Background

I took a class sometime back in 2000 with Jennifer Fox at the old Film Video Arts in NYC. I had been interested in making a documentary film and when digital cameras came on the market the minimum expense and easy learning curve allowed me to take the camera into my own hands. It was a weekend intensive entitled “How to Make a Documentary.” One of the assignments for the class was to pitch our documentary idea. I planned to make a documentary on relationships entitled The Sex Life of Worms. My premise was that since worms did not have to find a mate because they were both male and female, that they were saved from the trials of human beings search for “the right person.” Ms. Fox told me that my idea was a one-liner; essentially a sketch comedy. She then turned to the class and said, “Your documentary needs to be something so important to you personally that you must finish it.” I realized in that moment that I had to go to Las Vegas and find my father. So I went to Las Vegas to find my father and made a film about it.

In the Fall of 2002 I was offered a fellowship from Digital Media Education center for 9 weeks of editing on Avid systems in Portland, Oregon. In the fall of 2003 Strike Dice! Betting on my Father (Formerly The Poker Detective) was accepted into the Independent Features Project, (IFP) a film market in NYC where it played to enthusiastic response.

In 2004 I re-applied to the Foundation for Jewish Culture after having been one of ten finalists for a grant the previous year. I took some time off to work and save money so that I could get the final hours of footage transferred, logged and digitized. I saved the money and in Jan. 0f 2006 began to log, transcribe, and digitize footage and created a new trailer. With my editor and with the help of my producer I began to cut and re-order scenes. Strike Dice!… was offered a rough-cut screening at the Producer’s Guild, NYC March 2008 and also screened at Women Make Movies in April, 2008. We re-applied to NYSCA (New York State Council on the Arts) in May of 2008 and to our delight received a grant in August 2008 for post-production. In December 2008 we completed our sound mix at Dig It! Audio, NYC. We were signed by a sales agent in 2009 whom we got through the Hot Docs Docshop, in Canada and we’ve already made our first international sale! Strike Dice has been screened at several festivals and exhibition venues such as The Filmmakers Symposium in N.J. and has been broadcast internationally on YES TV, Israel. Upcoming screenings will be posted.

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