More mayhem and madness lie ahead as Netflix confirms Tiger King 2 will debut on Nov. 17, during the streamer’s Tudum presentation on Saturday.
Netflix confirmed the date via a video refresher of documentary subjects Joe Exotic, and Carole Baskin, as well as all the best twists and turns from Season 1.
It’s not exactly clear what the focus will be for the new season of Tiger King, but Deadline understands that the filmmakers met with and spoke to Exotic (aka Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage né Schreibvogel) a number of times in prison.
Executive producers and directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin have remained connected with him since he began serving his sentence. The pair has previously discussed how being behind bars has taught Exotic about why keeping wild animals in cages was cruel.
Baskin has confirmed she will not be participating.
The first installment profiled wildcat owners including Exotic, the former owner of the G.
Netflix confirmed the date via a video refresher of documentary subjects Joe Exotic, and Carole Baskin, as well as all the best twists and turns from Season 1.
It’s not exactly clear what the focus will be for the new season of Tiger King, but Deadline understands that the filmmakers met with and spoke to Exotic (aka Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage né Schreibvogel) a number of times in prison.
Executive producers and directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin have remained connected with him since he began serving his sentence. The pair has previously discussed how being behind bars has taught Exotic about why keeping wild animals in cages was cruel.
Baskin has confirmed she will not be participating.
The first installment profiled wildcat owners including Exotic, the former owner of the G.
- 9/25/2021
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
If you thought the world of “Tiger King” and Joe Exotic couldn’t get any kookier, think again. “Tiger King 2” will premiere on Netflix on Nov. 17, the streamer announced Saturday during its aptly-named global fan event Tudum, and it is promising “more madness and mayhem.”
Netflix released a video announcing the date for “Tiger King 2,” which mostly featured footage from the first series. A previous teaser showed an interview with Exotic in jail, and the follow-up promises more looks at the cast of characters, like Carole Baskin, Jeff Lowe and more, since the original show launched and took the world by storm.
The original docuseries, which captivated millions of Netflix users in the early days of Covid-19 lockdowns, picks up sometime after Exotic is imprisoned at Federal Medical Centre Fort Worth, where he is currently serving a 22-year sentence for attempting a murder-for-hire plot aimed at Baskin, plus 17 convictions for violations of animal abuse.
Netflix released a video announcing the date for “Tiger King 2,” which mostly featured footage from the first series. A previous teaser showed an interview with Exotic in jail, and the follow-up promises more looks at the cast of characters, like Carole Baskin, Jeff Lowe and more, since the original show launched and took the world by storm.
The original docuseries, which captivated millions of Netflix users in the early days of Covid-19 lockdowns, picks up sometime after Exotic is imprisoned at Federal Medical Centre Fort Worth, where he is currently serving a 22-year sentence for attempting a murder-for-hire plot aimed at Baskin, plus 17 convictions for violations of animal abuse.
- 9/25/2021
- by Mónica Marie Zorrilla
- Variety Film + TV
Carole Baskin Slams ‘Tiger King 2’ Directors: ‘I Wouldn’t Call Them True Documentarians’ (Exclusive)
Carole Baskin, a major figure in Netflix’s original “Tiger King” docuseries, has lashed out about the upcoming sequel, “Tiger King 2,” and its directors.
On Thursday, Netflix announced the new “Tiger King” series with brief footage of Baskin and Joe Exotic, with the latter phoning in from jail, where he is currently serving a 17-year sentence for attempting a murder-for-hire plot aimed at Baskin.
In a phone call with Variety on Thursday afternoon, Baskin said she knew that “Tiger King” directors Rebecca Chaiklin and Eric Goode were filming more content, but she didn’t expect it to be finished so soon, after the original docuseries premiered in March 2020 and took the world by storm.
“I know some people who have been involved in it and they were doing more filming, so I assumed at some point they would come out with a ‘Tiger King 2.’ It took them five years to put together the first one,...
On Thursday, Netflix announced the new “Tiger King” series with brief footage of Baskin and Joe Exotic, with the latter phoning in from jail, where he is currently serving a 17-year sentence for attempting a murder-for-hire plot aimed at Baskin.
In a phone call with Variety on Thursday afternoon, Baskin said she knew that “Tiger King” directors Rebecca Chaiklin and Eric Goode were filming more content, but she didn’t expect it to be finished so soon, after the original docuseries premiered in March 2020 and took the world by storm.
“I know some people who have been involved in it and they were doing more filming, so I assumed at some point they would come out with a ‘Tiger King 2.’ It took them five years to put together the first one,...
- 9/23/2021
- by Selome Hailu and Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Did you really think the story was over? Netflix isn’t leaving fans of their hit docuseries Tiger King hanging as the streamer unveiled Tiger King 2 will arrive sometime later this year. Around 18 months after the original series debuted on the platform and took streaming by storm, this new chapter is being teased in a video teaser that’s promoting several of Netflix’s upcoming true crime documentaries. After having attracted 64 million households in its first four weeks after the March 2020 premiere, Tiger King is gearing up for more madness and mayhem. (Credit: Netflix) In the brief clips featuring the next chapter, viewers get a peek at some familiar faces including Big Cat Rescue’s Carole Baskin, Jeff Lowe, and his wife Lauren who took ownership of The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, as well as Joe Exotic who is captured on camera from prison. Executive produced by directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin,...
- 9/23/2021
- TV Insider
It’s official: Another installment of “Tiger King,” the docuseries that captivated millions of Netflix users in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, is coming.
Netflix revealed on Thursday morning that the continuation, titled “Tiger King 2,” will premiere on the streamer later this year. The news came as Netflix announced its upcoming true crime slate, which includes four new docuseries and films set through early 2022.
“Tiger King 2” promises “more madness and mayhem,” according to the press release. Directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin are returning for the second installment, as well as executive producers Chris Smith and Fisher Stevens. Good and Chaiklin will also serve as executive producers.
Although it remains unclear exactly when in the timeline of events “Tiger King 2” will pick up, footage within Netflix’s announcement video for its true crime slate shows clips of Carole Baskin, Jeff Lowe and Joe Exotic phoning in from jail,...
Netflix revealed on Thursday morning that the continuation, titled “Tiger King 2,” will premiere on the streamer later this year. The news came as Netflix announced its upcoming true crime slate, which includes four new docuseries and films set through early 2022.
“Tiger King 2” promises “more madness and mayhem,” according to the press release. Directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin are returning for the second installment, as well as executive producers Chris Smith and Fisher Stevens. Good and Chaiklin will also serve as executive producers.
Although it remains unclear exactly when in the timeline of events “Tiger King 2” will pick up, footage within Netflix’s announcement video for its true crime slate shows clips of Carole Baskin, Jeff Lowe and Joe Exotic phoning in from jail,...
- 9/23/2021
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Tiger King is ready to claw its way back into your living room. On Thursday, Sept. 23, Netflix announced five documentaries that will soon launch on the streaming platform. This includes—you guessed it—Tiger King 2, a continuation of the wildly popular project that proved to be purr-fect entertainment for viewers feeling a bit caged inside their homes at the start of the still-ongoing pandemic. Tiger King 2 hails from directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin, who were also behind the first season that launched in March 2020 and was viewed by 64 million households during its first four weeks, according to Netflix. The real-life saga is also the inspiration for Peacock's upcoming...
- 9/23/2021
- E! Online
Will tabloid true-crime lightning strike twice? Netflix is about to find out, as the company announced Thursday that “Tiger King 2” is coming to the service sometime before the end of 2021.
