Thursday, December 06, 2007

'Eating Levi' maker lands in Shreveport

I've been speaking with an interesting filmmaker this week. Director Gregory Kallenberg, who recently moved back here from Austin, just took his "Eating Levi" to the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterstam. The flick focuses on Levi Oliver, a tamale-eating champ who chomped his way into the spotlight by making 36 tamales disappear in 12.5 minutes.

(My personal record is 5 in one hour. Bring it on, Levi!)

My interview will publish Monday in The Shreveport Times.

Kallenberg is hopeful that the trip to IDFA will lead to a distribution deal. "I think we got a decent wave of buzz and we’re kind of crossing our fingers," he said.

In moving back to Shreveport, Kallenberg hopes to become part of an indie film scene that grows out of the mainstream film industry. That's happened in Austin, and it could happen in Shreveport on a larger level as the film industry continues to grow.

"(In Austin) they have really bred an indie film scene, where people are grabbing their DVX100s and just going out there and shooting," Kallenberg said. He also noted that local competition between indie filmmakers has a way of pushing everybody to make better films.

"Hopefully, this town that I’ve moved to will breed a little film scene," he said. "I definitely want to go out there and be a filmmaker again."

More of my thoughts about Shreveport's indie film scene coming soon.

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