David Shaerf, a professor of English and cinema studies at Michigan’s Oakland University, is fanatical about Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. He’s so fanatical that he made a documentary about Moby Dick fanaticism. The film is titled “Call Us Ishmael” and in it, Shaerf joins the devotees who gather annually in New Bedford, Massachusetts to read Moby-Dick aloud, without stopping. He interviews the likes of Frank Stella who spent 15 years making a piece of art for each of the book’s chapters. He talks with the likes of Laurie Anderson who developed an entire live performance and tour titled “Songs and Stories from Moby-Dick” and Matt Kish, the librarian/illustrator who drew “Moby-Dick in Pictures: One Drawing for Every Page.” Now, Shaerf is seeking help via Kickstarter to get Call Me Ishmael ready for release by clearing the music, legal fees, and insurance before he can hand it off to the film’s distributor.
It sounds like a whale of a project and I look forward to seeing the film!
“Support “Call Us Ishmael” via Kickstarter!” (Thanks Ora Pescovitz!)