It’s the first of five new true-crime docuseries heading to Netflix over the next year, which the company says will focus on “cons, scams and cautionary tales.”
The streamer was shy on specifics about “Tiger King 2,” though directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin are returning along with producers Chris Smith, Fisher Stevens, Goode and Chaiklin. The series will likely continue the wild tale of Joe Exotic — and his ultimately fruitless attempts to win a pardon from former President Donald Trump — and Carole Baskin, the rival private zookeeper whom Exotic was convicted or trying to have murdered.
The original “Tiger King” became an instant cultural sensation thanks in part to enormous good luck of timing: It dropped on March 20, 2020, just...
It’s the first of five new true-crime docuseries heading to Netflix over the next year, which the company says will focus on “cons, scams and cautionary tales.”
The streamer was shy on specifics about “Tiger King 2,” though directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin are returning along with producers Chris Smith, Fisher Stevens, Goode and Chaiklin. The series will likely continue the wild tale of Joe Exotic — and his ultimately fruitless attempts to win a pardon from former President Donald Trump — and Carole Baskin, the rival private zookeeper whom Exotic was convicted or trying to have murdered.
The original “Tiger King” became an instant cultural sensation thanks in part to enormous good luck of timing: It dropped on March 20, 2020, just...
- 9/23/2021
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, the owner of a “roadside zoo” in South Carolina who was featured in the Netflix docuseries Tiger King, has been indicted on wildlife trafficking, animal cruelty and other charges.
The indictment comes after a months-long investigation conducted by the Animal Law Unit of Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s office. Antle was charged with one felony count of wildlife trafficking, one felony count of conspiracy to wildlife traffic, four misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act and nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.
Two...
The indictment comes after a months-long investigation conducted by the Animal Law Unit of Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s office. Antle was charged with one felony count of wildlife trafficking, one felony count of conspiracy to wildlife traffic, four misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act and nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.
Two...
- 10/9/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
At the beginning of the new Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, a strip club proprietor tells the camera, “The big cat people are backstabbing pieces of shit.” The statement sounds both like nonsense and hyperbole. By the end of the seven-part series, it turns out to have been a vast understatement.
Tiger King, which began streaming on March 20th, unfolds like a wild-eyed hybrid of the popular S-Town podcast and HBO’s The Jinx, and follows a protracted feud between two eccentric big-cat owners that nearly ended in murder.
Tiger King, which began streaming on March 20th, unfolds like a wild-eyed hybrid of the popular S-Town podcast and HBO’s The Jinx, and follows a protracted feud between two eccentric big-cat owners that nearly ended in murder.
- 3/27/2020
- by Phoebe Reilly
- Rollingstone.com
PETA is urging Kate McKinnon and Universal Content Productions and Wilsher Studios president Dawn Olmstead to use only CGI cats in their upcoming scripted series about Joe Exotic (real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage), the now-imprisoned big-cat breeder who is the topic of the recently released Netflix docuseries “Tiger King,” TheWrap has learned exclusively.
“We haven’t been able to confirm their production plans, which is why we’re keeping the pressure on,” the animal rights organization told TheWrap on Friday. “Our hope is no real big cats or other animals will be used.”
Last November, McKinnon signed on to star in and executive produce the TV adaptation of Wondery’s “Joe Exotic” podcast, a project that’s still in the development stage at Ucp, portraying a big-cat enthusiast named Carole Baskin, who learns that Maldonado-Passage is breeding and using his big cats for profit.
Also Read: Kate McKinnon to Play a...
“We haven’t been able to confirm their production plans, which is why we’re keeping the pressure on,” the animal rights organization told TheWrap on Friday. “Our hope is no real big cats or other animals will be used.”
Last November, McKinnon signed on to star in and executive produce the TV adaptation of Wondery’s “Joe Exotic” podcast, a project that’s still in the development stage at Ucp, portraying a big-cat enthusiast named Carole Baskin, who learns that Maldonado-Passage is breeding and using his big cats for profit.
Also Read: Kate McKinnon to Play a...
- 3/27/2020
- by Tony Maglio and Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
There may be more Tiger King for us all to look forward to. Since its release over the weekend, Netflix's docuseries about the fight between several exotic cat owners has been shocking people all over the place. Who knew the world of illegal lions and tigers was so filled with polygamy, missing husbands, and attempted murder for hire? And also music videos? The seven episode series is packed to the brim with so much more than than we ever imagined, so naturally, when it ended, we all immediately started clamoring for more of this madness to keep us entertained inside our houses. In a new interview with EW, directors and producers Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin made it sound like more could be...
- 3/25/2020
- E! Online
[Note: The following interview contains information about the ending of the Netflix series “Tiger King.”]
There’s a surprising truth that bookends the new Netflix documentary series “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” that helps explains why the project exists in the first place: There are currently more tigers in captivity than there are in the wild.
More from IndieWireStream of the Day: Sofia Coppola's 'Bling Ring' Knows What It's Like to Feel DisconnectedNetflix Paying Talent Guarantees During Production Shutdowns -- Report
As series co-director Rebecca Chaiklin explains, before any of the elements of the show’s subtitle came into play, that reality helped drive the start of her and co-director Eric Goode’s mission.
“We started going around to places in Florida, where every few houses somebody has some crazy exotic animal in certain areas in their backyard. It was really stunning to me how pervasive this was. We thought it would be much more issue-oriented and...
There’s a surprising truth that bookends the new Netflix documentary series “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” that helps explains why the project exists in the first place: There are currently more tigers in captivity than there are in the wild.
More from IndieWireStream of the Day: Sofia Coppola's 'Bling Ring' Knows What It's Like to Feel DisconnectedNetflix Paying Talent Guarantees During Production Shutdowns -- Report
As series co-director Rebecca Chaiklin explains, before any of the elements of the show’s subtitle came into play, that reality helped drive the start of her and co-director Eric Goode’s mission.
“We started going around to places in Florida, where every few houses somebody has some crazy exotic animal in certain areas in their backyard. It was really stunning to me how pervasive this was. We thought it would be much more issue-oriented and...
- 3/24/2020
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Carole Baskin, the big-cat activist who is the target of the murder-for-hire plot in Netflix’s “Tiger King,” has ripped the hit docuseries as being “salacious and sensational.”
Baskin said the project she was pitched to participate in was not what ended up on screen. Baskin called out the directors, Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin, for what she believes to be a bait-and-switch.
“There are no words for how disappointing it is,” Baskin, who said she was asked to be part of “the big cat version of ‘Blackfish,'” stated.
Also Read: 'Trials of Gabriel Fernandez': 9 Most Shocking Details About the Murder at Heart of Netflix Documentary
“Tiger King” follows (and the title refers to) Joe Exotic, the owner of a big-cat zoo in Oklahoma. Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was found to be guilty of hiring a hitman to kill Baskin, a rival of his in the animal world.
Baskin said the project she was pitched to participate in was not what ended up on screen. Baskin called out the directors, Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin, for what she believes to be a bait-and-switch.
“There are no words for how disappointing it is,” Baskin, who said she was asked to be part of “the big cat version of ‘Blackfish,'” stated.
Also Read: 'Trials of Gabriel Fernandez': 9 Most Shocking Details About the Murder at Heart of Netflix Documentary
“Tiger King” follows (and the title refers to) Joe Exotic, the owner of a big-cat zoo in Oklahoma. Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was found to be guilty of hiring a hitman to kill Baskin, a rival of his in the animal world.
