Greer's Girls
NBFF Spotlight: Kate Ryan, Director of Welcome Nowhere
04.28.14
By Natalie Aronson
How did three-time Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke end up narrating a film about Roma Gypsies?
The same way it came about that Kate Ryan’s film, “Welcome Nowhere”, was produced, directed, shot, and edited entirely by women; completely happenstance.
The award-winning feature documentary, “Welcome Nowhere”, is Ryan’s first feature film and will be screening this evening at the Newport Beach Film Festival as part of the Women Direct! series.
After filming every summer for her best friend’s dad’s non-profit, Ryan became familiar with the Roma people in Eastern Europe and was intrigued to learn more about the institutionalized discrimination against the Roma Gypsies. Thus, a documentary started to take shape and Ryan picked her team.
First came the Director of Photography, a woman Ryan attended film school with. They joined forces and the team began to take shape. Unintentional, yet happy it happened, Ryan had her all-women team.
As for Ethan Hawke? You’ll come to find more about him and his family’s work in the film, but his mother’s current work in Romania helped form the connection. Her organization, which works to get low income kids in school, deals with a large population of Roma Gypsies.
A few phone calls later, and Ethan Hawke was on board to narrate the film whose topic hit so close to home.
Having traveled to over 25 different countries, Ryan focuses on the issues many minorities have to go through world-wide. “Welcome Nowhere” will delve into the universal issues of racism, human rights, and poverty, and will open the door for a look into a world unfamiliar to many.
This is Ryan’s first feature documentary, but she has worked as an editor for shows including AMC’s The Pitch, and CBS’s Emmy-winning Undercover Boss. The California State University, Northridge graduate will be doing a Q&A after the 7:30 p.m. screening tonight at the Triangle 4 Cinemas.
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04.23.14
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