This past spring, filmmaker David Gordon Green received the Emerging Master Award at the RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem. The ceremony was held on the campus of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Green’s alma matter, following the 10th anniversary screening of his first feature, “George Washington,” which was shot in Winston-Salem.
In the years since Green graduated from the school, he’s gone on to direct many notable indie features, including “All the Real Girls,” “Undertow” and “Snow Angels,” as well as the recent stoner comedy “Pineapple Express” and the HBO comedy series “Eastbound and Down.” Having established himself in Hollywood, Green was able to look back on the importance of “George Washington” to his career.
“The film was a calling card and a stepping stone,” said Green. “It gave me confidence in an outsider’s perspective and non traditional approach to storytelling and filmmaking. The fact that ‘George Washington’ didn’t fit a mold helped confuse people and I’ve been working hard to maintain that bewildering professional legacy.”
Also in attendance was filmmaker Craig Zobel (“The Great World of Sound”), who went to school with Green and served as a producer on “George Washington,” and many of the former child actors from the film, including Donald Holden, who portrayed the film’s title character. Green had not seen or spoken to many of the younger cast members in years, so he said it was a “bizarre and beautiful experience” to watch the film and reconnect with them.
“Strangely, everyone in the cast fell immediately back into the dynamic they had a decade ago,” he said. “Everyone has gone in their own directions, but met back on the same playing field. I wish we could do that every year.”
After its premiere at the 2000 Berlin International Film Festival, Green’s film went on to play the international film festival circuit, collecting awards (such as the Discovery prize at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival) and becoming a critical favorite. Ultimately, the film was given a limited release by the now-defunct Cowboy Booking International and issued on DVD by Criterion Collection. At this point, though, in order to protect the film’s legacy, Green is planning to reacquire the rights.
“It’s been ten years and the distribution licenses are up,” he said. “It’s always great to have control of your projects and make sure you’re collaborating with sales agents and distributors that are current and hungry to get the word out and give your projects a long life.”
