubai

Amereki Kum, Escape From Dubai has been recognized by Around International Film Festival in Amsterdam. The Festival recognizes film with monthly awards and screens the best of annually. What this means is that we may have a screening in Amsterdam in summer of 2018.

Family & Friends Screening.

Our first screening took place at the Oconomowoc Arts Center on the 22nd of July. By all accounts it was a success. The Q&A could have gone for hours. What a wonderful night!

Poster & DVD Art

Prison

    The stripe on the prison Dubai prison uniforms indicates the length of a prisoner's sentence. Green identifies sentences of up to 6 months. A blue stripe identifies sentences of 6 months to 2 years. A yellow stripe represents a sentence of 3 to 7 years and a red stripe indicates longer term to death sentence.
     Ted spent 3-1/2 years in and out of the Dubai prison system between 1993 and 1998. It was an intensely difficult existence in the overcrowded prison. Prisoners spent hours in the heat of an outdoor court yard where temperatures regularly rose above 100 degrees. The food was terrible and the bathroom and shower facilities were severely limited.

    Prisoners survived by sticking together groups of similar ethnicity. As the lone American, Ted was often targeted as an outsider. This was  especially true when the US was in the headlines. The 1996 bombing of Iraq by the US was the most difficult time for him. Ted remarks in the film that he felt he was living hour to hour.

Film Clip: Amerike Kum Intro

Amereki Kum - Lifestyle shots

We spent the weekend getting some lifestyle shots for the film. Discussions continued regarding  funding through a Kickstarter campaign. It feels like we're getting close to a final rough cut!
At this point the film has been in the works for over two years.

Amsterdam

After returning to Amsterdam Ted stayed with his brother Hans for a couple of weeks to recuperate. Hans and his wife Marja own and operate the restaurant pictured here while they lived in the apartment above.

Film Clip - Amereki Kum

Amereki Kum Film Clip

After being arrested and thrown into the Dubai jail a guard approached the holding cell that housed dozens of prisoners and yelled, "Amereki Kum!" A visitor from the US embassy wanted to speak to the American.

Film Clip - Amereki Kum

Scene from Amerike Kum, Escape From Dubai

Civil Air Patrol

In 1982 Ted became a licensed pilot and purchased this Piper aircraft. He later joined the Civil Air Patrol and rose through the ranks to Squadron Commander.

His flying experience allowed him to devise an escape plan where he would steal a small aircraft and fly out of the country at night. Unable to secure a plane with enough fuel capacity to make the trip to safety, he abandon the plan and considered other options for escape.

Film Clip: Amerike Kum Intro

The Tulip Farm

Ted was born in Holland during the German occupation in WWII. His family owned a tulip farm and was fairly well off. During the occupation a company of more than 100 German soldiers was stationed on the family property.

In 1943 A large greenhouse on the farm was mistaken for a train station and bombed by allied forces.

The family was offered an opportunity to emigrate to the United States in 1957 as a result of the War Damage Act. They settled in St. Louis and pursued lives in the US.  Ted would later marry and  become a US citizen while his brother Hans returned to Holland to pursue a career and raise a family.

Film Clip: Amerike Kum Intro

The Belize Project

In the summer of 1989 Ted joined a real estate development team who had purchased land and had secured rights to build an all-inclusive resort in Belize. The country was primitive at the time but conditions were right for it to becoming a booming travel destination. 

As a CPA with international business experience, Ted's role with the group was to secure financing from for the resort. For a host of reasons financing was not available from US lending institutions so the group was forced to look internationally.

The search eventually led Ted and the group to pursue money from wealthy oil families in the middle east.

Film Clip: Amerike Kum Intro