Tribeca Film in partnership with American Express presents a
A Company Films Production
Directed by Chris Kenneally
SIDE BY SIDE
Produced by Keanu Reeves and Justin Szlasa
Official selection of:
2012 Berlin International Film Festival
2012 Hong Kong International Film Festival
2012 Sydney Film Festival
2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Running Time: 99 Minutes
New York: August 31 at Quad Cinema and The Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
SYNOPSIS
Join Keanu Reeves on a tour of the past and the future of filmmaking in SIDE BY SIDE. Since the
invention of cinema, the standard format for recording moving images has been film. Over the
past two decades, a new form of digital filmmaking has emerged, creating a groundbreaking
evolution in the medium. Reeves explores the development of cinema and the impact of digital
filmmaking via in-depth interviews with Hollywood masters, such as James Cameron, David
Fincher, David Lynch, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Steven Soderbergh,
and many more.
PRODUCER’S STATEMENT FROM KEANU REEVES
In 2009, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE won the academy award for best cinematography. It was a
point of inflection for our industry. For the first time, the award for cinematography went to a
movie shot almost entirely digitally and not on film. Over the last decade movies shot, edited
and distributed digitally have become an acceptable alternative to a photochemical process
with over one hundred years of history. At this moment in time, the digital world and the
photochemical world exist side by side in the movie industry–from image capture to visual
effects to color correction to exhibition. The master cinematographers and directors are now
crafting work in both mediums.
I have seen this quiet revolution unfold in front of me on sets, in edit rooms and postproduction facilities
and on screens around the world. With that in mind I have embarked on a
major documentary project directed by Chris Kenneally to explore how this change will impact
motion pictures and the way stories are conceived, created and experienced. I am producing
the documentary and have hands-on involvement both behind and in front of the camera. The
goal is to examine the worlds of film and digital cinema as they exist side by side.
The documentary will investigate the history, process and workflow of both digital and
photochemical film creation. We aim to show what artists and filmmakers have been able to
accomplish with both film and digital and how their needs and innovations have helped push
filmmaking in new directions. Interviews with directors, cinematographers, colorists,
scientists, engineers and artists will reveal their experiences and feelings about working with
film and digital, where we are now, how we got here and what the future may bring…
Music………………………………………………………………………………………. Brendan Ryan
………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Billy Ryan
Director of Photography………………………………………………………………. Chris Cassidy
Editor…………………………………………………………………………………………. Mike Long
………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Malcolm Hearn
Produced by……………………………………………………………………………….. Keanu Reeves
…………………………………………………………………………………………………. Justin Szlasa
Directed by……………………………………………………………………………………….. Chris Kenneally
BIOGRAPHIES
CHRIS KENNEALLY (Director)
Writer/Director Chris Kenneally was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1970. He now lives in
Brooklyn, New York and has been working in the film industry since 1998.
He wrote, directed and produced the documentary CRAZY LEGS CONTI: ZEN AND THE ART OF
COMPETITIVE EATING, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was broadcast on A&E
and Channel-Five (UK).
His latest project is writing and directing the documentary SIDE BY SIDE with producer Keanu
Reeves. Through interviews with some of the most renowned directors, cinematographers and
artists in the world, the film explores digital technology’s impact on cinema.
Chris is currently in pre-production on a narrative feature he wrote about a teenage graffiti
artist in Coney Island called GREEN DOLPHIN. He is also developing an episodic series called
CHEF—a dark comedy about a struggling cook in New York City’s cutthroat culinary world.
KEANU REEVES (Producer)
Keanu Reeves is one of Hollywood’s most sought after leading men. In November 2012, he will
be seen on the big screen in 47 RONIN, an 18th century story centered on a band of samurai
who set out to avenge the death of their master. Reeves will soon make his directorial debut
with the film, MAN OF TAI CHI, which is currently in production in China.
Recent film credits for Reeves include: HENRY’S CRIME, which he both starred and produced,
THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE written and directed by Rebecca Miller in a supporting role
opposite Robin Wright, the Fox film THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, a remake of the 1951
classic sci-fi film, starring opposite Jennifer Connelly, the cop thriller STREET KINGS opposite
Forest Whitaker, THE LAKE HOUSE, a romantic drama starring opposite Sandra Bullock and A
SCANNER DARKLY, a highly stylized blend of live-action and animation. Reeves also starred in the
comic adaptation CONSTANTINE opposite Rachel Weisz, the independent film THUMBSUCKER,
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE, a romantic comedy in which he starred opposite Jack Nicholson and
Diane Keaton as well as the highly anticipated THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, the final chapter in
the blockbuster THE MATRIX trilogy and the follow-up to THE MATRIX RELOADED.