- 3/24/2020
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
There are more tigers in captivity in America than there are in the wild in the whole world, we’re told in this incredible seven part Netflix original documentary. But don’t expect a solemn series about conservation. What starts out as the story of an escalating feud between an Oklahoma man and a Florida woman who both love big cats, becomes a more sordid and surprising expose of an industry that allows scummy men to use endangered species as commodities to wrangle sex, money, and power. Tiger King is absolutely one of the best documentaries that has landed on Netflix in a while, with each episode bringing incredible twists. The fact that the protagonist of the series insisted on filming so much of his life anyway is a massive bonus for filmmakers Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin. A character piece focusing on several larger than life players, a story...
- 3/23/2020
- by Rosie Fletcher
- Den of Geek
Joe Exotic is the kind of personality that makes for an irresistible 60-second overview. The new Netflix series “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” ticks off all those boxes when it introduces him as a central figure. Before delving into the particulars that earn the show that subtitle, the audience gets to see Joe’s distinct bleached mullet, meet his husband, and witness him on the grounds of the private Oklahoma tiger zoo of his dreams. Petting massive wild animals with the loving scratches usually reserved for the necks of tabbies or labradoodles, Joe distinguishes himself from the outset.
Of course, Joe Exotic (nee Schreibvogel) is also a man who necessitates more than just a quick video snippet or morning news segment to really unpack. Fortunately, “Tiger King” fashions enough storytelling real estate to accommodate not just Joe, but “Doc” Antle, a fellow bulk tiger owner/operator of his own park,...
Of course, Joe Exotic (nee Schreibvogel) is also a man who necessitates more than just a quick video snippet or morning news segment to really unpack. Fortunately, “Tiger King” fashions enough storytelling real estate to accommodate not just Joe, but “Doc” Antle, a fellow bulk tiger owner/operator of his own park,...
- 3/20/2020
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
For years, a man named Joseph Maldonado-Passage ran a roadside zoo in Oklahoma that specialized in exhibiting big cats, particularly tigers. He sold himself as Joe Exotic, the “Tiger King,” and that was just the first of many eccentricities that comprised the mullet-boasting, gun-wielding zookeeper. He was also a polygamist, a country-western singer, a one-time candidate for governor and president, and was accused of instigating a murder-for-hire plot to take out an animal rights activist who had it in for him.
Joe Exotic will be at the center of a new Netflix docuseries,...
Joe Exotic will be at the center of a new Netflix docuseries,...
- 3/19/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Netflix has launched the first trailer for its twisted big cat documentary ‘Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.
Among the eccentrics and cult personalities in the stranger-than-fiction world of big cat owners, few stand out more than Joe Exotic, a mulleted, gun-toting polygamist and a country-western singer who presides over an Oklahoma roadside zoo. Charismatic but misguided, Joe and an unbelievable cast of characters including drug kingpins, conmen, and cult leaders all share a passion for big cats, and the status and attention their dangerous menageries garner. But things take a dark turn when Carole Baskin, an animal activist and owner of a big cat sanctuary, threatens to put them out of business, stoking a rivalry that eventually leads to Joe’s arrest for a murder-for-hire plot and reveals a twisted tale where the only thing more dangerous than a big cat is its owner.
Directed by Eric Goode and...
Among the eccentrics and cult personalities in the stranger-than-fiction world of big cat owners, few stand out more than Joe Exotic, a mulleted, gun-toting polygamist and a country-western singer who presides over an Oklahoma roadside zoo. Charismatic but misguided, Joe and an unbelievable cast of characters including drug kingpins, conmen, and cult leaders all share a passion for big cats, and the status and attention their dangerous menageries garner. But things take a dark turn when Carole Baskin, an animal activist and owner of a big cat sanctuary, threatens to put them out of business, stoking a rivalry that eventually leads to Joe’s arrest for a murder-for-hire plot and reveals a twisted tale where the only thing more dangerous than a big cat is its owner.
Directed by Eric Goode and...
- 3/11/2020
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix released a trailer for its upcoming docuseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” and Awesomeness Studio made plans to produce a new young adult drama series.
First Looks
Netflix has released a trailer for “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” an upcoming seven-episode docuseries about the world of big cat owners. The series follows Joe Exotic, a mulleted, gun-toting polygamist and country western singer who presides over an Oklahoma roadside zoo, and Carole Baskin, an animal activist and owner of a big cat sanctuary that’s threatening to put Exotic and his friends out of business. “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” premieres on March 20. Chris Smith, Fisher Stevens, Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin serve as executive producers. See the trailer below.
Development
Awesomeness Studios will produce a young adult drama series entitled “Chosen.” The show will follow a teenage girl mistakenly proclaimed...
First Looks
Netflix has released a trailer for “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” an upcoming seven-episode docuseries about the world of big cat owners. The series follows Joe Exotic, a mulleted, gun-toting polygamist and country western singer who presides over an Oklahoma roadside zoo, and Carole Baskin, an animal activist and owner of a big cat sanctuary that’s threatening to put Exotic and his friends out of business. “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” premieres on March 20. Chris Smith, Fisher Stevens, Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin serve as executive producers. See the trailer below.
Development
Awesomeness Studios will produce a young adult drama series entitled “Chosen.” The show will follow a teenage girl mistakenly proclaimed...
- 3/10/2020
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
It’s that special time of year again when studios and networks put forth their Emmy-hopeful series and talent.
With more than 500 scripted shows alone vying for Television Academy Fyc event slots, some opt to build out their own spaces and present activations and stunts to capture additional voters’ attention. (Remember “‘Maisel’ Day”?) But for many, the traditional screening and panel setup is just as important. There, hundreds of voters can sample a show and engage with those who create it, all in a comfortable theater setting with food and drink to follow.
To keep track of all of the official Fyc events happening on both coasts, Variety has created this comprehensive schedule. Check back here periodically, as more events are still to be announced.
Los Angeles
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal – March 3 – Wolf Theatre at Saban Media Center
Cartoon Network Studios and Adult Swim invites Television Academy National Active members...
With more than 500 scripted shows alone vying for Television Academy Fyc event slots, some opt to build out their own spaces and present activations and stunts to capture additional voters’ attention. (Remember “‘Maisel’ Day”?) But for many, the traditional screening and panel setup is just as important. There, hundreds of voters can sample a show and engage with those who create it, all in a comfortable theater setting with food and drink to follow.
To keep track of all of the official Fyc events happening on both coasts, Variety has created this comprehensive schedule. Check back here periodically, as more events are still to be announced.
Los Angeles
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal – March 3 – Wolf Theatre at Saban Media Center
Cartoon Network Studios and Adult Swim invites Television Academy National Active members...
- 3/2/2020
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Greetings from Paradise. My blessed good fortune -- actually Steven Raphael, founder of Required Viewing.net (producer rep, publicist, theatrical distributor) -- invited me to join a small group going Costa Careyes, Mexico where the fourth edition of Infiniti ArteCareyes Film & Arts is taking place March 5th through 9th.
Situated on the Pacific coast of Mexico, a lush tropical forest in the state of Jalisco (a four hour drive from Guadalajara where the Guadalajara Film Festival will soon be held), about an hour and a half north of Manzanilla and south of Puerta Vallarta, Costa Careyes’ beauty defies description. But I am going to try to describe all that happens in the four days we spent here: nightly open air feature film screenings, contemporary art exhibitions, a charity auction, a live music program, matinee screenings and workshops held in venues sharing the land with huge permanent art installations in a tropical mountain terrain by artists including Retna and Jeffrey Sharf, two muralists whose West Hollywood Library murals illustrate an extraordinary coincidental synchronicity which continued throughout this long weekend.
