Brown Jeffrey

Call of Dudy
Bagpipes ("dudy" in Czech) are generally associated with the Celtic fringe of Europe, but one of the richest and most ethnically diverse bagpipe traditions can also be found in Central Europe. In the Czech lands and in neighboring Bavaria, this tradition once became marginalized and almost disregarded. Yet this historic musical form has survived and even managed to renew itself; to develop further on a regional scale - crossing national and linguistic borders. Call of Dudy captures the people and places that are keeping this centuries-old tradition alive today for future generations.

Rex-patriates
A documentary satire. In 1990 Alan Levy, editor-in-chief of The Prague Post, dubbed Prague the left bank of the nineties, a new European refuge for American artists, just as Paris had been in the twenties for émigrés such as Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein or Henry Miller. Levy's announcement sounded like a battle cry summoning emigrants from all over North America. The documentary looks at the lives of four Americans who came to Prague seeking adventure after the fall of Communism. Enchanted by the beauty of the city, cheap beer, and the relaxed lifestyle, they set out to recreate an artistic renaissance. But was Prague fertile enough for their artistic genius?

Durban Poison
The Stable Theatre was the first independent black theatre in South Africa, founded in the racially and culturally mixed city of Durban. Its most famous product is Broadway playwright and pop star Mbongeni Ngema, a controversial figure tainted by scandal and accusations of racism. In an attempt to return to his roots, Ngema begins work on an ambitious new musical designed to tell the Stable's history. Unseen fault lines are crossed, and corruption, fraud and politics threaten to engulf the project. At the same time, the film's producer Deon Maas unexpectedly becomes a reality TV celebrity and decides to use his new public notoriety to investigate the situation. As the musical collapses and the theatre itself slides into failure, the film becomes a road movie through the minefield of contemporary South African politics and a search for the deeper problems at the heart of the Stable Theatre's collapse.

Punk in Africa
Three chords, three countries, one revolution… Punk in Africa is the story of the multi-racial punk movement within the recent political and social upheavals experienced in three Southern African countries: South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In these societies, the punk subculture represented a genuinely radical political impulse, playing out against a backdrop of intense political struggle, economic hardship and even civil war.

Escape from Somalia
The Somali Sea, once among the richest fisheries in the world, has been turning into a ”dead” sea in the last 15 years, when a rampant, massive fishing by multinational fishing cartels essentially wiped all living things out of Somali waters. The film reveals the difficult plight of Somali pirates, mostly former fishermen, for whom the sea is no longer the source of livelihood. In the nation caught in political havoc, the poor uneducated fishermen have are left with no alternative then joining the company of pirates operating along the Somali coast from Eyl to Bosaso. Escape from Somalia follows the fate of Ali, a young fisherman who became a pirate for some time. Their boat was blasted into pieces by a military ship during an unsuccessful hijacking attempt. Trying to save his own life he swam in the sea for many hours until he came upon another pirate boat. His older brothers, who were on the boat with him, perished. He was left alone and has been on the run ever since. The perspective of a young, yet very bright guy gives us a better idea about piracy, often a clear-cut issue from our point of view. It provides the perspective of people who, unlike us, do not decide about their life. Western society may benefit thanks to this point of view. The film does not intend to defend any form of violence, it tries to ponder the reasons that result in massive modern-day piracy. It proves that every action brings a reaction and that the irresponsible behavior of the European society towards Third world countries may have unforeseen consequences that eventually rebound. While already affecting ecology, the irresponsibility of the leading countries involves the large-scale fishing poaching, causing hardship to poor fishermen on the wolrd's coasts.

November
The producers of the film 'Listopad' are telling this story of dissent through the use of reenactments, vox populi interviews and interviews with key student leaders, political activists, dissident artists and members of the police force. The primary storytelling device for the film has been a series of reenactments staged during the twentieth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, on November 13-18, 2009, and continuing throughout 2010, on the main sites of the events of 1989. Three main individuals, who participated in the events of November 17th, 1989, emerged and are featured in this documentary film. By putting these three characters together in the documentary film and in confrontation with the reenactments, the filmmakers have brought back to life the emotions and individual memories of 1989 and believe that the characters have reached a catharsis on their part in the sense of what the meaning and relevance of the Velvet Revolution is 20 years on.

American producer Jeffrey Brown (40) has lived in the Czech Republic for the last 17 years and has produced a number of award-winning narrative features and feature docs in Europe, Africa and the USA. His last narrative feature ‘Mamas & Papas‘ won Best Film and Best Script at the 2010 Hamptons IFF and his upcoming feature doc, ‘Punk In Africa‘ was presented at the SXSW 2011 and premiered at the 2011 Durban IFF in July. He also teaches production at the Prague Film School.

