Valleyfest 2002

I relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee from Morgantown, West Virginia in July of 1999.  I missed many things about WV, and the adjustment to my new surroundings as home was slow in coming.  Over the past three years I have found many things about Knoxville that I like, and yes, I have even come to think of it as home.  The first major event that I partook in that first year here was an independent film festival known as Valleyfest.  I have been a big fan of movies most of my life, making trips to cineplexes on a weekly basis, usually alone, but content.  I love the movies and was quite excited at the prospect of attending my first festival.  Valleyfest takes place over a period of five days and includes several events and workshops in addition to the daily film screenings.  Viewers are treated to shorts, animation, documentaries, and features by the latest crop of fledgling directors making the first steps toward what many hope will be long, rewarding careers in the film industry.    The directors are usually in the house and make themselves available after their feature has been presented to take questions from the crowd and talk about their experience while making the film.  I especially love this part of the program since it allows me to get to know the director on a more human level, which makes it easier to understand the motivation behind the film in a personal manner.  I have been to this event every year since I moved here in 1999, always coming away pleased and with a better understanding of the art of making film.  This year was no different.  
Now for a brief summary of the films I saw this year:
"Dancing Outlaw", directed by Jacob Young---This short film, was presented as an exhibition only, recounts events in the life of Jesco White, the last of the mountain dancers.  His father was the extremely talented tap dancer Donald Ray White, and Jesco has carried on his father's tradition.  At first we find ourselves laughing at the clichés Jesco and his family fit, living in the hollers of Boone County, WV.  We see mobile homes, mud, old cars, and we hear lots of mountain accents and phrases.  As the film progresses we learn that Jesco is no quite sane, and that his family is a little off themselves, but we also learn that they are close knit, especially after the death of Jesco's father from a shotgun blast to the back after a misunderstanding with some locals, and attack that left his brother Dorsey blind in one eye.   We get to see Jesco as a human being, not just a hilbilly caricature, and we learn that underneath all his craziness, he does yearn for a better future for himself and those around him.  This a highly entertaining and oddly touching story of one man's struggle to find something better.
"American Breakdown", directed by Jacob Young---This recent offering was filmed as a possible pilot for a television reality series.  We have a host, Hollywood, who introduces ten minute segments about Americans broken down on the sides of Interstates across America.  In exchange for help with their troubles, we get their stories.  This is a hit and miss film, but I do find it to be an interesting idea that may have promise in the right hands.
"Razing Appalachia", directed by Sasha Waters---This documentary addresses the issue of the coal mining practice known as mountain top removal and its effects upon the communities and environment surrounding the operations.  This film offers a frank and open discussion of pros and cons from several different perspectives; those of the coal companies, those of the mine workers, those of concerned landowners, and those of the environmentalists.  I found this film to be a bit long, but educational and worthwhile.
"Almost", directed by Laurence Maher---This film opens with two couples, each unaware of the other, discovering that their significant other have been cheating on them.  What follows is a comedy of errors as the jilted man and woman have a series of almost chance encounters.  The leads are strong and believable, and the supporting players are competent, providing a solid foundation for the series of events that led up to the climactic, though expected, ending.  I liked this one, even with its moments of predictability, and felt good about the fate of the lovers.
"Fast Forward", directed by Brad Furman---A television news producer is on a live assignment and gets a glimpse five minutes into the future, and thus has the opportunity to change the tragic events he has just witnessed.  I liked the look of this one, especially the camera angles and the blending of stock news footage with filmed footage, but was a little let down by the ending, not really sure what I had just seen.
