* I highly recommend you watch the film before listening to this episode. Links to rent and buy below! WILDWOOD, NJ Ruth Leitman & Carol Weaks Cassidy, USA, 1994, AGFA, Docs Everyone needs more WILDWOOD, NJ in their lives. Shot on dreamy Super 8 film by directors Ruth Leitman and Carol Weaks Cassidy with an all-women crew, this documentary shines a light on the lives of women from Wildwood, New Jersey—the last great American carnival town. From go-go dancers to girls who work as vampires in the boardwalk haunted house, the film moves beyond big hair and press-on nails to look into the souls of women raised on the boardwalk's rides, neon lights, and beaches. It’s easy to see why Lana Del Rey included footage from the movie in her "Diet Mountain Dew" music video. Plus: this release also includes found media sensation GIRLS AT THE CARNIVAL and cinéma vérité wonder MALL CITY—two films that feel like spiritual cousins to our friends in Wildwood. Buy it here https://vinegarsyndrome.com/collections/agfa/products/wildwood-nj $28.99 Rent it here (not the restored version) for https://vimeo.com/ondemand/wildwoodnj $3.99 rent $8.99 Purchase About Ruth Leitman The Ruthless Story Telling stories with integrity, authenticity, and empathy. “All of my work begins with an image, a moment caught in time, from the first time I processed black & white film many platforms ago. The stills have turned to moving image and sound, because I wanted to hear the stories of the people I was photographing. I tell stories in feature length for the big screen, or in minutes or less for the web and all screens in between. The tools and venues change, but never the inspiration. Quite simply, I tell the real stories of real people, many of whose opinions have perhaps never been asked before—people who are survivors and who often thrive in the face of adversity. Whether the subject is a woman from the subculture of 1950’s wrestling, a schoolteacher, a Midwestern farmer in support of gay marriage, a pop music icon, or the CEO of McDonald’s, I try to find the truth that emanates deep from within. It conjures up a moment of sadness left behind long ago or makes us laugh at a familiar image of ourselves, because, it’s something we’ve always wanted to say or do but are still working up the nerve. https://www.instagram.com/wildwoodnjdoc https://www.instagram.com/ruthlessfilms https://www.americangenrefilm.com/home-videos/wildwood-nj/ https://www.ruthlessfilms.com About Jeff Krulik Jeff Krulik has been documentary producer/director for over thirty years. His work has screened at the Museum of Modern Art, Lincoln Center, the American Film Institute and on PBS. His resume includes work for Errol Morris, Discovery Networks, and National Geographic Channel. His commissioned work includes a one-hour documentary on carnival sideshow history for The Travel Channel. Jeff is also co-producer of cult documentary 'Heavy Metal Parking Lot' which was turned into a reality TV series called ‘Parking Lot’ for pop culture network TRIO. Other documentaries include ‘The Legend of Merv Conn,' 'Ernest Borgnine on the Bus,' and the recent 'Led Zeppelin Played Here.' In 2008, he produced the Emmy Award-winning documentary Eatin' Crabs Chesapeake Style for Maryland Public Television's Chesapeake Bay Week. In addition to filmmaking, he also does freelance archival research at the National Archives, and this work got him invited on a recent ten-day trip to China as a guest of China Network Television. And earlier this year, he was honored with the inaugural ‘Filmmaker in Residence’ title for the Docs in Progress organization, which mentors and advises documentary filmmakers, both emerging, and professional. https://jeffkrulik.com https://www.instagram.com/jeffkrulik https://www.instagram.com/hmpl40th www.vintageannalsarchive.com/vintage-annals-archive-podcast.html
