JOHNNY BERLIN

Jon Hyrns' stage name is Johnny Berlin, and his platform at the moment happens to be a 1930s refurbished luxury train, aboard which he works as a porter. His real aspiration is to be a writer, and he's working to pay his way to Cambodia, where he can finally relax and pen his long-gestating novel. But first there are bed sheets to change and toilets to clean and shoes to shine.

Johnny is not your average odd bird. He quotes the Dead Kennedys (who also holidayed in Cambodia) and has dreams he would pursue if only he had the time. His job and his aspirations as a writer make him seem a character from an earlier era. And with the twang in his voice and a keen sense of comic timing, he is a great storyteller. We learn that Johnny hasn't had a date in five years, that he tried to sell his liver for cash, and that he asked his dad to increase his life insurance policy so Johnny could get a larger inheritance. They sound appalling, but his stories are actually profound and somewhat endearing.

Filmmaker Dominic J. DeJoseph spent a week on the train with Johnny, traveling down the West Coast from Seattle to Los Angeles. What he found was a man in the early stages of a midlife crisis with a unique perspective on living. What DeJoseph gives us is a bittersweet, darkly comic tale that is thoroughly entertaining.

Mary Kerr

Dominic J. DeJoseph resides in Brooklyn, New York. He has directed music videos for bands like R.E.M. and The Stills and documentaries featuring Wim Wenders and Bono. His films and videos have been screened at The South by Southwest Film Festival, The Tribeca Film Festival, The Montreal Festival of New Cinema/New Media, as well as on MTV and the Independent Film Channel.

Print Source:
Dominic DeJoseph, Black Shoe Films
85 N. 6th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Tel: 917.523.5894
Email: dominic@blackshoefilms.com

PRECEDED BY...TRIUMPH OF A HEART - THE STORIES BEHIND THE MUSIC VIDEO
Ragnheidur Gestsdottir
Iceland, 2005, 25 minutes

Nutty Icelandic characters are interviewed about their roles in a Björk music video that features myth, body singing and dancing cats.

Print Source:
Ragnhiedur Gestsdottir, LoFi Productions
Flat 1, 183 Sussex Gardens
London W2 2RH
UK
Tel: +44 7951 333 951
Email: ragga@this.is

Friday 6/17 at 7:15 p.m.

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