Eric Futterman has had the privilege to write, produce and direct thee full length documentaries and two shorts; all of which are compelling and quite fulfilling to produce.
The full length projects are:
African American TrailBlazers
Saving Grace Resurrecting American History
To Bear Witness/A Living Testimonial of the Holocaust
The shorts:
Dragon Run
Chevra Thelim Remembered
Beyond the Numbers/The Reality of AbuseJune 2007
African American Trailblazers
Educational Documentary
Once again EAF is in the midst of another exciting documentary project. Following on the heels of Saving Grace/Resurrecting American History, we are producing the educational documentary series called, African American Trailblazers 1607-2007.
Commissioned by Richmond Region 2007 and sponsored by Capital One Financial Corporation, African American Trailblazers is a 12 part biographical series that will be distributed to more than 4,000 Virginia elementary school classes along with a Standards of Learning compliant curriculum and classroom materials.
Eric wrote the scripts and directed all the shoots. This included reenactments that take viewers from the 17th century all the way to the 20th century.
The 12 Trailblazers are:
• Anthony Johnson –Slave turned Landowner
• James Armistead Lafayette –Revolutionary spy for the Americans
• John Mercer Langston –1st African American Congressman from VA
• Booker T. Washington –Creator of Tuskegee Institute
• Carter G. Woodson –Father of Black History Month
• Maggie Walker –First female Bank President
• Roger Arliner Young –1st African American PhD in Zoology
• Anne Spencer –Poet and influential Civil Rights leader
• Ella Fitzgerald –Grammy winning Singer/Songwriter
• Ella Josephine Baker –Civil Rights Leader
• Arthur Ashe –Athlete/Civil Rights Activist
• Max Robinson –1st African American Network Anchor
The good people of Henricus Historical Park in Chester showed extraordinary hospitality in helping us recreate a 17th century Colonial American Farm. Henricus is a great treat and a visit back in time.
Jazz singer Desiree Root helped us tell the story of Trailblazer Ella Fitzgerald with a stunning performance at Petersburg’s Sycamore Rouge Cocktail Lounge.
Saving Grace
Eric’s most recent documentary, completed after three years and travel as far away as Ireland, is an exciting trek through American history and into the high tech future. It's a story of tragedy and drama, significant American History, state of the art technology, and the first truly great American architecture. It's the story of a team of people applying their knowledge, education and skill to preserve a beautifully designed monument dedicated to the memory of 72 people who perished in a theater fire in 1811 in what is now downtown Richmond.
Monumental Church, located on 12th and Broad Street in the heart of downtown Richmond, was built on the site of the fire in 1811. The crypt that hosts the remains of the people who died in the fire is in the basement of the church.
The monument that memorialized those people has been decimated by pollution and time. Two years ago the urn that adorned the top of the monument fell to the ground after its basic molecular structure decimated.
Historic Richmond Foundation and the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities endeavored to save this memorial to our fallen Richmond forbearers. They have taken two paths:.
The first was to scan the monument using laser technology. These scans sent millions of points of light onto the monument to create a three dimensional image that will be used to mill a brand new monument. Project Director Sarah Cooleen and HRF Executive Director Don Charles spearheaded the restoration and the documentary production.
Eric Futterman of EAF uses a Lipstick cam to capture close detail of the urn that fell from atop the Monument. Michael Raphael, President of Direct Dimensions of Baltimore, Md., uses a laser scanner attached to a 7 joint articulating arm to create a 3-D image of the Monument
The next step will be to preserve the monument and locate it in a safe indoor place. One of the locations being discussed is the Science Museum of Virginia. In the meantime the Church, an architectural beauty designed by Jefferson protégé Robert Mills, is scheduled to go through an extensive renovation, beginning as early as May or June of 2003.
The remains of 72 people who perished on the night of the fire in 1811 are still housed in the crypt in the basement of Monumental Church. Edgar Allan Poe was a child who attended Monumental. We wonder if young Poe, like so many children, took to wondering before or after a church service, and ended up visiting the crypt. There is no evidence that he did, but those thrilling stories had to come from somewhere.
Before the Monument could be taken apart and moved, a temporary consolidant had to be applied to weakening areas. This particular kind of consolidant evaporates after a few weeks so the basic structure of the Monument remains unchanged.
Lane Maben of John Milner & Associates concocts the consolidant that sculptor Andrew Baxter applies to disaggregated areas of the Monument.
HRF Project Coordinator Sarah Cooleen. Director of Photography Alfred Shapiro prepares to shoot the laser scanning of the Monument.
Eric interviews Dr. Walter Wichey of the Science Museum of Virginia
The EAF Team: Sound Recordist Glen Piegari, Director/Producer Eric Futterman and D.P. Alfred Shapiro on the site of our production
Gilbert Hunt
Gilbert Hunt was a slave who found himself at the foot of the Theater on December 26, 1811, catching people as they jumped from the window to flee the smoke and flames. His physical strength and abiding concern for the people inside helped him save quite a few lives.