In our little group, John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, here for the second time, is on the board of Arte Careyes. His husband Paul Louis Maillard, an executive of Kaiser Permanente, spent hours studying for his Harvard Leadership Course where he will spend the next two weeks. The documentary filmmaking and married team Jarrett Engle and Cort Tramontin and David Zellner, half of the Zellner Brothers filmmaking team whom John invited to present Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, the sleeper of Sundance which went on to show in the Forum of the Berlinale, were also part of our little group which shared a stunning four bedroom house, built in an extravagant Mexican style incorporating inside and outside living. David and I were consigned to our own little guest houses just down a flight of stairs. All our windows looked out onto the ocean which at night was domed by stars in an equatorial splendor, bright and disconcerting, different because we are so much closer to the equator. I was reminded of that marvelous Ray Bradbury short story, Nightfall.
Our late evening talks and early morning breakfasts together with Steven and John telling great stories were such fun and also deepened my appreciation and knowledge of the special part of “the biz” we are in.
John Cooper has been a member of the Sundance Film Festival programming staff since 1989 and assumed the role of Festival Director in April of 2009 after serving as the Sundance Film Festival's Director of Programming since 2003. Parenthetically, he is the only gay head of a major film festival, an achievement no woman can claim…yet.
His early work in theater, ranging from performance to design, took him to New York City. By chance, he volunteered at the Institute's Summer Labs in 1989 and fell in love with the process and energy of Sundance (and with his future husband). He returned to California to become part of the Festival programming team, which at that time consisted of two people. In the Festival's early years, Cooper created the short film program and quickly transitioned into programming documentaries and feature films.
In recent years, he took the lead in developing the Institute's online presence, which has garnered two Webby Awards. As Festival Director, he oversees creative direction of the Festival and has final decision on all films and events.
Other work includes guest curator or juror at major film festivals around the world. From 1995-1998 Cooper served as Programming Director of Outfest, a Los Angeles festival held annually in July, and until 2002 served on the Outfest Board of Directors.
John Cooper was a dancer before he became director of Sundance and though he did not dance for us, his performance skills are top. Watching him navigate as our “house father” was worth the trip.
The purpose of this art, music and film event as described by its founder Filippo Brignone and the film curator, Marina Stavenhagen, is to link creative people across disciplines – pictorial and plastic arts, music, design, literature and filmmakers in dialogues that will result in greater creativity for the good of the community and beyond.
Our host Filippo Brignone, who has been working and reworking this event for four years is intent as well about preserving the nature of the area along with incorporating the most progressive education in science and math as well as the liberal arts in a system which includes the interactions between the 100 + families who are creating a community and the children of the families in the town who have been here since time immemorial.
Our conversations around all these subjects flowed freely among the guests over the past four days.
The patriarch of the family, Gian Franco Brignone, the 86+year-old Italian onetime banker with an artistic sensibility and a love of nature, bought eight miles of coastline with more than 5,000 hectares of coastal forestland in 1968 and began inviting friends like Bill and Melinda Gates and Paris Hilton to visit.
Bignone père and his two sons, Filippo and Georgio, have continued to build Careyes into a glamorous residential community and resort with accommodations ranging from cozy beach bungalows to “castles,” like the six-bedroom, sunshine-yellow aerie Casa Oriente where we stayed. Filippo also took us to his home, equally beautiful and mystic in its nature.
There’s also a small hotel, a contemporary art gallery, – curated by Los Angeles’s Hammer Museum Los Angeles Hammer Museum curators Ann Philbin and Laurie Firstenburg, who is also creating a tropical Marfa, were instrumental in organizing both Pacific Standard Time, a citywide showcase of Los Angeles art of the 1950s and 60s and Laxart are curating the art side of this community. More on the art of Careyes can be read here.
This community also contains a world class polo club overseen by Giorgio, five restaurants, and 8 glorious miles of coastline which Felippo plans to allow families and individuals to build on if they fit certain qualifications.
Filippo, his brother Giorgio and PR and Communications executive Viviana Dean operate this entire enterprise under the auspices of The ?! Careyes Foundation. Btw, the Foundation is looking for a general manager who will know how to share the vision of what they are building here. Filippo himself is a bon vivant with an enormous curiosity and the executive ability to develop his vision. From speaking with him, my perception of whom they would grant residency to would be those the ability to enjoy the life that is here in all its aspects. Not only partying (which is extraordinary) and conversational abilities, but intelligence, an excellence in achievement, originality, a compassion which includes curiosity and the wish to include, discuss and implement all aspects of what makes life better for all.
The ?! Careyes Foundation's mission is to catalyze innovative programs related to education, health, sport, ecology and art in order to improve the well-being of local communities along the coast. Over 30 years of individual philanthropic efforts in Careyes, Mexico, and the surrounding villages along the Mexican Pacific Coast are consolidated in The ?! Careyes Foundation. From Perula to Agua Caliente, the region of initial concentration includes a population of approximately 6,000 people. In 2013, The ?! Careyes Foundation registered as a non-profit public charity with 501(c)3 tax designation in the United States in order to make its efforts in the region more accessible and impactful. The Foundation is in the process of obtaining a similar status in Mexico and in other countries over time.
The Foundation is overseen by a an Executive Board over which our host Filippo presides and a Board of Trustees and Advisors with expertise in each of the Foundation’s concentrated areas — community, sea, land, and arts. The Executive Committees determine the scope of projects, initiating proposed ideas that prove to be transformational, scalable, and sustainable. Members of the international Honorary Board serve as global ambassadors for the Foundation and its work, supporting programmatic and philanthropic efforts.
On the Executive Board:
Executive Board Secretary, Emanuela Brignone Cattaneo, is an architect who has spent most of her life travelling to Careyes, and lending her design vision to create a large new urban space, the Plaza Caballeros del Sol, including a Sanctuary and the Contemporary Art Space of Careyes. She is also dedicating herself in the restoration of many historical Italian buildings from the Xii century transforming them into Museums such as the Modern Art Gallery of Genova or Palazzo Lomellino listed as a Unesco world heritage. Emanuela holds a Ma from Colombia University in NY and serves as a Trustee of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, the Wolfsonian Foundation in Miami and Genoa. Emanuela is an Advisor of Airc , the Italian Association for Cancer Research.
Board Treasurer, Isabel SantoTomás, is Vice President of Investments for Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management focusing on portfolio management for ultra high net worth individuals, family offices, and endowments. She joined Morgan Stanley in 2008 and has 26 years of industry experience. Isabel received her Bachelors degree at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has spent the last 25 years in New York City and is relocating to Miami, Florida with her two children. She has been a part of the Careyes community for over 20 years.
Jonathan Congdon, co-founder of Beachbody LLC, has been instrumental in shaping the mission of the company, expanding its vision and growth, and overseeing media distribution channels and International business to increase the Beachbody market worldwide. After starting his career at Procter & Gamble, Jon traveled the world “on walkabout” before teaching science for more than three years in California. In 1995, he launched an educational consulting firm, but soon felt the call back to the world of marketing entrepreneurship. Jon was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year on two boards, including his second term on the Electronic Retailing Association (Era) Board of Directors. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, and holds a degree in political science with dual emphases in American Constitutional Law and International Relations. Jon has been part of the Careyes community for over 10 years.