ESCAPE FROM SOMALIA (CZ, 2013) - Documentary Dir. David Calek, A humanistic look into the roots causes of Somali piracy Development support received from Czech Film Fund, application for production to Czech Film Fund In Pre-Production CHILDREN OF TEREZIN (CZ-USA, 2012) - Documentary Dir. Gabriel Bologna, The children of Brundibar theater In Post-Production THE PLAYROOM (2012, USA-CA) – Narrative Feature – U.S.-CA Co-Pro – Dysfuctional Family Drama Dir. Julia Dyer, Male Lead: John Hawkes (Nominated – Best Supporting Actor – 2011 American Oscars) In Post-Production -- Festival Premiere: Winter 2012, Submitted to Sundance IFF LISTOPAD (2012) (CZ-USA) – Doc & Narrative Feature – CZ-U.S. Co-Pro Narrative Dir. Gary Griffin – Coming of Age pre-1989 Documentary Director: Barbara Kopple, 2 x American Oscar winner for Best Documentary PUNK IN AFRICA (2011, CZ-SA) – Doc – Czech-South African Co-Pro - 3 chords, 3 countries, 1 Revolution… Dir. Keith Jones, Deon Maas, World Premiere 2011 DURBAN IFF, Submitted to Toronto IFF & IDFA, TV Pre-sales: Germany, Austria, Switzerland (RedBull Media), South Africa (SABC2), Brazil (Multishow) MAMAS & PAPAS (CZ, 2010) -- Narrative Feature – Adventures in Intimacy Dir. Alice Nellis, 2010, All rights deals: Czech Rep, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Canada, Turkey IFF 2010/2011: Hamptons, Chicago, Vancouver, Montreal, Cinequest, Boulder, Munich, Seattle, Dallas and more Awards: Best Film & Best Script, 2010 Hamptons IFF, Czech Academy Award – Best Female Lead Performance KOOKY (2010, CZ-UK) – Narrative Feature – Czech – British Co-Pro – Live Action Puppet Film Dir. Jan Sverak, 2x Oscar-award winner – Kolya - Best Foreign Film Cinema: Falcon (CZ), Awards: Special Jury Prize 2010 Karlovy Vary IFF, Best Film – Plzen Finale 2011 AUSSIG (2010, CZ-USA) – Narrative Feature – Czech–American Co-Pro – Czech Indie Feature Dir. Tony Laue, Czech Theatrical Release, Sold to Czech TV 2011 DURBAN POISON (2008, CZ-ZA) - Doc – CZ-S. African Co-Pro – Musical Road Movie Through S. African politics Dir. Keith Jones, Deon Maas, TV: SABC 2 – S.Africa Festivals: IDFA Docs for Sale, Music on Film, Pop Montreal SHUT UP AND SHOOT ME (2006, CZ-UK) -- Narrative Feature – CZ-UK - Czech variation on Fargo – Variety Dir. Steen Agro,All rights release: Czech Republic, Ireland, UK, HBO Central Europe, DVD: N. America Awards: Best Film: AFI-Dallas & Cherbourg IFF, Audience Award-Cardiff IFF, Variety Critics’ Choice: Karlovy Vary CALL OF DUDY (2006, CZ) – Doc– Czech-U.S. Co-pro – People & Places Maintaining Czech Bagpipe Tradition Dir. Radim Spacek, Festivals: Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Brussels REXPATRIATES (2004) (CZ) – Narrative Feature Dir. Nancy Bishop, CZ Theatrical (Hollywood Classic), Sold to Czech TV, Festival: Rome, Karlovy Vary, Chicago THE MYTH: NICK CAVE (2004) (CZ) – Documentary - The Myth of pop icon worship Dir. Simon Safranek Fest: Music on Film, Belfast, Glasgow, Helsinki, Sound Unseen (USA) COLLATERAL DAMAGE (2000) - Documentary Dir. Aaron Lukas, Gary Dempsey, A critical look at Nato’s bombing campaign in Kosovo Festival: U.N. Human Rights IFF, San Antonio IFF ADDITIONAL CO-OPERATION BOBULE (2008) (CZ) 2008 Top grossing film in Czech Republic, Special Thanks SHANGHAI KNIGHTS (2004) (USA) – Narrative Feature - Assistant to Executive Producer Dir. David Dobkin, Starring Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson AWARDS --MAMAS & PAPAS: Best Film & Best Script – 2011 Hamptons IFF, Czech Academy Award – Best Female Lead --KOOKY: Special Jury Prize, 2010 Karlovy Vary IFF, Best Film – Finale - Plzen --SHUT UP AND SHOOT ME: Best Narrative Feature – 2007 AFI – DALLAS, Audience Award – 2006 Cardiff IFF, Best Film, Audience Award, Best Actor – 2006 Cherbourg IFF, Variety Critics Choice, Karlovy Vary 2006