HOTEL REFINEMENT, USA-2005
OUT NOW
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Welcome to the official website of Hotel Refinement. Check out the trailer, discover the storyline and uncover plot details, learn about the cast and crew, find out what the critics’ are saying, and so much more. Explore the site now to join in on all of the action.
ROBERT CLAPSADLE
Writer/Director
Mr. Clapsadle studied film, video, painting and theater at the Albright Art Institute at the University of Buffalo, the Art Student's League and the New York School for Social Research.
In 1968 he founded The Company, an Off Broadway repertory group producing and directing a variety of plays, including several of his own works. His play Promises to Keep was called "One of the year's ten best" by The Village Voice. The Company also produced original works by such Innovative playwrights as Marge Mahle, Joe Chaiken, and Sam Shepard.
Mr. Clapsadle has worked as an actor, production manager, film editor, and set designer.
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Since 1988 he has headed up Paradise Cove Productions (formerly Ghost Dance Productions), an independent film company specializing in film noir, documentaries on political activism, and sensitive themes relating to Native Americans: The Ride to Wounded Knee won "Best Feature Documentary" at the PhilaFilm Festival, opened the 1991 American Indian Film Festival, and received excellent reviews.
He wrote and directed Paradise Cove, completed in 2002, a major motion picture intended for theatrical release. It is a film noir starring Ben Gazzara, Karen Black, and Jacob Nathanial.
He has created several short prizewinning films, based on his original poems, including Ghost Train, The Island, and The Snake.
He wrote, directed and edited Hotel Refinement, now available on vimeo on demand (link). This film noir, about a love triangle and a heist gone bad, has a subplot about Guantanamo and torture.
He is currently in preproduction on a new feature, Leon’s Daughter, and is developing a new script, Flamingo Motel.
Carol Wolman
Producer
Dr. Wolman is a practicing psychiatrist, a producer, and a musicologist. She has been in the business of motion picture production for over 35 years.
She is also a humanitarian and political activist, organizing fundraisers for disaster relief, writing political commentary, and lobbying the government for reform and nuclear disarmament.
With an equally strong talent for business, Dr. Wolman founded the California chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, started the Mendocino Center for Peace and Justice, and has worked with many peace organizations.
A stint in the Public Health Service at the Gallup Indian Medical Center created a strong interest in Native Americans. She was a consultant to the Native American Health Center in Oakland, CA, and also to the American Indian Child Welfare Center.
In 1988 she co-founded Ghost Dance Productions, which later grew into Paradise Cove Productions. She was the executive producer for 3 feature films: The Ride to Wounded Knee, Paradise Cove and Hotel Refinement, and also has produced documentary and short films- Ghost Dance, Survivor Stories, Bye Bye Bybee, and others.
She studied musical composition at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia and sang with the prestigious Singing City Choir. Dr. Wolman has applied her musical background to filmmaking. She was the musicologist for The Ride to Wounded Knee, assembling a beautiful sound track of rare native recordings and other archival music. She also composed songs for the original score of Paradise Cove, and was the music editor for Hotel Refinement.