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ASPEN MAGAZINE
March 2006.
Your Life: The Movie
"Who is going to tell your story?" asks award-winning filmmaker Greg Poschman. "Who will remember your grandfather's story?" Until now, preserving family memories or committing your own story to history for your children and grandchildren was a do-it-yourself proposition- or one reserved for a lucky few on television. There were the inevitable messy scrapbooks, or their more high-tech variation, a fuzzy homemade videotape of family members talking about how they came over on the boat from the Abruzzo.
Enter Modern Biograph Pictures, a new company begun by Poschman, an Aspen native whose documentary filmmaking and camera work have resulted in three Emmy Awards for his work on subjects ranging from African wildlife and education to John Denver and Sting. He's also responsible for those terrific short video portraits that accompany the annual Aspen Hall of Fame awards. "Over the course of my filmmaking career, many of my favorite moments came when people were recalling the memorable events in their lives, and the heirloom anecdotes that make up the fabric of our lives." says Poschman. "So I came to realize that a biographical film portrait of a treasured friend or family member is literally the gift of a lifetime. How else will your grandchildren come to know their history?"
What Modern Biograph Pictures produces, however, is a long way from Grandma talking into a tape recorder. "We film you, of course, but then we pull together documents and memorabilia from your life and turn it into a professional documentary. Our experience enables us to illuminate the unique events in lifeÑhow fortunes are made or lost, how you sailed solo across the Atlantic, or any other life-changing experiences. And the final product will be intelligent, sophisticated, and entertaining."
"For people concerned that commissioning a film about themselves may appear vain, the story doesn't have to be about them, but about what they accomplished, the company they built, their circle of friends. Or the causes they fought for. Maybe it will be about a time in their life that was pivotalÉ."
Poschman, who has made many films for corporations, foundations, and private individuals, is currently involved in a documentary about the design and construction of a futuristic sailing ship, which is being financed by an Aspen resident in the Netherlands, and another project loosely described as a love poem to the American West, which chronicles the changing landscape and property rights issues surfacing during the current gas and oil boom.
Modern Biograph Pictures' fees vary, depending on the length and complexity of the project. "In a way, it's like asking an architect how much a house will cost," Poschman notes, adding that he's made biographies ranging in length from five minutes to over an hour. "It depends on what you want to build." One thing seems certain though: If he films it, they will watch. "Most people have a good story to tell, and they cannot afford to wait for (PBS) American Masters or Ken Burns to knock on their door. They should call me."Modern Biograph Pictures, 920-2354, www.modernbiopics.com
- Tom Passavant -
Reprinted with permission.
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