"Waiting to Inhale" premiere in Cologne Germant at international science conference

The Dom Cathedral photo by Dan Dixon

I have come to Cologne Germany to present and discuss "Waiting to Inhale; Marijuana, Medicine and the Law" at the invitation of Franjo Grotenhermen,Executive Director of the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine. On Friday, October 2, I will be presenting and discussing the film and the latest research on medicinal cannabis with Dr. Donald Abrams, a renowned AIDS researcher and oncologist at the conference. Dr. Abrams' landmark clinical study "Cannabis in painful HIV-associated sensory neuropathy: A randomized placebo-controlled trial" was the first clinical study the United States government has allowed in over thirty years. The study was published in the prestigious Journal of Neurology in February 2007, and featured in "Waiting to Inhale".

While I have been to France four times to film the oldest cave paintings on earth and screened my films in Poland, this is the first time I have been to Germany since US financier George Gunn and festival programmer Ulla Rapp invited me to show my film "Ishi, the Last Yahi" at the 1993 Munich International Film Festival. It was a real honor that the film won the Audience Award for Best American Independent film

Cologne (Koln) and Munich (Munchen) are very different cities and both are very friendly to Americans. Inside the old city of Munich you are whisked to another time and place. There are many beautiful old buildings inside the fortress like walls of the ancient city. I have not seen as many historic buildings in Cologne but I have seen the most beautiful cathedral in the world. It is called The Dom. Next to the central train station it is a mecca for tourists from all over the world.

I arrived in Cologne by train from Frankfurt at 7AM. I was fortunate to have arrived in Cologne so early in the morning as the Dom was empty of al tourists, only a handful of local churchgoers were in one small corner of the massive structure.

While I do not attend church services in the US my great uncle Arthur Bianchi taught me to appreciate the way cathedrals and churches are designed. He was a highly regarded architect who designed and built many of the finest churches in Dallas, Texas. He taught me drafting after I finished my twice weekly piano lessons taught by my great aunt Ervie "Burr" Denman Bianchi. Burr was a concert pianist who toured Europe with my grandmother Irene Denman Cowart at the turn of the century performing in piano concerts across the continent. Irene, Arthur and Burr were educated and traveled extensively in Europe. They gave me an appreciation for art and the finer things in life. I think that is one of the reasons I have traveled so extensively in Europe and enjoy the people and different cultures so much.

Southern Circuit Film Tour 2008 Revisited

Last year (2008) at this time I was in the middle of a ten city, five state, eleven day film tour across the south with Emiko Omori and my film "Ripe for Change." As I left on September 16 for the first stop on the tour in Auburn Alabama the financial collapse of the US and world financial markets was gaining strength as stock markets around the world collapsed.

Jed Riffe Manship Theater Baton Rouge, LA
Photo: Sharon Sharpe

Now I am glad that I was on the tour at the time all of this was happening. The great audiences, the wonderful hosts and the beautiful early fall scenery buoyed my spirit and kept me from me depressed about the economy.

Shortly after my return to Berkeley the full force of the economic "tsunami" hit home when Tina, my wife, true love,and personal professional chef was laid off her selling high end professional cooking appliances for the home.

I was waiting to hear from the Sundance Documentary Fund on whether an Audience Engagement grant to continue and expand the successful outreach campaign for my film "Waiting to Inhale: Marijuana, Medicine and the Law" was funded or not.

I was just starting to collaborate with a major museum on a grant to plan and design seven interactive exhibits based on the success of Emrah Oral and my "Public Broadcasting in Public Places" interactive kiosks for the "California and the American Dream" series .

One year later Tina is still looking for work while she provides home-made, healthy free meals to two MS patients and my wonderful team of filmmakers including media fellow Jose Fernandes De Silva. Jose was awarded a fellowship from the Portuguese government to travel to America and work for me for six months. He and I have produced a number of great videos including a 28 minute tv commercial for taxing cannabis in California to alleviate the states budget deficit. The commercial was so successful that it was picked up on ABC's Sunday Evening News, Fox News, CBS Evening News and tons of affiliates .

I just received word that the Sundance Audience Engagement grant for "Waiting to Inhale" was partially funded, and that the museum and I were awarded the grant to design the interactive installations. In the meantime I have started a documentary film on food safety, bacteria and our immune systems, and begun development on the "Ishi" feature film.

I am still seeking funds for "Ripe for Change's" outreach campaign, and the balance need to implement the "Waiting to Inhale" campaign but I am blessed to have this bountiful plate of work to feast on.

Who knows where we will be at this time next year but the world looks a little brighter one year later.

Waiting to Inhale Screening in San Diego

The photo is of Aaron Smith, Marijuana Policy Project Coordinator for the State of California, and Rudy Reyes, a patient activist who was severely burned in the SOCAL fires two years ago on a panel with filmmaker Jed Riffe.

