Festival Films

ANIMATION

Flight Lessons
Produced and Directed by Neil Helm
Savannah, Georgia

 

An airline captain and aviation enthusiast relates to an unexpected audience the wonder and intricacy of modern jet aviation.

Film still from Flight Lessons

Monster Movie
Produced and Directed by Stephen Hammond
Savannah, Georgia

 

A cute, pigtailed girl sits silently in front of the TV flipping detachedly through channels. A monster leaps forward, bearing teeth and roaring over the din of the television. The little girl remains unmoved. What will it take to scare this desensitized little kid?

Film still from Monster Movie

DOCUMENTARY

Faster Pastor
Directed by Adam Farrell
Savannah, Georgia

 

As the sun sets on a humid August evening, a dozen local preachers, pastors and ministers end their sermons and crank up their stock cars. Leaving their podiums for race cars on a dirt track, brotherly love is put on hold as they slide through the turns and speed down the straightaway. After the dust clears there can be only one Faster Pastor.

Film still from Faster Pastor

Raised on Rice and Gravy
Co-Directed by Conni Castille and Allison Bohl
Breaux Bridge, Louisiana and Lafayette, Louisiana

 

More than anywhere else in the South, folks in the food-conscious town of Lafayette stubbornly cling to their traditions of home cooking and a shared midday meal. There, in the heart of French Louisiana, age-old customs of family kitchens overflow into local restaurants, making public and communal what was once private and domestic.

Film still from Raised on Rice and Gravy

Sunlight & Babies
Produced and Directed by Kimberly Craig
Savannah, Georgia

 

This documentary ventures into the nightlife of truck stop culture, as told through the voices of several anonymous truckers via CB radio interviews. By opening up the perspective of this frequently ignored but more often reviled subculture, we see that our similarities are greater than our differences.

Film still from Sunlight and Babies
 

The Farm Team
Produced and Directed by Scott Balzer
Marietta, Georgia

 

“The Farm Team” is a first-hand look at the challenges of being on the grounds crew for a minor league baseball team in Mobile, Alabama, the rainiest city in the United States. The short documentary is a portrait of three hard-working guys who not only love the sport of baseball but also the field the game is played on.

Film still from The Farm Team

EXPERIMENTAL

  

Pollenating
Directed by David Montgomery
Fernandina Beach, Florida

 

A less-painterly ode to Georgia O'Keeffe, “Pollenating” features imagery derived directly from nature. In this experimental film shot with a flatbed scanner, the motion is a result of the ever-present diversity and imperfection of nearly everything in existence.

Film still from Pollenating

  

Up-Set
Directed by Isidore Bethel
Atlanta, Georgia

 

“Up-Set” is a stop-action fable about primordial jealousy and visual appropriation.

Film still from Up-Set

FICTION

  

Falling to the Top
Directed by Wes Edwards and Produced by Brittany Hailes
Nashville, Tennessee

 

Shot in a highly art directed, gothic comic book style, this is a uniquely crafted, oddly funny short film about Bob, a hapless twenty-something trying to pull his life together. He'll have to risk it all for one shot at employment. In the end, Bob finds himself with a very unique perspective on life. But is it too late?

Film still from Falling to the Top

  

My Deer Friend
Produced and Directed by Andrew Cherry
Savannah, Georgia

 

Deer season is here and Glen, an energetic pre-teen, is faced with the pressure to kill a deer in order to win his father’s respect. Unsuccessful in the past, he is now ready to show his dad that he has what it takes to be a man. In a touching act of bravery, Richard, a white tail deer, offers to lay down his life for his best friend.

Film still from My Deer Friend

  

Si Tú No Estás
Directed by Noé Santillán-López
Savannah, Georgia

 

A bolero guitar player, Julian struggles with music and life after the death of his wife, Ana. His grief breeds indifference to his son, Sebastian. Meanwhile, his despair, mixed with vast amounts of alcohol, drives him to hallucinate Ana’s presence back into his life. Taken aback by a revelation, Julian opens his eyes to the reality in front of him.

Film still from Si Tu No Estas

  

Wheels
Produced and Directed by Tracy Martin
Scottdale, Georgia

 

Recently paralyzed, Bianca confronts Gunner on the whereabouts of her car. He admits he had Tito tow it. Determined, Bianca drags herself out the front door and down the street. She defies anyone and anything that gets in her way in the attempt to find her car.

Film still from Wheels