I was kind of bummed out about 2007 because so far it seems like such a low-productivity year for me. But cleaning up my workspace and computer has made me realize that there were a few things that did get completed. Roadside Gospel is one of those. I guess we technically “locked it” late last year, but this year it’s starting to make it’s way out to the festival circuit.
Roadside Gospel is a documentary directed by Kate Stryker. It follows the journey of Mike Pierce, a preacher and musician, as he carries an enormous cross on his back. He makes the pilgrimage from Houston to Austin every year and this year Kate followed him with a camera.
The tricky thing about editing this project is that there were many angles you could take. It would be easy to make this guy look like a total maniac. It would also be easy to make it a propaganda piece for what he’s doing. Rather than going either of those routes we decided to focus on the characters in the piece as opposed to delving deep into why he’s going around carrying a cross.
There was enough footage to have probably gone for a feature, but we decided the best decision was to get in and get out. The final project is a little under 30 minutes and in my opinion paints a nice atmospheric portrait of the man and the world he lives in. This was a micro-budget project so there are a few issues with audio and video quality, but those small problems don’t seem to bother the audiences I’ve seen it with. I’m very happy and proud to have been a part of this one. Look for it on the festival circuit, particularly at festivals that focus on documentaries.
