The lights of Times Square have always awed spectators. Over the years the incandescent bulbs of theaters have given way to the fluorescent tubes of advertising. Specificity has been lost as everything becomes generic. In this landscape the news of the war in Iraq becomes just another part of corporate America. Displayed on oversized screens, images of the war become compelling entertainment. Flashing between a toy giraffe and a beer commercial the news of more troops killed loses its scary reality. Shot entirely in Times Square, Spring In Awe examines how the realities and absurdities of the war in Iraq are obscured by the blurring of the lines between news, entertainment and advertising.

Filmmaker Bio - Martina Radwan

Martina Radwan started in her native Germany in the film industry in 1987 as a Camera Technician at ARRI, Berlin. In 1988 she began to work in production as an Assistant Camera, where she worked with DP’s like Robby Mueller, Juergen Juerges and Sophy Mantigneux and directors like Wim Wenders and Albert Maysles.

In 1995 she moved to New York where she attended the film program at NYU. She broke into the industry as an AC for Lisa Rinzler and Wolfgang Held and started to work as 2nd Unit DP or operator for high-end production.

In addition to her career as an Assistant Camera she started to work as a Director of Photography and shoot features, documentaries and shorts. Her documentaries could be seen on numerous festivals, PBS, HBO and the European ARTE channel, as well as a lot of her shorts. Her work includes collaboration with directors like Rebecca Miller, Alison McLean, Jenny Livingston, Pola Rappaport and Tina DiFeliciantonio.

In 2001 she collaborated with Ellen Kuras as 2nd Camera Operator on Personal Velocity, a feature directed by Rebecca Miller and produced by InDiGent. The film won at Sundance Film Festival 2002 the Cinematographer Award and The Grand Jury price for Best Film.

Ferry Tales, a documentary she shot, got nominated for the 76th Academy Award in 2004.

In the spring of 2003, as a reaction to the political situation, she put together the idea for her short film Spring in Awe, which she realized by June 2003.

Currently she is working on a documentary about identity and racism, which she will direct.