Actor Wali Brandon who portrays Gilbert Hunt in the documentary with Eric before shooting a scene.
Gilbert's heroics made him a Richmond legend for years. Later in life, after he'd bought his own freedom, Gilbert wrote a book about his experiences with the fire. We have decided to let Gilbert himself introduce and conclude the documentary via Wali Brandon, an actor who portrays Gilbert at historical events. Wali did a brilliant job and his portrayal of Gilbert and the night of the fire will, I believe, set a strong tone for the story of the Monument's recreation and renovation.
Wali Brandon checks out the painting done by Richmond Artist Jay Bohannon. The painting is a portrayal of Gilbert Hunt rescuing victims of the Theater Fire. The painting's owner, John Landsborough graciously allowed us to take shots of the painting for the documentary.
Director of Photography Alfred Shapiro and Director Eric Futterman prepare to shoot a scene of Wali's portrayal of Gilbert Hunt.
Ireland!
The EAF team flew across the Atlantic to a small fishing villiage in Ireland called Kilkeel. There we met an extraordinarily talented team of sculptors and engineers, who worked with both ancient tools and state of the art sculpting technology to bring the new Monument to life.
On September 6, 2005 the replica of the Monument was placed on the portico of Monumental Church. Alfred shot the monument after it had been placed. Eric is flanked by Wesley and Leslie McConnell who came from Ireland to place the Monument.
Their company, S. McConnell & Sons carved the monument from the Laser Scans of the original.
Then on October 7th both the documentary and the new Monument made their debuts. Sarah Cooleen and Eric & Shira Futterman during the Monument unveiling.
The team that made the monument and the documentary enjoy the moment three years after the project began.
Saving Grace has appeared on Television in Richmond, Charlottesville, Norfolk, Virginia Beach and was presented in a special seminar screening at the National Academy of Sciences. Look here for further air dates and distribution of the project.
To Bear Witness/A Living Testimonial of the Holocaust
This 60-minute production won a Capital Region Emmy for Best Scriptwriting in a Documentary. To Bear Witness focuses on Holocaust survivors and American Soldiers who liberated Concentration Camps, all of whom now live on the Virginia Peninsula.It is now being used in schools on the Virginia Peninsula to teach students this important lesson from World War Two.
In 1998 Eric was given the honor of lighting one of six large candles on Holocaust Memorial Day in Newport News Virginia. Each candle represented one million victims of the Nazi Holocaust of the Jews. The honor of lighting the candle was given for the contribution To Bear Witness made in educating students about the Holocaust.
Two years later Eric was asked to contribute to this extraordinary book, To Life: Stories of Courage and Survival. This book, published by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, of profiles Virginia Holocaust Survivors and it made its debut on August 21st. Eric wrote two profiles of survivors for the book. Both survivors, Irving Althaus and Ethel Sternberg were featured in To Bear Witness-A Living Testimonial of the Holocaust.
For more information on how to purchase this book call Temple Israel in Norfolk, VA.
Dragon Run
The Dragon Run River, one of Virginia’s last pristine waterways, is located in a region of the state that is ripe for development. That has many who have worked to preserve the river concerned about pollution from overdevelopment seeping into this mysterious body of water that is part swampland and part wide expanse teeming with wildlife.
The Dragon Run Steering Committee and the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission hired EAF to produce the 25 minute documentary designed to show how well thought-out planning can accommodate growth without destroying what’s best about the Dragon Run.
Much of what we shot was done in 100 degree weather in the heart of Virginia swampland and it was worth every minute. Director of Photography Alfred Shapiro skillfully shot on the shoulder on the tip of a Canoe while avoiding several mishaps with my effort to steer us through the thick vegetation and several beaver dams.Dave Park also shot elements of the video that included farming scenes, the lumber industry at work and natural beauty that reminds us why Virginia is still one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Beyond the Numbers/The Reality of Abuse
This twenty-two minute documentary short won a National Silver Telly, the highest honor. The documentary uses powerful dramatizations and interviews with experts and victims of abuse to help the uninitiated get a better understanding of the scope of sexual, child, and family abuse that exists in our nation today.
Liz Ernest and Gayle Turner play a couple on the edge of violence in Beyond the Numbers/The Reality of Abuse.
Chevra Thelim Synagogue
Eric wrote and directed a 13 minute fundraising video featuring former members who belonged to Chevra Thelim as long as sixty years ago. Those members painted the picture of an immigrant community trying to weave their way into the American tapestry during the heart of the Great Depression. Joe Kuttenkuler shot the piece.
Those interview subjects included Eric's mother, Mindy Chovitz Futterman and her brother, Meyer Chovitz, who were interviewed together in front of a memorial plaque to their mother Ethel Chovitz.
The documentary premiere on the big screen at Norfolk’s NARO Theater. Joe Kuttenkuler who shot and edited Chevra Thelim and Eric during the Jewish Film Festival in which Chevra Thelim premiered
