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DIRECTION/MONTAGE/CAMERA JAMES M. FELTER was born in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation from college in 1980, Felter started work as an editor/producer for Washington, D.C's first premium movie channel- Super TV. In 1984 while working towards a Master's Degree in Education, Felter wrote and directed STUFFED, an homage to John Waters. STUFFED was later picked up by Film Threat Video. In 1990 Felter wrote and directed RUN OF THE HOUSE, a social satire and IFP "Break Through Film" that premiered at The 1992 Berlin International Film Festival. HOUSE played numerous festivals and received limited theatrical distribution. Felter also has written and produced numerous educational/documentary films and videos recognized for pushing the creative envelope with non-traditional characters and innovative storytelling and production designs. FILMOGRAPHY RATS (1999) 1999 Deep Ellum Film Festival - JURY AWARD: Best Documentary 1999 Washington Film and Video Counsel - Peer Award Director of Photography - Feature Documentary AWARE (1995) Crystal Award of Excellence 1996 Communications Award A LITTLE TOWN CALLED PROSPERITY (1994) First Place - Gold Camera 1994 US International Film and Video Festival RUN OF THE HOUSE (1992) World Premiere Panorama Special 1992 Berlin International Film Festival STUFFED (1984) Distributed Film Threat Video PRODUCER/MONTAGE TRACY M. CONES was born in Washington, D.C. Since graduation from college in 1994, Cones has secured a variety of positions on features including: Murder at 1600; Air Force One; The Day of The Jackal and Body Count, to name a few. In addition to her feature work, Cones has traveled extensively thoughout the US and abroad on commercials, industrials and her own projects. Other recent credits include producing two independent films: the provocative new documentary "RATS" (Winner of the Washington Film and Video Council's 1999 Peer Awards Director of Photography - Feature Documentary) and "Furious Seasons," a dark drama based on the Raymond Carver short story of the same name. Also a winner of the Washington Film and Video Council's 1999 Peer Awards Director of Photography - Short Film. Cones has been recognized as an emerging producing and editing talent in the independent film community. ONE LIGHT, ONE CAMERA, THREE STORIES RATS takes a provocative and, at times, humorous look at the circumstances that have fueled the festering rat population of Washington, D.C.. RATS is a true urban-wild life film (nothing was staged), but its zen flow evolves into much more. While rodents take top billing in our three stories, their human co-stars provide a haunting social commentary on the human condition. From the mouths and minds of homeless philosophers who sleep amongst the rats, to bewildered city officials dealing with a city in decline, to the hordes of hungry vermin, RATS becomes a broader intellectual journey and call for spiritual responsibility. CREDITS Director James M. Felter Producers James M. Felter/Tracy M. Cones Montage James M. Felter/Tracy M. Cones Camera James M. Felter Sound Design Paul Perret Music Tom Barrick

Rat gnawing exerts incredible pressure: 24,000 pounds per square inch. They can cut through paper, rags, wood, bone, insulation of all kinds, asbestos, brick, cinder blocks, four-inch thick concrete, aluminum -- even a 1/2 inch thick sheet of metal.

A single pair of rats can multiply more than 15,000 descendants in 1 year; 359 million in 3 years.

Rats transmit at least 35 diseases.

There are an estimated 235 million rats in the U.S.

Rats eat 50 pounds of food a year and can eat 1/3 of their weight a day.

Garbage-fed city rats are considerably larger than their rural cousins.

Rats can survive for 14 days without food.

Rats will eat each other if there is no food.

Pack size can range from 15 to 220 individuals.

One dominant male rat lives with a harem of several female rats.

When females don't want to mate, they make a high-frequency squeal of 22 KHz. This acts as an ultrasonic contraceptive.

Social order is determined by fighting status, with the lower status kept the farthest from the food supply.

A U.S. Government report states that each rat damages $1 to $10 worth of food and other material per year, and contaminates 5 to 10 times more. This means (conservatively) 200 million U.S. rats cause $1 billion to $20 billion in direct economic losses.

FDA guidelines allow "an average of two rodent hairs per one hundred grams of peanut butter."

Rats survived atomic testing on Engebi Island in the 1940's.

5 to 25% of all unknown-cause fires are caused by rats.

In 1972, the U.S. Center for Disease Control warned "plague must be viewed not as a historical phenomenon, but as an ever-present threat, not only in the U.S., but throughout the world.

Ratbourne Bubonic plague is far from dead and a fourth pandemic could easily occur. No cases have been reported in urban U.S. since 1924, but there have been cases in rural areas. In 1980, there were 18 reported cases, 5 fatal. These numbers would become dramatic if infected rodents are driven from their homes, as they are in brush fires in California, and these rats come in contact with rats in major metropolitan areas.