The screening and discussion in San Diego last Sunday was truly awesome, and I do not use that word very often. We packed over 200 cannabis activists and patients into a 180 seat theater at the City of San Diego's Central Library. I turned away another 10-15 people because the floors and doors were blocked with people sitting or standing.

The County of San Diego is refusing to comply with either Proposition 215 or with CA assembly Bill 420. They have collaborated with the DEA in closing down all of the cannabis dispensaries, and have refused to create a state patient ID card program.

Four of the twenty-seven people that were arrested this week in San Diego in a county wide sting operation came to the screening to share their stories.

A full page article debating the county's policies under state law and the medical efficacy of cannabis covered the front page of the San Diego Herald Tribune on Sunday. That followed an in depth interview with me on Channel 4 and its sister station (NBC) in San Diego.

Now its on to screen and discuss the film at the Salt Lake Film Center February 17th.

2009 Year of Change

This is my first post since returning from Poland. I was invited by Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, Director, Global Drug Policy Program, Open Society Institute to screen and discuss "Waiting to Inhale: Marijuana, Medicine and the Law"at Watch Docs. Watch Docs is sponsored by the Helsinki Foundation and the Open Society Institute. Everyone I met was so supportive. It was one of the best experiences in my film career. Photos from the Q&A session:
http://domysly.blox.pl/2008/12/Jed-Riffe-i-jointy-na-recepte.html

Since my return, I produced a proposal to develop seven individual interactive displays for a major museum in the US. I am currently in San Diego for a major screening and discussion of "Waiting to Inhale." San Diego County is refusing to follow state law AB420 and implement a Patient ID program. The County has lost three appeals of their lawsuit which attempts to overturn California Proposition 215 and AB420. This screening, like the one we did in Fresno last July is a direct challenge to the recalcitrant County Supervisors. It worked in Fresno. After a lot of hard work by local activists led by MPP organizer Aaron Smith, and a series of lawsuits by Americans for Safe Access, Fresno County voted to implement a Patient ID program in 2008.

The Elegant Pigs Knuckle

After arriving in Warsaw for Watch Docs, and a tour of the old city by my new friend Marta, I was invited to diner at a wonderful Polish restaurant across from the tower and castle where I photographed the city for my first blog in Poland. My hosts were Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, Director, Global Drug Policy Program, Open Society Institute at the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, her husband Steich (sp) and Alex Kirby who coordinated my visit. And what great hosts they are. This is considered one of the best restaurants in Warsaw.

I wanted to taste the authentic cuisine of Warsaw. As I went through the menu, which was in Polish and English, I saw a lot of dishes that I had never seen before. I asked them Kasia what dishes she considered authentic Polish cuisine. She said I should try the Elegant Pigs Knuckle. I will try anything once and was I glad that I did. As you can see from the photo it was an incredible hunk of meat. It was also extremely tasty. Kasia, Steich, Alex and Marta all ordered the same dish which was a specially prepared duck confit. Duck confit is is normally my favorite dish but I am so glad that I had Elegant Pigs Knuckle.

We ordered wine and sparkling water and eat until we were stuffed. Steich turned me on to another authentic Polish treat...vodka. We had shots of Wyborowa vodka. I had never drank vodka straight, much less in a shot glass. It was so smooth. It did not taste like any other vodka I have ever had.

After this incredible dining experience it was time to head to bed. I would wake up tomorrow on Polish time. In all my days of filming around the world the first thing I do is get on the local time zone. It worked. Now I am ready for my first screening tomorrow.

An Evening in Warsaw at Watch Docs

My first day in Warsaw started at 2PM after an all night flight from San Francisco. It was 5AM in San Francisco. I slept s much as I could on the 14 + hour flight. I am glad I did. Marta and Michael from Watch Docs picked me up at the WAW and escorted me to the Hotel Ibis where the filmmakers were staying. The hotel is next to the "Old City."

After shower I was ready to go out and see the city with Marta. Marta is a beautiful young woman in her last year at the university where she studies dance, photography and languages like Russian, Indian and English, which she is very fluent in. I was really lucky to have such a knowledgeable and pleasant guide to show me Warsaw for the first time.

The old city has many beautiful with beautiful old buildings filled with restaurants, antique stores and gift shops. The square is the original heart of the old city which still has one wall left standing from when it part of the castle fortress. The square was filled with vendors in little wooden stalls selling traditional foods and other items. If I could only bring back some of the traditional smoked meats, fish, cheeses and breads I would be a happy man. However, the last time I brought back food from Germany where I was screening my film Ishi, the Last Yahi I ended up with a customs dog's nose in my luggage at SFO.

We went up a steep and tiny corridor to the top of a watchtower and looked down on the city which was lit up for Christmas. It gave us a spectacular view of the city decorated for Christmas. You might notice in the background of the photo at the top of the page a tall building with a golden tower in the distance. Marta explained to me the that The Palace of Culture and Science was built by the Russians and given as a "gift" to the citizens of Poland from their occupiers.

The more we walked around the city the more I realized how little I knew about Poland, its culture and wonderful people.