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He's been called Dr. Bones and Reptile Ray. Usually dressed in tattered "field-trip" clothes, Ray Bandar has been a fixture at the California Academy of Sciences and the beaches around the Bay Area for more than 50 years. "A Life with Skulls" captures Ray's obsession for collecting skulls from local beaches, road kill, zoo animals and on field trips to Mexico, Australia and in the US.

This humorous movie investigates Bandar's history as a skull collector, showing many of the thousands of skulls he has accumulated over the years, talking to Alkmene, his resilient wife, and touring the awe-inspiring Bone Palace.

"A Life with Skulls" is an inspiring look at the life of a man who has a special tie to the natural world. You will be motivated to go out and explore it for yourself.

Related Web Sites
The official web site for the movie:
www.a-life-with-skulls.com

John Zorn's web site (for the soundtrack)
http://www.tzadik.com/index.php?catalog=7353

Beth Cataldo's web site:
www.bethcataldo.com

The California Academy of Sciences:
http://www.calacademy.org/

The Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association web site (Beach Watch program)
http://www.farallones.org/

The Marine Mammal Center web site
www.tmmc.org

Hummingbird Multimedia publishing
www.hummingbirdmultimedia.com

About the Producer:

Beth Cataldo is the coordinator of the Multimedia Studies Program at City College of San Francisco, where she teaches DVD authoring and web production. She received her MA in instructional technology from San Francisco State University in 2003.

Inspired by her volunteer work at the Marine Mammal Center and Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association, Beth began making educational and training movies about wildlife in 2002. In 2003, her short documentary about elephant seals, Rules of Attraction, played at the SF Ocean Film Festival and the California State Fair.

This past year, A Life with Skulls has shown in several venues, including the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, The Earthdance Environmental Film Festival and the Randall and Bay Model museums. It also won Best of Festival Award – Documentary at the 2006 Berkeley Film Festival and an Honorable Mention for Storytelling from the International Wildlife Film Festival in 2007. You'll find samples of her movies, writing, photos and web work on www.bethcataldo.com.