Interview with Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss

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Interview with Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss

The village as character

Highlights:

In California's Mojave Desert, the US Army has built a "virtual Iraq" - a billion dollar urban warfare simulation - and populated it with hundreds of Iraqi role-players. FULL BATTLE RATTLE follows an Army Battalion through the simulation, as they attempt to quell an insurgency and prevent Medina Wasl, a mock Iraqi village, from slipping into civil war. Comic, surreal and poignant, the film provides a revelatory look at the soul of the American war machine, and, in the battle for Medina Wasl, finds a potent allegory of the Iraq War and the cultural and religious differences that confound America’s efforts.

Transcript:

Director Tony Gerber was born in New York City and began his directing career creating films for live theatre. His work has been featured in a number of award-winning productions, including the Broadway musical Rent. His short film, Small Taste of Heaven premiered at Rotterdam and the Sundance film Festival and enabled him to direct his first feature, Side Streets, starring Rosario Dawson, Valeria Golino and Shashi Kapoor. The film was Executive Produced by Ismail Merchant / Merchant Ivory and premiered at the Venice and Sundance film festivals. He is developing the feature film Disobedience, a story of impossible love in the US anti-war movement with producers Killer Films, and Mud, River Stone, from the play by award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. He collaborated with artist Matthew Barney on his Drawing Restraint 9 (starring Bjork) and Cremaster IV. Gerber is currently in pre-production on a documentary series for National Geographic, shooting in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His previous work in television earned him two Emmy Awards.

Director Jesse Moss is the founder of Mile End Films(www.mileendfilms.com), a New York based production company. His award winning documentaries include Speedo: A Demolition Derby Love Story, which aired on POV/PBS, and Con Man, which aired on HBO/Cinemax. He is currently working on a series of scripted training films for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs about a new cognitive therapy designed to help Iraq War Vets, and producing Disturbing the Universe, a documentary about the radical lawyer William Kunstler. He is also writing the screenplay adaptation of Con Man, about Ivy League impostor James Hogue, for Paul Giamatti's company Touchy Feely Films. Prior to establishing his own production company, Moss worked as a producer for Barbara Kopple and a speechwriter on Capitol Hill. He has been a fellow of the MacDowell Colony, and was named one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine in 2003.

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Interview with Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss

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