Dance Party USA (film)

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Dance Party USA
Directed by Aaron Katz
Written by Aaron Katz
Produced by Brendan McFadden
Marc Ripper
Starring Cole Pensinger
Anna Kavan
Ryan White
Natalie Buller
Sarah Bing
Brendan McFadden
Chad Hartigan
Music by Keegan DeWitt
Release date
  • March 12, 2006 (2006-03-12)
Running time
67 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3,500 (estimated)

Dance Party USA is a 2006 film written and directed by Aaron Katz. It stars Cole Pensinger and Anna Kavan. [1] The film and director have also been mentioned by the media as an important part of the "mumblecore" movement in independent cinema. [2]

Contents

Plot

Apathetic 17-year-old Gus meets Jessica at a party, where he confesses to her that he raped an underage girl. He then sets out to appease his conscience.

Production

The film took nearly two years to complete. Katz explained the reason for such as being due to the film's editor, Zach Clark, living in Virginia while he lived in Brooklyn. Clark would send edited footage on a DVD to Katz, who would then respond by sending notes to Clark. [3]

Release

The film debuted at the 2006 South by Southwest Film Festival [4] and subsequently played at almost a dozen other festivals around the country and a two-week exclusive run at the Pioneer Theatre in New York City.

Reception

The New York Times stated that "Dance Party USA is a remarkably delicate construction, directed with extraordinary empathy by Aaron Katz." In addition, The New York Sun placed it at number nine on their Top 10 Films of 2006 list and critic Amy Taubin lauded it in Art Forum, saying it was "in her pantheon of coming of age films." [5]

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References

  1. "Benten Films #2: Quiet City/Dance Party USA, or M*****core is dead: Aaron Katz's diptych". Slant Magazine. July 25, 2008.
  2. "AARON KATZ, "COLD WEATHER"". Filmmaker Magazine. February 12, 2011.
  3. Armstrong, Josh E (2008-03-11). "Aaron Katz talks Dance Party, Quiet City". ConversationalBall.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-17. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  4. "DVD Review: Quiet City/Dance Party, USA". Moviefone. February 5, 2008.
  5. "If You Listen, You'll Hear Adulthood Approaching". The New York Times. November 15, 2006.