The fifth member of the Executive Board, Guillermo Barnetche Davison, is also Chairman of Grupo Profesional Planeacion y Proyectos, S.A. de C.V. (Pypsa) where he is in charge of the leadership and operating direction of multiple projects in the industrial, agricultural, sea, infrastructure, and building sectors. Guillermo received his Civil Engineering certification at the National Autonomous University of Mexico before getting a Masters in Hydraulic Resource Planning at Georgia Technology Institute and studying Economy and Systems Engineering at Stanford University. He has more than 40 years of professional experience in civil engineering and is a long-standing member of the Careyes community.
On the Honorary Board (a list in progress):
Ann Philbin, Director of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Daniela Michel, Director of the Morelia Film Festival, Gian Franco Brignone the Founder & Visionary of Costa Careyes, Johan Van Lengen, The “Barefoot Architect”, Founder of Tiba School Brazil and our own John Cooper, the Director of the Sundance Film Festival.
The Advisory Board is made up of:
Jennifer Arcenaux, Director, External Relations Sundance Film Festival, Arceneaux previously served as Director of Development for The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (Moca). During her seven-year tenure at Moca, Arceneaux cultivated philanthropic relationships and fostered the careers of artists and curators in the Los Angeles art community. Arceneaux also launched the successful Moca Now communications and development campaign to increase grassroots engagement in fundraising and create transparent communication with Moca members and patrons. The campaign evolved into the Moca New initiative raising more than $70 million in operating and endowment support. Prior to joining Moca, Arceneaux served as Director of Development at the Accelerated School in Los Angeles where she executed a $60 million capital campaign for a new campus and community center. Her professional experience spans over ten years working with non-profits and community-based arts organizations including Rand Corporation, Inner-City Arts, CityLife, A.R.T.S. Inc., The Housing Rights Center and more recently in a board and advisory capacity with the Watts House Project, and Laxart.
Sarah Ezzy is a Director of the Global Philanthropy Group. As a Director at Global Philanthropy Group, Sarah has advised a range of high-profile individuals and corporate clients on their philanthropic strategies. She has worked on a variety of issues including global education for girls, poverty alleviation, domestic homelessness, youth and fitness, and sustainable agriculture. She was previously with Booz Allen Hamilton’s Strategy and Organization Practice where she worked with international organizations, developing country governments, and domestic policymakers and NGOs on a range of development issues. Sarah holds a BA in French Studies and Geography from Dartmouth College and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She speaks fluent French and is co-founder of Sadiq, a non-profit organization created to support Iraqi refugees in the Middle East.
Douglas K. Freeman, J.D., LL.M. the Senior Managing Director of First Foundation Advisors, Director of First Foundation Inc. and Director of the First Foundation Bank. First Foundation provides strategic planning and organizational management advice for business, nonprofit, foundation, and family clients. He brings to First Foundation clients his experience gained as a consultant to nearly 300 family foundations, support organizations and public charities throughout the United States. Mr. Freeman is a noted retired tax attorney and founder of the Los Angeles based law firm, Freeman, Freeman & Smiley, Llp. From 2005 through 2008, he was recognized by Worth magazine as among the 100 top attorneys in the United States. In 1999, he was featured by Bloomberg Financial as one of the nation’s leading estate planning attorneys. He is the founder of National Philanthropy Day, proclaimed by Congress and celebrated throughout the United States since 1986. Mr. Freeman serves as a director of family foundations, independent foundations, and public charities. He is the past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of California, Irvine Foundation and chairman of its $1 billion campaign. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Orange County’s Pacific Symphony and a member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Southern California Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy.
Mr. Freeman is the author of three books and over 30 articles and treatises on philanthropy and wealth planning. His new book, published in 2009, co-authored with Dr. Lee Hausner, Ph.D., is entitled “The Legacy Family… The Definitive Guide to Creating a Successful Multigenerational Family“. He is the co-author with Dr. Hausner of a leading treatise for family foundations, entitled “A Founder’s Guide to the Family Foundation“. He speaks throughout the country on behalf of professional associations, such as the Council on Foundations, the Association of Small Foundations, and the American Bar Association. He is a graduate of Stanford University (B.A. with Distinction, 1967), University of California at Los Angeles (J.D., 1970), and the University of San Diego (LL.M. in Taxation, 1984). Until retirement, Mr. Freeman was designated a Certified Specialist in Taxation under the State Bar of California.
Members of the Board of Trustees includes members like (list in progress):
Adam Lindemann – Art Collector & Advisor ; Alejandro Ramirez Magaña – CEO of Cinepolis ; Eric Goode – Founder & President of Turtle Conservancy; Esthella Provas – Art Advisor, Careyes ArtCommittee for special projects ; Eugenio Lopez – Collector, Jumex Collection; Patricia Marshall- Art Advisor, Careyes Art Committee; Piero Golia – Artist ; Serena Cattaneo Adorno – Director, Gagosian Gallery Paris, CareyesArtCommittee.
Continuing a trend of coincidences occurring for me on this incredible journey, out of the blue, at the first cocktail party held at this event, there appeared Christian Halsey Solomon, the son of a twenty-plus-year resident of Careyes, Michael Jay Solomon, whom I have known since the days when we were in our 20s when he set up McA Television in Latin America and personally bought prize winning shorts from the company where I was the acquisitions person. Years later, when I was buying feature films for Lorimar, his company Telepictures bought Lorimar. Christian and I also go way back to the days when he was 23, and I was working for the first time in independent international sales. We worked together in Milan, Italy at the Mifed film market with someone who has long since left the film scene. As if that were not enough of coincidences, my own brother Barry was the photographer for his first wedding.
Michael and Luciana had bought land here twenty years ago where they built their dream house. It is now home to Christian, his wife and two beautiful children who attend the incredible school here. Cuixmala School is a private non-profit school teaching core academic subjects in a bilingual environment while it emphasizes experiential learning about nature and the world; the students ride horses, raise their own food and have guests from every field from buddhists to biologists from the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve nearby. Christian showed me his home which was two doors down from our own Casa Oriente (next door to Seal) and he and his wife invited me back to visit and stay a while to write.
After each screening we were served delicious locally grown lunches and dinners. One wonderful night at the "ranchito", there was an art show of the old bones of animals who have died in this area where they are left out for the buzzards to pick clean. These bones, as if they were a precious as the fur and leather of beasts were decorated like Versace luxury items and showcased as art in the former stables of this former ranch. The best was the unicorn, a cow skeleton, whose short ribs look like they must have been really delicious before they were cleaned of all meat. This unicorn however, was missing its single horn. What a funny art show. The first two stalls looked like rooms where people were living, only the inhabitants were selling the furniture as art. Little stools made in traditional simple peasant style, were recreated in heavy marble. You can sit on them, or use them as little side tables. And shipping them home is not a problem.
Elegant community meals put us at the table one night where I sat next to Guillermo Arriaga, his wife, son and daughter. He was being honored with a tribute and he showed his short film The Blood of God (La Sangre de Dios) from the anthology which he produced as well, Words with Gods. Another coincidence is that he had just finished his short film Texas from Rio, I Love You, the franchise of our good friend Emmanuel Benbihy with whom we worked on Paris, Je t’aime and New York, I Love You. The Arriagas’ son and daughter are students at Mexico's private Ibero-American University’s School of Communications where Arriagas himself was a student and then a professor for twenty years and where is wife was a student of his. Coincidently that is also where he met his future partner Alejandro González Iñárritu with whom he worked on Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel, and where Marina Stavenhagen and her sisters and brothers are alumni as well as the 2013 Academy Award Winner for Cinematography, Emmanuel Lubezki.
