Saturday, December 11, 2010, doors 6:30pm, screening begins 7:30
P.P.O.W Gallery
511 West 25th Street, Room 301
New York, NY 10001
FREE, Open to all
Tree Planting Documentary to Screen at PPOW
P.P.O.W is pleased to announce a screening of Adam Humphreys' Franz Otto Ultimate Highballer, a documentary film about the tree planting subculture / industry in western Canada.
What is a Highballer?
Since the mid 1950’s, young and physically able Canadians have taken turns living nomadically in remote areas and performing what has been called the second most difficult job in the world. Tree Planters burn an average of 5000 calories per day. They are paid by the tree. The strongest planters, capable of planting the largest number of trees, thereby earning the most money, occupy a special position in camp. They are the stars. We call them highballers.
Franz Otto Ultimate Highballer is a portrait of the tree planting community shown through a search for it’s most notorious, feared and reclusive figure. A legend that has passed through generations of planters. A man shrouded in myth, known only as “Franz Otto”.
The film was shot in 2009 while Adam Humphreys worked as a planter in Vernon, BC. It was inspired by the online tree planter hall of fame. Adam was particularly awed by the nomination blurbs for a planter named Franz Otto - some of which doubted his existence - and the epic quality of his only available photo at the time.
Distribution
A series of private screenings are taking place across Canada in bars, clubs, cinemas, lecture halls and apartments. These screenings are being organized independently by tree planters familiar with the film's
http://franzotto.com/
