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September 11, 2009
For Immediate Release
For more information: Alex Caldiero (801) 863-8038; Torben Bernhard (801) 318-3740; Travis Low (435) 232-7556
University Marketing & Communications: Erin Spurgeon, (801) 863-6807
Two Utah Valley University students have spent the past two years working on a film focused on local poet and polyartist Alex Caldiero. Audiences in Utah County and Salt Lake City will be the first to see the feature-length documentary, entitled "The Sonosopher: Alex Caldiero in Life...In Sound," at fundraising screenings starting later this month.
Directors Torben Bernhard and Travis Low began the project after taking a class from Caldiero at UVU. At the time neither had much experience making movies, but they felt inspired by their professor's poetry and his unique performance style. The duo immediately started filming Caldiero's live performances and raising funds for the production.
Caldiero calls his unique blend of poetry, sound and philosophy "Sonosophy," a term he said he was forced to coin when traditional labels failed to describe his work. The filmmakers hope that their movie captures not only their mentor's life, but also his groundbreaking artistic work and scholarship.
"It felt obligatory," said Bernhard, who recently graduated from UVU with a degree in integrated studies. "I knew that Alex's work needed to be documented and, for one reason or another, I felt like we were the ones to do it."
"I was totally into the idea and equally naive about how we were going to do it," said Low, who is finishing his degree in integrated studies as well. "I really had no idea how to make a film in any way. I dove in knowing I'd learn as I went. I ended up learning more than I imagined. It has been a great experience."
Bernhard and Low realized early on in the process that geography played a major role in telling Caldiero's story. So with funds secured from a variety of sources, they followed Caldiero to New York City and eventually to his hometown in Sicily, Italy, all the while chronicling not only the poet's performances but the stories that shaped his unique outlook.
Once back in Utah they set about turning more than 100 hours of raw footage into something more manageable, Low said. "We wanted to focus on three major things about Alex: his life, his actual work and his process. I think that all three of those come out pretty well in the film."
The filmmakers are now preparing to submit their work to various festivals, and the upcoming screenings serve as way to help with some of the costs associated with that process. On Sept. 25 the movie will be shown at UVU's Ragan Theater at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at Campus Connection in the Sorensen Student Center.
On Oct. 2 the film will be shown at the Main Library Auditorium in Salt Lake City. Tickets for that show are also $5 and can be purchased at Ken Sanders Rare Books, located at 268 S. 200 East in Salt Lake City.
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