Sr. Arriaga and I spoke quite a while - first about hunting which was not a topic I could speak much about beyond expressing surprise on hearing he was a hunter. But when we spoke about my Spanish and then about words and their derivations and meanings in Spanish and English, I became more actively interested. What I only realized afterward was that the conversation about words could have developed into the issue over words that ruptured his relationship with Iñárritu. The word for screenwriter in Spanish is objectionable to him because the word "guionista" means a tour guide or a writer of travel books and so a screenwriter accredited as “guionista” is merely a tour guide, putting up signposts for the director aka "The Auteur" in French parlance. I agree that the director alone is not the “auteur” of the film. Not only is a superbly written screenplay (which Arriagas writes often in close collaboration with his brother-in-law) an absolute necessity if a film is to have any chance to excel, but the producer who turns on the lights and turns them off and produces the money both before shooting and after shooting via distribution deals is required for a film’s success. Personally we think the producer and writer are the "Auteurs". The Auteur Theory proposed by Francois Truffaut in Cahiers de Cinema and promulgated in the U.S. by Peter Bogdanovich is merely a theory and not etched in marble. Pity about their falling out after their collaboraton on three greatest films in new Mexican cinema. But we did not get into all that.
The curator of the ArteCareyes film program, Marina Stavenhagen, also graduated from the Ibero-American University. Marina and I spoke the next day more about this event, which by its location and by design must stay small (around 300 - 400 people). Her thoughts concern creating an artist residency program, perhaps a think tank on a different topic every year such as music for film or producing along with two or three master classes, mentorships and inviting young filmmakers with shorts who can benefit from the intimate setting.
Marina Stavenhagen is a screenwriter and film developer with over 20 years of professional work in Mexico. Her work as a writer includes several short film and feature film scripts and has obtained several awards and recognitions. Marina has been a teacher, counselor and script consultant with many public and private Mexican institutions, and a jury in various national and international film festivals.
As a promoter of film, she has actively participated in the organization of exhibitions and film festivals in Mexico. She has been president of the Association of Women in Film and Television (Wift-Mexico), and was Director General of the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (Imcine). She is Member of the Board of Advisors of the Phoenix Film Ibero American Award and the Academic Council of the Bergman Cathedra, of the Unam University. For her work in promoting quality films and cultural exchange, Marina was honored by the Government of the French Republic with the Order of Arts and Letters in France.
After leaving her six year term as the head of Imcine, Marina was invited to create an interesting film program by Filippo Brignone while she returns to screenwriting.
Coincidently (again!), Marina’s sister is Andrea Stavenhagen, who was the head of the Iberoamerican Coproduction Meeting and Director of Industry at Ficg (Guadalajara Film Festival) until August 2013. She also co-directed the Morelia Lab Workshop for Young Producers in Latin America at the Morelia Film Festival and is now the San Sebastian Film Festival's new delegate for Latin America. All three of her siblings are in film, as is her husband.
Marina has invited other creative thinkers here, surprisingly my good friend Gary Meyer, Artistic Director of Telluride, Ivan Trujillo, Director of Ficg and Daniela Michel, General Director of Morelia Film Festival, with her husband, an educator, who is also renovating a jewel of an art deco theater just outside of Morelia.
Filippo took us on a tour of the land his father bought in 1968. We saw La Copa (The Cup) a folie his father built where the sun at the solar equinox beams a ray into the pyramid inside the mountain several miles away.
Situated on the Pacific coast of Mexico, a lush tropical forest in the state of Jalisco (a four hour drive from Guadalajara where the Guadalajara Film Festival will soon be held), about an hour and a half north of Manzanilla and south of Puerta Vallarta, Costa Careyes’ beauty defies description. But I am going to try to describe all that happens in the four days we spent here: nightly open air feature film screenings, contemporary art exhibitions, a charity auction, a live music program, matinee screenings and workshops held in venues sharing the land with huge permanent art installations in a tropical mountain terrain by artists including Retna and Jeffrey Sharf, two muralists whose West Hollywood Library murals illustrate an extraordinary coincidental synchronicity which continued throughout this long weekend.
In our little group, John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, here for the second time, is on the board of Arte Careyes. His husband Paul Louis Maillard, an executive of Kaiser Permanente, spent hours studying for his Harvard Leadership Course where he will spend the next two weeks. The documentary filmmaking and married team Jarrett Engle and Cort Tramontin and David Zellner, half of the Zellner Brothers filmmaking team whom John invited to present Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, the sleeper of Sundance which went on to show in the Forum of the Berlinale, were also part of our little group which shared a stunning four bedroom house, built in an extravagant Mexican style incorporating inside and outside living. David and I were consigned to our own little guest houses just down a flight of stairs. All our windows looked out onto the ocean which at night was domed by stars in an equatorial splendor, bright and disconcerting, different because we are so much closer to the equator. I was reminded of that marvelous Ray Bradbury short story, Nightfall.
Our late evening talks and early morning breakfasts together with Steven and John telling great stories were such fun and also deepened my appreciation and knowledge of the special part of “the biz” we are in.
John Cooper has been a member of the Sundance Film Festival programming staff since 1989 and assumed the role of Festival Director in April of 2009 after serving as the Sundance Film Festival's Director of Programming since 2003. Parenthetically, he is the only gay head of a major film festival, an achievement no woman can claim…yet.
His early work in theater, ranging from performance to design, took him to New York City. By chance, he volunteered at the Institute's Summer Labs in 1989 and fell in love with the process and energy of Sundance (and with his future husband). He returned to California to become part of the Festival programming team, which at that time consisted of two people. In the Festival's early years, Cooper created the short film program and quickly transitioned into programming documentaries and feature films.
In recent years, he took the lead in developing the Institute's online presence, which has garnered two Webby Awards. As Festival Director, he oversees creative direction of the Festival and has final decision on all films and events.
Other work includes guest curator or juror at major film festivals around the world. From 1995-1998 Cooper served as Programming Director of Outfest, a Los Angeles festival held annually in July, and until 2002 served on the Outfest Board of Directors.
John Cooper was a dancer before he became director of Sundance and though he did not dance for us, his performance skills are top. Watching him navigate as our “house father” was worth the trip.
The purpose of this art, music and film event as described by its founder Filippo Brignone and the film curator, Marina Stavenhagen, is to link creative people across disciplines – pictorial and plastic arts, music, design, literature and filmmakers in dialogues that will result in greater creativity for the good of the community and beyond.
Our host Filippo Brignone, who has been working and reworking this event for four years is intent as well about preserving the nature of the area along with incorporating the most progressive education in science and math as well as the liberal arts in a system which includes the interactions between the 100 + families who are creating a community and the children of the families in the town who have been here since time immemorial.
Our conversations around all these subjects flowed freely among the guests over the past four days.
The patriarch of the family, Gian Franco Brignone, the 86+year-old Italian onetime banker with an artistic sensibility and a love of nature, bought eight miles of coastline with more than 5,000 hectares of coastal forestland in 1968 and began inviting friends like Bill and Melinda Gates and Paris Hilton to visit.
Bignone père and his two sons, Filippo and Georgio, have continued to build Careyes into a glamorous residential community and resort with accommodations ranging from cozy beach bungalows to “castles,” like the six-bedroom, sunshine-yellow aerie Casa Oriente where we stayed. Filippo also took us to his home, equally beautiful and mystic in its nature.
