STUDENT DOCUMENTARY, RARE EDITION, TO SCREEN AT HOT SPRINGS DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL AND ON UA CAMPUS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No coffee, no couches, just books...and lots of personality: "Rare Edition," a twenty-six minute student-produced documentary about the longtime Fayetteville business, the Dickson Street Bookshop, will be screened at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Oct. 13 and 17, and locally Oct. 14 at the Union Theater on the University of Arkansas Campus.

The documentary was produced in the 2001-2002 school year by three UA graduate students as a part of the documentary sequence instructed by Larry Foley and Dale Carpenter. The students, James Nash Alford, Charlie Alison and Katy Widder, developed the idea for the film in the Fall 2001 semester, then filmed and edited it in the Spring 2002 semester.

Narrated in the first person by Widder, an employee of the Dickson Street Bookshop, the documentary tells the story of a business that still does things the old fashioned way. There is no catalogue of inventory; a calculator serves as the cash register, and the owners come in every day to work alongside the other employees.

But the documentary is about much more than the business of books. The documentary takes an intimate look at the people who work and shop at the used and out of print bookshop, using casual interviews and handheld and tight close-up footage to make viewers feel as if they’re right in the shop.

Some people showcased include Don Lee, a night shift taxi driver and poet; Deon, a drag show performer, hairstylist, and practicing Wiccan; Daniel, who has a fascination for languages including Gaelic and Japanese, and Frank, who professes his love of books: "When all else fails it seems like you can just pick up a book and say, 'that’s exactly how I feel.’"

For more information regarding the time and location of the Hot Springs Festival screening please visit www.docufilminst.org. The film will screen locally at 7 p.m. on Oct. 14 in the Union Theater on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. Please contact Katy Widder for further details.