Chop Shop is a drama starring Alejandro Polanco, Isamar Gonzales, Ahmad Razvi, Carlos Zapata and Bob Sowulski. Directed by Ramin Bahrani.

I am amazed how much this deceptively simple film moved me. For a brief 84 minutes, I felt as if I was simply observing the life of a 12 year old orphan and his sister. Yet, without any sensationalistic camera tricks or plot contrivances, I found I cared deeply about them and this feeling stayed with me, long after the film was over.

Brad Anderson follows up the Machinist with thriller, Transsiberian. The plot entails a Trans-Siberian train journey from China to Moscow that becomes a thrilling chase of deception and murder when an American couple encounters a mysterious pair of fellow travelers. The film stars Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer. A limited release is scheduled August 18th.

We've had quite a few potentially strong documentaries come into our office over the past couple months. Unfortunately most of them violate one or more of the taboos for crafting a saleable documentary.

Please know that there is nothing wrong with making a film about very personal or arcane subject matter. Just understand that most revenue for a documentary will come from tv licenses, and most tv programmers, especially the ones that offer big license fees, are looking for subject matter that will appeal to a boad audience. As a result, these personal documentaries are very very difficult to sell.

So what are the main do's and don'ts for a saleable documentary? See for yourself after the jump.

Sexual politics and humor go hand in hand with Slippery Slope. Here's your chance to win the film starring Law & Order's Laila Robins and Kelly Hutchinson, along with the Wire's Jim True-Frost.

Sign-up here!

A winner will be chosen on August 5th, and must reside in the US or Canada.

Synopsis

When a cash strapped feminist filmmaker, Gillian (Kelly Hutchinson), meets a mysterious producer (Laila Robins), she secretly takes a job directing a porn film in order to get her master work, “Feminism For Dummies,” out of the lab. Soon, her own slumbering sexuality is awakened in surprising ways. This arouses the suspicion of her politically correct husband, Hugh (Jim True-Frost) and leads to a madcap finale of mistaken identity that threatens to upend Gillian’s best laid plans. Fresh, witty and wise, Slippery Slope is an unforgettable screwball comedy for our times.

We were fortunate enough to catch up with Slippery Slope director Sarah Schenck last week to discuss the experience of producing this very funny and sexy film.

Indiefilmchat: Tell us a little about your background and how you came to make Slippery Slope.

Sarah Schenck: I’m interested in both feminist thought and in sexuality. I’m from rural Pennsylvania and I grew up wanting to travel the world, and then save the world. My parents are Presbyterian and conservative Republicans and I love them very much but found some of my views rather at odds with theirs from an early age. They taught me much about whimsy and play and art and music. My mom made snowballs in January and kept them in the freezer so that we could have a snowball fight in July. That is good parenting.

I traveled the world, at least a little bit, from Bhutan to Brazil and Marrakesh to Mumbai. When I was at college, I worked as a maid in Paris so that I could study at the Alliance Francaise.

I worked for my Senator Arlen Specter on African aid issues; then worked for the United Nations Mineral Resource and Development Commission. I also volunteered with the Special Olympics and taught skiing and ice skating, later on worked as a tutor with the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club, did lots of precinct-walking for Democratic candidates, lectured on 15th and 16th century Flemish painting at the Met. Then I got to New York City and my ambitions changed.