Quiet City, USA

As I type these words, the finishing touches are being applied to Benten Films' second release, Quiet City & Dance Party, USA: Two Films by Aaron Katz. As with LOL, we're extremely happy with the cover (pictured left) which we feel beautifully captures both the tone and lyricism of Katz's films. This two-disc set contains both of Katz's features, as well as some great bonus materials, including cast and crew commentaries for both films, The Lunch Hour (an early Katz 8mm short), alternative and extended scenes, the short-film prank Joe Swanberg's Quiet City, and more. The DVD hits the shelves on 29 January 2008, and can already be pre-ordered from Amazon, DeepDiscount, and various other online outlets. In related news, Quiet City received an Independent Spirit Award nomination in the John Cassavetes Award category, which is given the best feature made for under $500,000. Congratulations to Aaron and producers Ben Stambler and Brendan McFadden! Also, in the most recent issue of ArtForum magazine, critic Amy Taubin lists Dance Party, USA as one of her top-ten films of 2007. Hoorah! Lastly, the Benten Films website has been given a snazzy upgrade, which includes a link to the Benten Blog, still in its infancy. Now it's off to begin work on our third release, Todd Rohal's The Guatemalan Handshake.