

Chicago – Putting together a documentary, especially as it involves a step-by-step process, can take a bit of time. Filmmaker Jack C. Newell has spent 10 years putting together “How (Not) to Build a School in Haiti.” The Premiere of the film is Friday, September 16th at Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center. Click Haiti for info and tickets.
After hearing an NPR podcast in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, semi-retired construction worker Tim Myers is so moved he decides to build a school in the rural Hatian community of Villard. He meets his counterpart Anselm Saimplice, who readily accepts Tim’s vision for a new school. Very quickly, things spiral out of control. Trying to teach Haitian laborers new skills, Tim imposes his style of construction and values, which he finds clashes with the way things are done in Haiti.
How (Not) to Build a School in Haiti
Photo credit: Zaxie
Jack C.
After hearing an NPR podcast in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, semi-retired construction worker Tim Myers is so moved he decides to build a school in the rural Hatian community of Villard. He meets his counterpart Anselm Saimplice, who readily accepts Tim’s vision for a new school. Very quickly, things spiral out of control. Trying to teach Haitian laborers new skills, Tim imposes his style of construction and values, which he finds clashes with the way things are done in Haiti.
How (Not) to Build a School in Haiti
Photo credit: Zaxie
Jack C.
- 9/14/2022
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com


Chicago – It’s been three years, there is definitely a need to get together and destroy something. So in the spirit of this urge, power couple filmmaker Jack C. Newell and Rebecca Fons of the Gene Siskel Film Center, will conduct their 4th “Destroy Your Art” event, back from its last incarnation in 2019. The idea is a filmmaker creates a film, shows it once to the audience, and then destroys it forever. This will take place this year at the historic Music Box Theatre on August 25th, 2022. For more information, including tickets, click here.
“Destroy Your Art” will feature four filmmakers – Dinesh Das Sabu, Lena Emeligy, Christopher Rejano and Yanyl Xie – as they show their short films. After that One Showing, the films will be destroyed forever (the technique is explained in the Podtalk) never to be seen again. The concept challenges the notions of permanency, images, expression and our...
“Destroy Your Art” will feature four filmmakers – Dinesh Das Sabu, Lena Emeligy, Christopher Rejano and Yanyl Xie – as they show their short films. After that One Showing, the films will be destroyed forever (the technique is explained in the Podtalk) never to be seen again. The concept challenges the notions of permanency, images, expression and our...
- 8/24/2022
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com


As the Hollywood blockbuster machine continues to dust itself off and release some early winter hits, Hulu is going in a bit of a different direction with its list of new releases for November 2021.
There are no big Hulu original films of note this month. Instead there’s a whole host of original series. The TV parade starts on Nov. 5 with the release of Animaniacs season 2. Also getting a second season this month is monarchal comedy The Great on Nov. 19. The most intriguing series, however, is animated Marvel comedy Marvel’s Hit Monkey. As its name so graciously implies, this is a show about a hit monkey…as in monkey assassin. Naturally the hit monkey is haunted by the ghost of Jason Sudeikis because it’s important that everything make sense.
Though Hulu doesn’t have any original movies in November, its list of library movie titles is quite vast.
There are no big Hulu original films of note this month. Instead there’s a whole host of original series. The TV parade starts on Nov. 5 with the release of Animaniacs season 2. Also getting a second season this month is monarchal comedy The Great on Nov. 19. The most intriguing series, however, is animated Marvel comedy Marvel’s Hit Monkey. As its name so graciously implies, this is a show about a hit monkey…as in monkey assassin. Naturally the hit monkey is haunted by the ghost of Jason Sudeikis because it’s important that everything make sense.
Though Hulu doesn’t have any original movies in November, its list of library movie titles is quite vast.
- 11/1/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek


Chicago – The evolution of the “local filmmaker” always seems to be defined through where that person is. Jack C. Newell appears to not be measured by time and place, but as a filmmaker of artistic vision with a basis in love. His latest film, “Monuments,” opens June 4th, 2021, through the Gene Siskel Film Center virtual cinema.
Written and directed by Newell, “Monuments” is a comedy about grief with a dash of hopeless romance and a sprinkling of adventure, this melange is a quintessential indie road movie, featuring expansive cinematography and an unexpected musical score by acclaimed Takénobu. Filmed on location partly in Chicago, “Monuments” brings together an eclectic cast led by David Sullivan and Marguerite Moreau as a devoted couple whose love cannot be diminished by death. The family of Moreau’s character has other plans, and the comic element of the film comes from that conflict.
’Monuments,’ Written and Directed by Jack C.
Written and directed by Newell, “Monuments” is a comedy about grief with a dash of hopeless romance and a sprinkling of adventure, this melange is a quintessential indie road movie, featuring expansive cinematography and an unexpected musical score by acclaimed Takénobu. Filmed on location partly in Chicago, “Monuments” brings together an eclectic cast led by David Sullivan and Marguerite Moreau as a devoted couple whose love cannot be diminished by death. The family of Moreau’s character has other plans, and the comic element of the film comes from that conflict.
’Monuments,’ Written and Directed by Jack C.
- 6/6/2021
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com

