DAVID GAYNES

CINEMATOGRAPHER

JANUARY 25th ABOUT HIS NEW FILM “SAVING HUBBLE”

Cinematographer, David Gaynes, will speak at the weekly meeting of the Y's Men of Westport/Weston on Thursday, January 25th. His talk is titled,  "Saving the Hubble Telescope: The Relevance of the Cosmos in a Troubled Time" The meeting begins at 10AM at the Saugatuck Congregational Church, 245 Post Road East.

David Gaynes will talk about his documentary film, “Saving Hubble”, which recounts the recent history of Hubble, explores how the telescope became ensnared in a debate over the future of US Space Policy, and celebrates the accomplishments of the spacecraft that came to ask questions not just about the universe, but of its inhabitants as well. “Saving Hubble” is a creative departure for the documentary film genre, delving into a mystery that is all at once political, cultural, and scientific.  While the film is ostensibly about the fight to save Hubble from an untimely demise, at its core the film seeks to be the filmic reflection of the essential questions that Hubble itself asks: "Who are we and what are we doing here?"

David Gaynes is establishing himself as a creative storyteller and unique voice in the world of independent film. “Keeper of the Kohn” , his first feature, won Best Documentary at the 2005 Vail Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the 2005 Palm Beach Film Festival. Keeper has been screened in festivals nationwide, was featured in USA Today and many other newspapers, and has been seen on select PBS Stations.

”More Than Skin Deep” won Best Documentary at the 2002 US Super 8/Digital Video Film Festival, and was an official selection for the AIVF Pitch to PBS Competition. It was distributed to PBS Stations nationally through NETA and has been viewed widely in educational venues.

As a cinematographer, David is routinely enlisted to shoot challenging material for a wide variety of film and television producers. Recent films include “Men of the Cloth" and “Release: The Jack Ryan Story” . Recent television work includes HD Shoots for Food Network's “Unwrapped” and HGTV's “If Walls Could Talk.”

David began his career chasing ambulances for local television news outlets throughout the northeast, but his dreams of being the next Dan Rather were cut short by a choice of unflattering adjectives when describing a corrupt, upstate New York Sheriff over a recorded phone line. Determined to produce media that would achieve higher journalistic and aesthetic standards, he launched Out of the Box TV, which served as his production umbrella for 5 years. Through Out of the Box TV, he produced an impressive body of work ranging from short documentaries, to industrials, to Internet-based photojournalism. His other interests include competitive distance running and musical performance. He filled in on drums at the 2006 Holiday party of the New York City District Attorney's Office, Special Narcotics Division.

David grew up in Weston, CT and currently lives in New York City where he is an active member of his community in many ways, from mentoring at-risk teen filmmakers to editing his building's monthly newsletter. He is a graduate of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

For more information about the Y's Men, contact Bill Meyer, Membership Chairman at 226-3704 or Jon Fox, President at 227-2679 or visit their website: www.ysmenwestportweston.org