His long list of credits include HARDBALL, THE GIFT opposite Cate Blanchette for which he
received critical acclaim, SWEET NOVEMBER, THE REPLACEMENTS, A WALK IN THE CLOUDS,=
the hit thriller, DEVIL’S ADVOCATE, opposite Al Pacino and Charlize Theron; LITTLE BUDDHA,
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, opposite Denzel Washington, Emma Thompson and Michael
Keaton. Reeves was also seen in BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO, POINT
BREAK, the very popular BILL & TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE and its sequel, BILL & TED’S
BOGUS JOURNEY.
Raised in Toronto, Reeves performed in various local theater productions and on television
before relocating to Los Angeles. His first widely acclaimed role was in Tim Hunter’s RIVER’S
EDGE. He then starred in Marisa Silver’s PERMANENT RECORD, and with Amy Madigan and Fred
Ward in THE PRINCE OF PENNSYLVANIA. Yet another turn came when the actor was cast as the
innocent Danceny in Stephen Frears’ highly praised DANGEROUS LIAISONS, alongside Glenn
Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer. He joined other outstanding casts that year in Ron
Howard’s comedy, PARENTHOOD, and Lawrence Kasdan’s I LOVE YOU TO DEATH. Audiences
saw Reeves for the first time as the romantic lead opposite Barbara Hershey in Jon Amiel’s TUNE
IN TOMORROW, also starring Peter Falk. His additional credits include Tri-Star’s sci-fi thriller,
JOHNNY MNEMONIC, Andrew Davis’ action film, CHAIN REACTION, and the dark comedy
FEELING MINNESOTA, directed by Steve Baigelman for New Line Cinema.
JUSTIN SZLASA (Producer)
Justin is a documentary filmmaker. He directed, produced and edited the critically acclaimed
feature documentary 759:BOY SCOUTS OF HARLEM which aired nationally on public television
stations in 2010. With Keanu Reeves, Justin produced the documentary SIDE BY SIDE about the
science, art and impact of digital cinema which premiered at the 2012 Berlinale.
A business background led Justin to filmmaking. He started his career as a management
consultant but quit in 1997 to start Hubbard One, a software and services company. Under
Justin’s management, Hubbard became an industry leader and was named by Deloitte as one of
the fastest growing businesses in the country for three years in a row. In 2004, ThomsonReuters acquired Hubbard One.
Justin received a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University, a
master’s degree in international economic policy from Columbia and has studied filmmaking at
New York University and the School of Visual Arts. Justin grew up in Big Flats, New York,
currently resides in Paris with his family. He is an Eagle Scout.
Currently Justin is developing two documentary projects. One is about digital filmmaking in the
developing world and the other is about the challenges of raising children in non-traditional households.
CHRIS CASSIDY (Director of Photography)
Chris Cassidy is a critically acclaimed cinematographer and photographer who has been working
in the industry for over twenty years. Based out of Brooklyn, Chris specializes in documentary
work and music video. His work has screened at dozens of festivals domestically and
abroad. Chris also directed the MTV World Aids Day Film Festival Grand Prize short film titled
DEAR BARBRA. Other projects include BIRD STRIKES, CHARGE FOR THAT, OLD SCHOOL, NEW
SCHOOL, THE ROCKING HORSE WINNER, and WE WILL GO TO THEM TONIGHT: THE STORY OF
THE BOGMEN.
MALCOLM HEARN (Editor)
Malcolm Hearn discovered his passion for film while interviewing a gravedigger for his first
documentary, LIBERIA: THE SECRET WAR, in war torn West Africa in 1997. Since then, he has
wandered the earth with this passion and continues to work on documentaries that often focus
on the arts, culture and political issues.
In 2011 the documentary MAKE, an interwoven story of four American self-taught artists, was
officially released. The film, which Hearn directed and edited, was completed with a grant from the
American Visionary Museum in Baltimore and was screened at the American Folk Art
Museum in New York, the Kohler Arts Center in Wisconsin and the Galerie Objet Trouvé in Paris.
David Byrne described the film, “as high and fun and beautifully primal crazy enlightening as it
gets.”
Hearn’s video work has been exhibited in the New York galleries I-20 and White Columns.
He is currently directing WITHOUT ART, a documentary fiscally sponsored by the Brooklyn Arts
Council.
MIKE LONG (Editor)
Editor Mike Long was born in Okinawa, Japan and raised outside of San Francisco,
California. After being invited to attend the New York Underground Film Festival to in 1999, he
moved to New York City full time to pursue film and TV editing. Over the last decade, he has
worked along side directors and producers like Joe Berlinger, Keanu Reeves, Bob Ezrin and Jay-Z,
on projects for the likes of PBS, National Geographic, Al Jazeera Kids and NASA. His directing
work has been screened in museums and festivals in Mexico City, Amsterdam, New York City,
and Los Angeles, and is part of the permanent collection at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.