There’s also a small hotel, a contemporary art gallery, – curated by Los Angeles’s Hammer Museum Los Angeles Hammer Museum curators Ann Philbin and Laurie Firstenburg, who is also creating a tropical Marfa, were instrumental in organizing both Pacific Standard Time, a citywide showcase of Los Angeles art of the 1950s and 60s and Laxart are curating the art side of this community. More on the art of Careyes can be read here.
This community also contains a world class polo club overseen by Giorgio, five restaurants, and 8 glorious miles of coastline which Felippo plans to allow families and individuals to build on if they fit certain qualifications.
Filippo, his brother Giorgio and PR and Communications executive Viviana Dean operate this entire enterprise under the auspices of The ?! Careyes Foundation. Btw, the Foundation is looking for a general manager who will know how to share the vision of what they are building here. Filippo himself is a bon vivant with an enormous curiosity and the executive ability to develop his vision. From speaking with him, my perception of whom they would grant residency to would be those the ability to enjoy the life that is here in all its aspects. Not only partying (which is extraordinary) and conversational abilities, but intelligence, an excellence in achievement, originality, a compassion which includes curiosity and the wish to include, discuss and implement all aspects of what makes life better for all.
The ?! Careyes Foundation's mission is to catalyze innovative programs related to education, health, sport, ecology and art in order to improve the well-being of local communities along the coast. Over 30 years of individual philanthropic efforts in Careyes, Mexico, and the surrounding villages along the Mexican Pacific Coast are consolidated in The ?! Careyes Foundation. From Perula to Agua Caliente, the region of initial concentration includes a population of approximately 6,000 people. In 2013, The ?! Careyes Foundation registered as a non-profit public charity with 501(c)3 tax designation in the United States in order to make its efforts in the region more accessible and impactful. The Foundation is in the process of obtaining a similar status in Mexico and in other countries over time.
The Foundation is overseen by a an Executive Board over which our host Filippo presides and a Board of Trustees and Advisors with expertise in each of the Foundation’s concentrated areas — community, sea, land, and arts. The Executive Committees determine the scope of projects, initiating proposed ideas that prove to be transformational, scalable, and sustainable. Members of the international Honorary Board serve as global ambassadors for the Foundation and its work, supporting programmatic and philanthropic efforts.
On the Executive Board:
Executive Board Secretary, Emanuela Brignone Cattaneo, is an architect who has spent most of her life travelling to Careyes, and lending her design vision to create a large new urban space, the Plaza Caballeros del Sol, including a Sanctuary and the Contemporary Art Space of Careyes. She is also dedicating herself in the restoration of many historical Italian buildings from the Xii century transforming them into Museums such as the Modern Art Gallery of Genova or Palazzo Lomellino listed as a Unesco world heritage. Emanuela holds a Ma from Colombia University in NY and serves as a Trustee of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, the Wolfsonian Foundation in Miami and Genoa. Emanuela is an Advisor of Airc , the Italian Association for Cancer Research.
Board Treasurer, Isabel SantoTomás, is Vice President of Investments for Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management focusing on portfolio management for ultra high net worth individuals, family offices, and endowments. She joined Morgan Stanley in 2008 and has 26 years of industry experience. Isabel received her Bachelors degree at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has spent the last 25 years in New York City and is relocating to Miami, Florida with her two children. She has been a part of the Careyes community for over 20 years.
Jonathan Congdon, co-founder of Beachbody LLC, has been instrumental in shaping the mission of the company, expanding its vision and growth, and overseeing media distribution channels and International business to increase the Beachbody market worldwide. After starting his career at Procter & Gamble, Jon traveled the world “on walkabout” before teaching science for more than three years in California. In 1995, he launched an educational consulting firm, but soon felt the call back to the world of marketing entrepreneurship. Jon was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year on two boards, including his second term on the Electronic Retailing Association (Era) Board of Directors. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, and holds a degree in political science with dual emphases in American Constitutional Law and International Relations. Jon has been part of the Careyes community for over 10 years.
The fifth member of the Executive Board, Guillermo Barnetche Davison, is also Chairman of Grupo Profesional Planeacion y Proyectos, S.A. de C.V. (Pypsa) where he is in charge of the leadership and operating direction of multiple projects in the industrial, agricultural, sea, infrastructure, and building sectors. Guillermo received his Civil Engineering certification at the National Autonomous University of Mexico before getting a Masters in Hydraulic Resource Planning at Georgia Technology Institute and studying Economy and Systems Engineering at Stanford University. He has more than 40 years of professional experience in civil engineering and is a long-standing member of the Careyes community.
On the Honorary Board (a list in progress):
Ann Philbin, Director of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Daniela Michel, Director of the Morelia Film Festival, Gian Franco Brignone the Founder & Visionary of Costa Careyes, Johan Van Lengen, The “Barefoot Architect”, Founder of Tiba School Brazil and our own John Cooper, the Director of the Sundance Film Festival.
The Advisory Board is made up of:
Jennifer Arcenaux, Director, External Relations Sundance Film Festival, Arceneaux previously served as Director of Development for The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (Moca). During her seven-year tenure at Moca, Arceneaux cultivated philanthropic relationships and fostered the careers of artists and curators in the Los Angeles art community. Arceneaux also launched the successful Moca Now communications and development campaign to increase grassroots engagement in fundraising and create transparent communication with Moca members and patrons. The campaign evolved into the Moca New initiative raising more than $70 million in operating and endowment support. Prior to joining Moca, Arceneaux served as Director of Development at the Accelerated School in Los Angeles where she executed a $60 million capital campaign for a new campus and community center. Her professional experience spans over ten years working with non-profits and community-based arts organizations including Rand Corporation, Inner-City Arts, CityLife, A.R.T.S. Inc., The Housing Rights Center and more recently in a board and advisory capacity with the Watts House Project, and Laxart.
Sarah Ezzy is a Director of the Global Philanthropy Group. As a Director at Global Philanthropy Group, Sarah has advised a range of high-profile individuals and corporate clients on their philanthropic strategies. She has worked on a variety of issues including global education for girls, poverty alleviation, domestic homelessness, youth and fitness, and sustainable agriculture. She was previously with Booz Allen Hamilton’s Strategy and Organization Practice where she worked with international organizations, developing country governments, and domestic policymakers and NGOs on a range of development issues. Sarah holds a BA in French Studies and Geography from Dartmouth College and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She speaks fluent French and is co-founder of Sadiq, a non-profit organization created to support Iraqi refugees in the Middle East.
Douglas K. Freeman, J.D., LL.M. the Senior Managing Director of First Foundation Advisors, Director of First Foundation Inc. and Director of the First Foundation Bank. First Foundation provides strategic planning and organizational management advice for business, nonprofit, foundation, and family clients. He brings to First Foundation clients his experience gained as a consultant to nearly 300 family foundations, support organizations and public charities throughout the United States. Mr. Freeman is a noted retired tax attorney and founder of the Los Angeles based law firm, Freeman, Freeman & Smiley, Llp. From 2005 through 2008, he was recognized by Worth magazine as among the 100 top attorneys in the United States. In 1999, he was featured by Bloomberg Financial as one of the nation’s leading estate planning attorneys. He is the founder of National Philanthropy Day, proclaimed by Congress and celebrated throughout the United States since 1986. Mr. Freeman serves as a director of family foundations, independent foundations, and public charities. He is the past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of California, Irvine Foundation and chairman of its $1 billion campaign. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Orange County’s Pacific Symphony and a member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Southern California Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy.
