Charlotte: A Wooden Boat Story

Welcome to the website and blog for Charlotte: A Wooden Boat Story.  Charlotte is a film about the Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway and the building of the 50 foot gaff rigged schooner, Charlotte.  (Click here for a synopsis.)  It is also a film about tradition, craftsmanship, community and love of the sea.   In this inaugural blog post I will let you know how we are going about distribution and what to expect in future posts.

Along with my colleagues at Antidote Films, we are distributing Charlotte ourselves.  This is a rather daunting proposition, and I am the first to admit that I have grown accustomed to allowing the “professionals” to take care of distribution, as they have for the 15 films that we have previously produced.  Not having conventional distribution means no theatrical release, limited (conventional) publicity and meager resources.  But I believe that the best way for the film to find its audience is through a consistent, long-term, inventive and personalized outreach while seeking to provide the audience with every possible way to see the film. Needless to say the expense, short time horizon and inherent conservatism of conventional distribution does not fit the needs of this film.

So here we are – this includes you, the reader - distributing the film together.  In the coming months it will be shown at film festivals, boat festivals, community centers, craft schools, maritime museums, yacht clubs, and so on. By the end of the summer it will be available for download and streaming on the Internet and, this fall, on DVD.   I will do everything I can to get the word out — screenings, blogging, social networking, and conventional press — but the success of the distribution will depend upon word of mouth.  So I ask each and every one of you that finds Charlotte worthwhile, enjoyable, or intriguing to lend a hand and encourage your family, friends and colleagues to check out the film. 

I hope that you enjoy this blog, and that you find it worthwhile and engaging enough to follow.  For the most part I will not write about the film (as there is ample information about it on the rest of the site, as well as the film itself).  Rather I will focus on the themes, alluded to above, of the film: craftsmanship, tradition, practical beauty, resourcefulness, dedication, the environment, community, family and sustainability to name a few.  I will endeavor to share my thoughts on the larger context and implications of the Boatyard’s work, and to demonstrate that an examination of wooden boats can lead one on an expansive, enjoyable and edifying journey.