It’s oddly appropriate that grief-stricken widower Ted (David Sullivan) spends most of Jack C. Newell’s “Monuments” schlepping his wife’s ashes around the geographical midpoint of the continental U.S.A. This dippily surreal existential comedy — imagine Quentin Dupieux engineering a head-on collision between “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia” and “Little Miss Sunshine” — feels like it’s born of the exact middle ground between the big-budget escapist mainstream and the hardcore arthouse “coasts” of American cinematic output. It’s in a flyover state of mind.
Any other year, no big deal — there has traditionally been no shortage of Sundance-y, SXSW-y low-budget American filmmaking to which the awful adjective “quirky” can be applied. But right now “Monuments” — which at least has no smirk in its quirk — getting a theatrical release makes a hopeful, daffy case for the U.S. indie still having a role to play in the polarized post-pandemic movie landscape.
Any other year, no big deal — there has traditionally been no shortage of Sundance-y, SXSW-y low-budget American filmmaking to which the awful adjective “quirky” can be applied. But right now “Monuments” — which at least has no smirk in its quirk — getting a theatrical release makes a hopeful, daffy case for the U.S. indie still having a role to play in the polarized post-pandemic movie landscape.
- 6/4/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV


"It was never about tombs or gods or monuments... Happiness for us was uncomplicated." Row House has released an official trailer for an indie drama titled Monuments, which originally premiered at last year's Nashville Film Festival in the fall. A grieving widower decides to travel across the country in a stolen pick-up truck, determined to scatter his wife's ashes in Chicago. Ted attempts to sidestep more grief, loss, and familial dysfunction when he steals his wife's ashes and sets off on an impulsive odyssey through America's heartland to find something he'd lost long before her death. The film stars Marguerite Moreau as Laura, David Sullivan as Ted, Javier Muñoz as Howl, and Shunori Ramanathan as Amber. This looks good, the dark comedy makes it better. Along with the strange musical song in the background of this trailer. Huh. Here's the new official trailer (+ poster) for Jack C. Newell's Monuments,...
- 5/19/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net

Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to Meander, a horror thriller written and directed by Mathieu Turi. It will now get a July 9, 2021 release date in theaters and on on-demand platforms.
The film stars Gaïa Weiss, Peter Franzen and Romane Libert. Weiss plays Lisa, who after getting a car ride from an unknown man wakes up in a tube. On her arm is strapped a bracelet with a countdown. She quickly understands that every 10 minutes, fire burns an occupied section. She has no choice but to crawl into safe sections to survive. To know why she’s there and how to get out, she will have to face the memories of her dead daughter.
“Gravitas is thrilled to be able to present audiences with one of the best new additions to the sci-fi and horror genres in the past decade,” said Brett Rogalsky, Gravitas Ventures’ acquisitions manager. “What Mathieu...
The film stars Gaïa Weiss, Peter Franzen and Romane Libert. Weiss plays Lisa, who after getting a car ride from an unknown man wakes up in a tube. On her arm is strapped a bracelet with a countdown. She quickly understands that every 10 minutes, fire burns an occupied section. She has no choice but to crawl into safe sections to survive. To know why she’s there and how to get out, she will have to face the memories of her dead daughter.
“Gravitas is thrilled to be able to present audiences with one of the best new additions to the sci-fi and horror genres in the past decade,” said Brett Rogalsky, Gravitas Ventures’ acquisitions manager. “What Mathieu...
- 4/30/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV


“Hamilton” actor Javier Munoz, David Sullivan, and Marguerite Moreau will star in the independent comedy “Monuments,” which has started shooting, Variety has learned exclusively.
David Pasquesi, Joel Murray, and Shunori Ramanathan round out the cast.
The movie marks Munoz’s first film role since departing the Broadway production of “Hamilton.” He stepped into the title role following Lin-Manuel Miranda’s exit and played Alexander Hamilton from mid 2016 until early 2018.
Jack C. Newell is directing “Monuments” from his own script about a separated couple, played by Sullivan and Moreau, whose relationship is getting back on track, when she’s killed in a freak accident in Colorado. Determined to scatter her ashes in the place where they first fell in love, he steals her urn and hits the road back to the Midwest with her family and relentless ex-boyfriend, portrayed by Munoz, in hot pursuit.
The production company is Chicago-based Zaxie and...
David Pasquesi, Joel Murray, and Shunori Ramanathan round out the cast.
The movie marks Munoz’s first film role since departing the Broadway production of “Hamilton.” He stepped into the title role following Lin-Manuel Miranda’s exit and played Alexander Hamilton from mid 2016 until early 2018.
Jack C. Newell is directing “Monuments” from his own script about a separated couple, played by Sullivan and Moreau, whose relationship is getting back on track, when she’s killed in a freak accident in Colorado. Determined to scatter her ashes in the place where they first fell in love, he steals her urn and hits the road back to the Midwest with her family and relentless ex-boyfriend, portrayed by Munoz, in hot pursuit.
The production company is Chicago-based Zaxie and...
- 10/24/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
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