The recently wrapped Dallas International Film Festival, which ran from April 4-14, presented a mix of some 160 features, documentaries and shorts from 28 countries. The diverse offerings included the work of several directors with commercialmaking ties. For example in the Premiere Series section of the Fest, entries included The Brass Teapot directed by Ramaa Mosley, Kings of Summer helmed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, and Kon-Tiki directed by Joachim Renning and Espen Sandberg.
The Brass Teapot marks Mosley’s feature directorial debut; the film premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival (For more on The Brass Teapot, see SHOOTonline, 9/21/12). Mosley is repped for spots and branded content by trio films. The Brass Teapot, which recently opened in limited release, is the first narrative film from Union Entertainment Group, a sister shop to Union Editorial, a house well known to the ad community.
Meanwhile, Kings of Summer, a coming-of-age comedy centered on three teenage friends, this past weekend won the Dallas Festival’s Audience Award in the Narrative Feature category. (Vogt-Roberts’ commercialmaking roost is RSA Films.) The film made its world premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
And Kon-Tiki earlier this year earned a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination (see SHOOTonline, 8/17/12 for more on the film). Directors Renning and Sandberg direct spots and branded content under the Roenberg duo moniker at Sandwick Media. Kon-Tiki has been billed as the most complex and biggest budgeted film in Scandinavian history. It’s inclusion at the Dallas Festival underscores the event’s penchant for foreign film offerings.
Texas Competition But on the flip side, with all the countries represented on the Dallas Fest schedule, there was also room for Texas filmmakers, themes and settings to shine. The Festival section tailored for that purpose was the Texas Competition. Among the entries in this special section, starting with two award winners, were:
• Pit Stop, directed by Yen Tan who lived in Dallas from 1997 to 2010. Co-writer David Lowery, DP Hutch and producers James Johnston and Eric Steele live in Dallas. Filmed and set in Texas, Pit Stop wound up winning the Texas Competition and the Panavision $30,000 camera rental package that went with it. Pit Stop paints a portrait of multiple lovers recovering from loss. After an affair with a married man, Gabe finds solace in the lasting love of his daughter and ex-wife, while on the other side of town, Ernesto spends his free time in the hospital caring for a past love trapped in a coma. This subtle and moving film captures the enduring hope of people temporarily stalled in their lives.
• Tomlinson Hill, directed by Lisa Kaselak. This documentary won the Embrey Family Foundation’s $10,000 Silver Heart Award at the Dallas Fest for fearless storytelling and dedication to fighting injustice and creating positive social change. Tomlinson Hill takes its name from the former Texas slave plantation that now sits outside the small town of Marlin, Texas. Direct descendants here struggle to unify their crumbling community in the face of 150 years of class separation. The film traces this story through the eyes of two descendants–Chris Tomlinson and Loreane Tomlinson–one white, one black. Chris Tomlinson is from Dallas. Loreane Tomlinson lives in Ft. Worth. Director Kaselak is an assistant professor of film and new media at Southern Methodist University, and with Dallas Women in Film.
• The Bounceback, directed by Bryan Poser. Co-writer Steven Michael Walters lives in Dallas and works in theater as an actor and director. Co-star Justin Arnold lived in Dallas for many years. Storyline: Breaking up is hard to do. Being hopelessly in love and trying to endure a bros weekend in the same city as your ex makes it even harder.
• Cry, directed by Clay Luther. Making its world premiere at the Festival, Cry was produced entirely in Dallas by a Dallas-based crew, with a Texas cast. Storyline: Cable is a lonely man facing the final decision of his life. Carson is a sullen teenager struggling with his first adult choices. When a small tragedy entangles their lives, they discover how to escape their self-imposed fortresses of solitude.
• Good Night, directed by Sean H.A,. Gallagher. Storyline: Leigh’s 29th birthday party takes a sudden turn when she announces that the evening may be the last time her friends see her alive. This news ripples the unsuspecting party guests like an earthquake. Emotional reactions range from complete denial to extreme melancholy–all of it leading to a night of questions, coping and debauchery.
• Rushlights, directed by Antoni Stutz. Actor Josh Henderson is a Dallas native. Storyline: This psychological thriller with a teenage twist revolves around two delinquent young lovers from the suburbs of Los Angeles who travel to a small Texas town to falsely claim a dead friend’s inheritance.
• This Is Where We Live, directed by Josh Barrett and Marc Menchaca. Storyline: A struggling family’s dynamics are challenged and a unique friendship is born when a small-town Texas handyman becomes caregiver to their son with cerebral palsy. This slice-of-life drama takes place in the Texas Hill Country.
Lone Star long/short-form The Dallas International Film Festival also showcased varied films with Texas ties beyond those in the formal Texas Competition section, a prime example being Chasing Shakespeare, directed and shot by Norry Niven, a native Texan who lives in Oak Cliff. Chasing Shakespeare marks the feature directorial debut of Niven, co-founder of Marina del Rey, Calif.-based film and commercial production company Three (One) O. Chasing Shakespeare, which is also Three (One) O’s first full-length feature, stars Hollywood veterans Danny Glover and Graham Greene, along with an ensemble of character actors and up-and-coming stars, including Chelsea Ricketts, Mike Wade and Ashley Bell.
Based on a screenplay by James Bird, Chasing Shakespeare recounts the beginning, end and rebirth of a love affair between William (Glover) and Venus (Tantoo Cardinal) in rural Arkansas. The film ran in the Dallas Festival’s Community Showcase section, the “community” reference being to films that convey or provide insights into a community. For Chasing Shakespeare, the community focused on is the Native American culture.
Additionally, Texas was well represented in the Dallas Festival’s short film program. The short lineup included:
• Black Metal, directed by Kat Candler. Jonny Mars, lead actor and producer, is from Dallas. Curtis Heath, who wrote some of the music, is from Fort Worth. Storyline: After a career spent mining his music from the shadows, the actions of one fan create a chain reaction for the lead singer of a black metal band.
• Summons, directed by Jeremy Bartel who is with Dallas-based production company Liberal Media Films, a sister shop to editorial house charlieuniformtango. Storyline: An unhinged real estate agent is haunted by dreams of a mysterious light that he fears may be controlling him. But he’s not the only one. Countless others claim to be in the light’s control, each fulfilling their part in a horrific plan. Bartel is no stranger to the Dallas International Film Festival. Back in 2011, his short titled Punchline was shown at the Dallas Fest just prior to the screening of select feature attractions. Bartel directs commercials and other varied projects via Liberal Media Films.
• Escape of the Gingerbread Man! directed by Tod Polson. Recently Polson–along with his family–moved to Dallas after many years in Thailand in order to help develop the feature film The Book of Life at Reel FX. Storyline: A young storyteller challenges the old master in a pub on the Irish west coast, after which things take an unexpected turn.
Other highlights Speaking of Reel FX, that studio presented the Dallas Festival’s Animated Short Grand Jury Prize to Head Over Heels, directed by Timothy Reckart. The film centers on a husband and wife who have grown apart over the years. He lives on the floor, she on the ceiling, and their marriage hangs in the balance.
And winning the Audience Award for Documentary Feature was The Crash Reel directed by Lucy Walker, an Oscar-nominated filmmaker who directs spots and branded content via Sandwick Media. The Crash Reel tells the story of U,S. champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce, with insights into the high stakes of participating in extreme-action sports.
