Feature, 88 min, Not rated
The feature documentary: Acting Like Nothing Is Wrong.
Director: Jane Rosemont
Documentary Feature, United States, 2022, 88 min, Color
Despite what would seem to be a flourishing career, most recently playing Kermit on Showtime’s Shameless, Hollywood character actor Jim Hoffmaster struggles both professionally and personally.
Acting Like Nothing is Wrong explores how he navigates life without a stable upbringing. Foster care and abuse lead Jim to acting, where he could finally be seen and appreciated.
The film poses universal questions and illuminates mental health issues we experience on a daily basis. Do we ever completely overcome our traumas? What are our coping mechanisms?
Glimmers of hope and healthy doses of comedy are vital elements in the film.
The director grew up in Detroit.
Director: Jane Rosemont
Writer: Jane Rosemont
Producer: Jane Rosemont
Co-Producer: Kimberley Browning
Key Cast: Jim Hoffmaster, Wes Studi
Editors: David Aubrey, Dillon Brown
Director of Photography: Seth Fuller
Jane Rosemont is an award-winning filmmaker and photographer. Her debut film Pie Lady of Pie Town, narrated by Academy Award winner Wes Studi, premiered in Hollywood in June 2014. It has been an official selection in over 45 festivals, winning 18 awards including Best Short Documentary, Best Music, and Best Director.
Jane was born in Detroit, Michigan, the youngest of eight happy children. After dragging her feet through college and holding jobs without passion, she met an Olympus OM2 that gave her the focus she lacked and desperately craved. Her photography has been exhibited and published across the USA for four decades. A book of black and white portraits entitled Saving Faces was published in 1996.
Proud and grateful to be a two-time cancer survivor, she lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her husband Dick. Dick Rosemont produced Pie Lady of Pie Town and is the subject of Jane’s short-short film Shirts! He is executive producer of Acting Like Nothing is Wrong. Dick buys and sells vinyl records as "The Guy in the Groove," is a music researcher, writer, presenter, and archivist.
Acting Like Nothing is Wrong, an intimate portrait of actor Jim Hoffmaster, is about survival and reinvention in a world that did not offer love or stability. Complex and compelling, Jim’s story incorporates humor and hope despite his difficult upbringing.
For years, Jim and I both lived in Michigan but knew each other only casually. Fifteen years ago, during one of my trips to Los Angeles where he had moved to pursue an acting career, we reconnected. As we got to know each other, I became increasingly captivated by the convoluted chain of events in his life. I was raised in a stable, loving home, the youngest of eight spirited children. Hearing Jim relay childhood abandonment, abuse, and loneliness was akin to reading Charles Dickens.
My decision to make the film came quickly while I was at a film festival, viewing a documentary that focused on a foster child. I vowed to offer another voice to the widespread failure of the 1960s foster care system. I was determined to craft a film that respectfully exposed the details of this particular foster child, as well as present unexpected humor to balance the story.
During the process of filming, I would often take advantage of making photos of Jim. As a photographer for over three decades, how could I not take advantage of his malleable face? At the time, I did not realize that they would become vital elements in the film itself.
While Jim presents strength and confidence to the public, he continues to struggle with anxiety and destructive patterns learned from childhood. To help overcome low self-esteem, he mastered acting skills and a wry sense of humor. “The reason acting worked for me is because I was noticed. I was being seen. I hadn’t felt that before.”
Jim’s lighthearted dancing and comedic timing play throughout this film of survival. I am eager to share his narrative and feel hopeful the film will be an inspiration to anyone who has, or knows someone who has, dealt with any level of mental health issues.
Friday, Sep 15, 7:30pm
Soo Theatre
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