Mr. Freeman is the author of three books and over 30 articles and treatises on philanthropy and wealth planning. His new book, published in 2009, co-authored with Dr. Lee Hausner, Ph.D., is entitled “The Legacy Family… The Definitive Guide to Creating a Successful Multigenerational Family“. He is the co-author with Dr. Hausner of a leading treatise for family foundations, entitled “A Founder’s Guide to the Family Foundation“. He speaks throughout the country on behalf of professional associations, such as the Council on Foundations, the Association of Small Foundations, and the American Bar Association. He is a graduate of Stanford University (B.A. with Distinction, 1967), University of California at Los Angeles (J.D., 1970), and the University of San Diego (LL.M. in Taxation, 1984). Until retirement, Mr. Freeman was designated a Certified Specialist in Taxation under the State Bar of California.
Members of the Board of Trustees includes members like (list in progress):
Adam Lindemann – Art Collector & Advisor ; Alejandro Ramirez Magaña – CEO of Cinepolis ; Eric Goode – Founder & President of Turtle Conservancy; Esthella Provas – Art Advisor, Careyes ArtCommittee for special projects ; Eugenio Lopez – Collector, Jumex Collection; Patricia Marshall- Art Advisor, Careyes Art Committee; Piero Golia – Artist ; Serena Cattaneo Adorno – Director, Gagosian Gallery Paris, CareyesArtCommittee.
Continuing a trend of coincidences occurring for me on this incredible journey, out of the blue, at the first cocktail party held at this event, there appeared Christian Halsey Solomon, the son of a twenty-plus-year resident of Careyes, Michael Jay Solomon, whom I have known since the days when we were in our 20s when he set up McA Television in Latin America and personally bought prize winning shorts from the company where I was the acquisitions person. Years later, when I was buying feature films for Lorimar, his company Telepictures bought Lorimar. Christian and I also go way back to the days when he was 23, and I was working for the first time in independent international sales. We worked together in Milan, Italy at the Mifed film market with someone who has long since left the film scene. As if that were not enough of coincidences, my own brother Barry was the photographer for his first wedding.
Michael and Luciana had bought land here twenty years ago where they built their dream house. It is now home to Christian, his wife and two beautiful children who attend the incredible school here. Cuixmala School is a private non-profit school teaching core academic subjects in a bilingual environment while it emphasizes experiential learning about nature and the world; the students ride horses, raise their own food and have guests from every field from buddhists to biologists from the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve nearby. Christian showed me his home which was two doors down from our own Casa Oriente (next door to Seal) and he and his wife invited me back to visit and stay a while to write.
After each screening we were served delicious locally grown lunches and dinners. One wonderful night at the "ranchito", there was an art show of the old bones of animals who have died in this area where they are left out for the buzzards to pick clean. These bones, as if they were a precious as the fur and leather of beasts were decorated like Versace luxury items and showcased as art in the former stables of this former ranch. The best was the unicorn, a cow skeleton, whose short ribs look like they must have been really delicious before they were cleaned of all meat. This unicorn however, was missing its single horn. What a funny art show. The first two stalls looked like rooms where people were living, only the inhabitants were selling the furniture as art. Little stools made in traditional simple peasant style, were recreated in heavy marble. You can sit on them, or use them as little side tables. And shipping them home is not a problem.
Elegant community meals put us at the table one night where I sat next to Guillermo Arriaga, his wife, son and daughter. He was being honored with a tribute and he showed his short film The Blood of God (La Sangre de Dios) from the anthology which he produced as well, Words with Gods. Another coincidence is that he had just finished his short film Texas from Rio, I Love You, the franchise of our good friend Emmanuel Benbihy with whom we worked on Paris, Je t’aime and New York, I Love You. The Arriagas’ son and daughter are students at Mexico's private Ibero-American University’s School of Communications where Arriagas himself was a student and then a professor for twenty years and where is wife was a student of his. Coincidently that is also where he met his future partner Alejandro González Iñárritu with whom he worked on Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel, and where Marina Stavenhagen and her sisters and brothers are alumni as well as the 2013 Academy Award Winner for Cinematography, Emmanuel Lubezki.
Sr. Arriaga and I spoke quite a while - first about hunting which was not a topic I could speak much about beyond expressing surprise on hearing he was a hunter. But when we spoke about my Spanish and then about words and their derivations and meanings in Spanish and English, I became more actively interested. What I only realized afterward was that the conversation about words could have developed into the issue over words that ruptured his relationship with Iñárritu. The word for screenwriter in Spanish is objectionable to him because the word "guionista" means a tour guide or a writer of travel books and so a screenwriter accredited as “guionista” is merely a tour guide, putting up signposts for the director aka "The Auteur" in French parlance. I agree that the director alone is not the “auteur” of the film. Not only is a superbly written screenplay (which Arriagas writes often in close collaboration with his brother-in-law) an absolute necessity if a film is to have any chance to excel, but the producer who turns on the lights and turns them off and produces the money both before shooting and after shooting via distribution deals is required for a film’s success. Personally we think the producer and writer are the "Auteurs". The Auteur Theory proposed by Francois Truffaut in Cahiers de Cinema and promulgated in the U.S. by Peter Bogdanovich is merely a theory and not etched in marble. Pity about their falling out after their collaboraton on three greatest films in new Mexican cinema. But we did not get into all that.
The curator of the ArteCareyes film program, Marina Stavenhagen, also graduated from the Ibero-American University. Marina and I spoke the next day more about this event, which by its location and by design must stay small (around 300 - 400 people). Her thoughts concern creating an artist residency program, perhaps a think tank on a different topic every year such as music for film or producing along with two or three master classes, mentorships and inviting young filmmakers with shorts who can benefit from the intimate setting.
Marina Stavenhagen is a screenwriter and film developer with over 20 years of professional work in Mexico. Her work as a writer includes several short film and feature film scripts and has obtained several awards and recognitions. Marina has been a teacher, counselor and script consultant with many public and private Mexican institutions, and a jury in various national and international film festivals.
As a promoter of film, she has actively participated in the organization of exhibitions and film festivals in Mexico. She has been president of the Association of Women in Film and Television (Wift-Mexico), and was Director General of the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (Imcine). She is Member of the Board of Advisors of the Phoenix Film Ibero American Award and the Academic Council of the Bergman Cathedra, of the Unam University. For her work in promoting quality films and cultural exchange, Marina was honored by the Government of the French Republic with the Order of Arts and Letters in France.
After leaving her six year term as the head of Imcine, Marina was invited to create an interesting film program by Filippo Brignone while she returns to screenwriting.
Coincidently (again!), Marina’s sister is Andrea Stavenhagen, who was the head of the Iberoamerican Coproduction Meeting and Director of Industry at Ficg (Guadalajara Film Festival) until August 2013. She also co-directed the Morelia Lab Workshop for Young Producers in Latin America at the Morelia Film Festival and is now the San Sebastian Film Festival's new delegate for Latin America. All three of her siblings are in film, as is her husband.
Marina has invited other creative thinkers here, surprisingly my good friend Gary Meyer, Artistic Director of Telluride, Ivan Trujillo, Director of Ficg and Daniela Michel, General Director of Morelia Film Festival, with her husband, an educator, who is also renovating a jewel of an art deco theater just outside of Morelia.
Filippo took us on a tour of the land his father bought in 1968. We saw La Copa (The Cup) a folie his father built where the sun at the solar equinox beams a ray into the pyramid inside the mountain several miles away.
- 3/14/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
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