Ugambo – 1987. Satirical parody of “Wild Kingdom”		Bag a Buck – 1987. Deer hunting comedy
John Sellew		Sam Mills and Sanjiban

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Prayer Box – 2003
Sanjiban

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Prayer Box Two – 2004. A small church with big ideas
Sam Mills and Sanjiban

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Sanjiban and Paul Strom

The Cyclone – 1982. A gay marriage gets stormy.

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“Keep up the zany work, don't lose your off the wall perspective... its what makes your films so very special.”
J. Hunter Todd, Chairman and Founder,
Houston International Film Festival

“These self-described “Big Boys” have a knack for translating their innate lunacy to the screen.
The films make the most of the creators home state (MA) whose rural trappings make the Konkapot crew's work all the more surreal.”
David E. Williams
Film Threat Magazine

left to right: Jane McWhorter, John MacGruer, Sanjiban Sellew, Sam Mills, Mark Trocchi, Cynthia Atwood, John Sellew, Warren Amerman

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"Certainly enjoyed viewing all your productions. I envy the fun you had making them and impressed with how great they look."
Bo Smith
Film /Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

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Sanjiban with curator/filmmaker Jimi Pantalon of WashMachineProductions

Sanjiban Solo Film Show at Collective: Unconscious, NYC, March 20th, 2008

“Pinnacle Man” Review by Tyler Horne A somewhat eclectic group of miscreants gathered at the Collective: Unconscious theater in Tribeca on March 20th 2008. The lights dimmed. Jimi told a nice story. We laughed… The films began. They were short. They were clever. They were funny. They took big risks to tell big stories. They are Sanjiban films. Sanjiban is alone, and it seems as though the universe is always out to get him… or perhaps he's always out to get the universe. Collaborating with the various disciples within himself, Sanjiban embodies human nature’s strange and ridiculous struggle against the greater forces. In one film entitled “The Fight That Never Ends” he takes on God in a boxing match. He calls God out and fights with every fiber of his being. In the end he is left lying on the ground beaten and bloody but yet seemingly ecstatic. Sanjiban is the writer and actor in all his recent films. Oh, and the camerawork is by Sanjiban as well! Is there anything this guy doesn't do? The answer is; No, he even imprisons himself in the suspense thriller “Self Arrest”. With his hands tied behind his back he still manages to pull off some exquisite camera work. In “I Got Mail” he walks out the front door on a sunny morning heading towards his mailbox only to discover the mail is hot; literally. It's on fire and he nearly gets torched simply trying to retrieve the news of the day. It leaves a person asking the big questions. In a way, I think his altercations with the greater forces of the universe have somehow transferred a miraculous energy over to Sanjiban's side, creating a truly awe-inspiring and unforgettable experience. Sanjiban, we thank you.
	Pinnacle Man was the first installment of the WashMachine Cinema Cycle at Collective:Unconscious.

Sanjiban in NYC after the show

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Acknowledgments
My friends have helped me make these short movies. I'm sorry I will not be able to list everyone who has assisted me thru 30 years of Konkapot filmmaking.

Ed Rudolph - Ed was my first professional video editor. He was lightning fast with his equipment and gave me hours of free editing time at Video Arts in San Francisco in the early ‘80s. Ed made our short films available on VHS.

Tom Draudt - Tom is a video artist and producer. In 1989 he helped me package the Konkapot short films in video albums that had 5 to 7 shorts per program running 30 minutes long. Tom knows what it takes to be a Pinnacle Man.

Warren Amerman - Warren does it all. He is a writer and producer who currently has a first class digital recording studio in a church in West Springfield MA. He has given to me more of his time than any other artist I know. He was involved in all my films that have been finalist or received awards in super-8 filmmaking. That is why I call Warren, “Wowee.”

Bob Brodsky and Toni Treadway - These folks are a must for any serious filmmaker. Bob has transferred over 40 Super 8 films of mine. He suffers on behalf of the artist. Bob goes after all those little specs of dirt and color corrects as he moves through his transfer process. When he is done you can't believe how sweet it is. Toni holds the fort down multitasking and scheduling for the king.

Lewis Buchner - Lew shot some of the best Super 8 film of anyone I know. He was fast in the field and quick with camera set-ups. He never was nervous about getting in close. Lew was my first cameraman. He set a standard of cinematic excellence that I tried to match when I started shooting my super-8 cameras. Lew filmed Air Guitar, a spoof music video with the Phil Davi Band of San Francisco, which won an honorable mention in the 1984 Palo Alto Film Festival and aired on KTEH-TV in San Jose, CA.

John MacGruer - John’s superb frames brought us a couple significant awards because he was good with the camera. Roadkill Revival and Don't Wake The Wicked illustrate John delivering the cinematic goods.

Jane McWhorter - Jane is a graphic designer and photographer. She has laid out almost all of Sanjiban’s film related album covers, posters, ads for shows, etc, over the years. She does it right the first time. She’s the best.

Mickey Friedman - Mickey lives in the dark until the project is done. He was the editor for the award winning I Got Mail, The Fight That Never Ends, and Lucky Penny. One On None was our collaboration in 2001 and premiered at the Triplex Cinema the same week the Twin Towers came down.

Sam Mills - Sam has brought something to my table that no one else could offer. We are blood brothers. He invoked and supported our extended childhood. We manifested this thru storytelling and filmmaking. His first short movie, Have Faith In Vishnu, set the tone in the methodology and mythology of how Sanjiban Films would be made for the next 30 years.

John Sellew - My twin brother’s music has given my short films an integrity and wholeness thru his spirited injections of sound. John has composed over 30 original scores for Konkapot and Sanjiban Films. The Damah Film Festival gave John an award for BEST SOUND in Parada Vida during the screenings at the Seattle Art Museum in 2001. John also starred in Remembering Lao and shot camera for Me Against You, Bag a Buck, Pinnacle Man, and Posted. John is currently my digital editor and music composer. He calls himself Springwater Johnny when he's in the zone.

Cynthia Atwood - Cynthia is my best friend. I'm lucky to have her as my good wife. Lucky Penny is a documentary film I made about her interaction with 300 abandoned logs in the woods and was a finalist in the 2006 Digital Film Festival, Rutgers, NJ. In 1991 Cynthia starred in award winning Don't Wake The Wicked. In 1988 Cynthia created and swam in a cartoon water ballet called Recent Beavers. I love her so.

Sanjiban Welles Sellew - I am the son of Catherine L. Spadaccini and Welles H. Sellew. My wife tells me that the words ‘restless rascal’ will be on my gravestone.

 

Copyright © 2006, Sanjiban Sellew. All rights reserved.