Trailer Trash & Six Months - Love & Death in WV
On January 10th, Saturday, at 7 PM, The South Charleston Museum will begin its 2009 series of WV films with two of the best films made in recent memory in the state of West Virginia- “Trailer Trash - A Film Journal” and “Six Months.” I am calling the program “Love and Death in WV” because both films deal with the two realities in ways other films have not. Both filmmakers will be present to introduce their films.
Ray Schmitt, 2004 WV Filmmaker of the Year, will present his very intense, and sometimes very funny, film about facing his own demise, “Six Months.” Don Diego Ramirez, a well-known artist from Shepherd University, will present his equally intense film, “Trailer Trash - A Film Journal.” I chose these two films as the two best WV films of 2007. On March 1, 2007 I wrote a long review of “Six Months,”immediately after I first saw it. For years I have watched Ray and Judy Schmitt’s many wonderful films about OTHER PEOPLE facing incredible medical problems. Like others I suppose, I suggested they make a film about Ray’s own medical condition, Marfan Syndrome. They did so, filming Ray’s interview with his MD at Johns Hopkins, and most compelling, film a road trip looking for how others confront death. ( One day Ray and a friend showed up at The Cultural Center on their way to Nashville. They ended up using a clip of the interview they did with me on “the meaning of life.” ) Ray and Judy edited the early version I saw, cutting out one sub-plot. The shorter version is a masterpiece, and hopefully, it will be shown on national PBS some day. ( You can purchase a copy from Real Earth Productions.) Ray will be driving from Mathias, Hardy County to introduce his film.
Another great filmmaker from West Virginia’s Eastern panhandle, Don Diego Ramirez, will also be driving all the way from Charles Town to Charleston to present, finally, his 2007 masterpiece, “Trailer Trash - A Film Journal.” I first learned about the film while reading a review published in a Baltimore newspaper. My Google alert for “West Virginia film” caught it, and I started my long obsession with this film. I finally got to see it, and my life hasn’t been the same since. I would rate it as possibly the single most intense film I have ever seen - including horror films, whatever. I wrote a long review in November 2007 and so have been waiting a long time to present it.
I was truly shocked when these two films did NOT receive top awards at the 2007 WV Filmmakers Festival in Sutton. Something was wrong…..and since I was not one of the judges that year, I had nothing to do with the two giant mistakes. “Trailer Trash” has won many awards around the country, receiving wide acclaim everywhere but here.( The only place it has been shown in WV as far as I know is Shepherd U.) I guess the title and subject are too close to home. ( How about showing it sometime with “Dancing Outlaw” or another Jacob Young film with a great trailer scene, “The Amazing Delores.”) I believe that “Trailer” will be remembered for years to come, mentioned along with “Dancing Outlaw” as one of the greatest films that shows how America’s “other half” lives.
Descriptions of the two films -
SIX MONTHS2007 54 mins. Real Earth Productions Ray and Judy Schmitt of Mathias, Hardy County, WV have been making films for 30 years. They decided it was time to make a film about Ray’s unusual medical condition, Marfan Syndrome. They travel throughout WV and the region after meeting with his cardiologist at Johns Hopkins who requires a visit every six months to monitor his heart condition. The intrepid couple visit with friends only to find that they, too, have life-threatening medical issues that require periodic monitoring. Tragically, Judy passed away shortly after the film was completed in September 2007. Ray continues his visits to the MD and his search for the meaning of life.
TRAILER TRASH – A FILM JOURNAL 2007 53 mins. West Virginia native Don Diego Ramirez was raised near the race track in Charles Town,Jefferson
County. This autobiographical tale talks about his life in a trailer home without electricity or running water, and how he overcame his upbringing by studying art at Shepherd
University. His grandmother dies from cancer, he has a baby with severe medical problems, and his sister is accused of murdering his Louisiana-based grandfather. He narrates his thoughts and feelings about the super-intense life he lead for nearly a three year period between May 11, 2004 and January 6, 2007. Multiple-award winner.