"Wake-Up Call", directed by J. C. Alvarez---Based on real events in the director's life, this film had an intimate feel to it.  A woman in a five year relationship with a noncommittal man makes a reluctant visit to her elderly aunt.  As she talks with her aunt, she begins to soften and even enjoy herself.  They talk of old times and the little moments that make memories special.  Soon the woman remembers that the last time she saw her aunt was at hr funeral, and realizes that she is dead.  She is filled with regret at all the dreams she never got the chance to fulfill, but the one thing she regrets most is that she never got married.  The next scene shows the woman waking up from a dream.  She looks over at the man that never intends to marry her, and realizes she is letting her life slip away as she waits for the promise that will never come.  She makes a hard decision, packs her bags, and heads out into the world to live her life.  The words of her aunt echo in her head, "If you died today, would you be doing what you wanted?".   I enjoyed this film, and felt the female lead was every strong.  The surprise twist in the middle with the dead aunt was a little out there, but I believe it worked in the context of the story.  A good first effort.
"On Common Ground", directed by Benjamin Semanoff---This is a nice humorous short about a young college graduate preparing for his first job interview out there in the real world.  He is ready for his future, but is dogged by his Jewish heritage.  The lead gives a quiet, understated performance that is very effective.  His inner monologues are amusing his deliveries are right on target.  I got a real kick out of this offering.
"Virtual Insanity", directed by Simon Webb---A young couple engaged to be married make a long trip by car to meet the man's parents.  They enter a quaint little northern town and make their way to the office where the man's father runs a business.  Upon arrival, they find the office locked and empty.  There is a card taped to the door stating that the business has moved online.  The couple enter a local tavern, only to find it empty.  Once again there are cards with web addresses where the people can be found.  They search the eerily quiet town, finding no sign of life, only more cards with web addresses.  Desperate, they drive to the man's parents' home.  The place is empty, but there are cards with the old www address.  Apparently the entire town has physically moved into the cyber world, and soon so does the man.  I felt this idea would have worked much better as a full length feature, but I did find it entertaining and suspenseful.
"Tupilak", directed by David Leroy---This French language  short about two men that leave another behind in the Arctic was visually stunning to watch.  The man left behind utters and incantation as the other two make their way across the ice and disappear into the Arctic night.  He has called up a Tupilak, an Inuit avenging spirit, to mete out justice to the two deserters.  On the third anniversary of that night, the two surviving men find themselves at the Museum of the Arctic.    Their chance encounter leads to talk of that night.  One is living in fear of the Tupilak, and the other does not believe in  such things.  In the end, the believer must take revenge for the Tupilak, for the Tupilak can not touch those that do not believe.  The exteriors were beautifully lit, the great expanses of snow adding to the feeling of desolation and doom.  The lead was well cast, radiating the long held fear of the inevitable.  Very good short.
"A Model Woman", directed by Dan Wison---In the near future, where time travel is possible and people trade up to different bodies the same we way we trade cars today, we meet a man with very particular tastes in women.  He does not want to settle for someone who is almost everything he wants, he demands the full package.  A woman approaches him, they hit it off, and we watch their life progress as they fall in love, get married, and learn that she is pregnant.  The man is completely happy, he as found the perfect woman for him and life could not be better.  There are complications with the pregnancy, the baby is lost, and the woman dies.  He is heart broken.  He goes to the Perfect Body and sees his dead wife in their catalogue, finding out that she is one of the most popular models.  He makes the switch, then travels back in time as his wife to meet himself at the same moment he had first met her.  This short started out on a weak foot, but gradually got better.  I did however find the ending a bit of a letdown, and not simply because of the contradictions inherent to all time travel stories, but because the ending had the impact of a weak punch line to a well set up joke.
"The Wind", directed by Michael Mongillo---A completely inane and unbelievable story of murder and sex gone horribly awry.  An overly long and cheesy introduction sets up this film that ends going a different direction than we are led from the aforementioned long, boring introduction.  A young woman manipulates her male friends into taking revenge on a guy for something that he did not do.  They end up killing him.  Soon they begin to distrust each other, threats are made, more murder ensues.  We meet a jealous brother who makes no real contribution to the plot.  We see one of the main character's mother sexually teased and mentally assaulted by one of his coconspirators.  In the end we get more assault, but not real closure.  This was one long, boring, and pointless waste of film and time.  Skip it.
"Seduction of the Will", directed by Jim Starr---This fact based feature length film opens in 1945 after Hitler's defeat, and allied forces are questioning Leni Riefenstahl, who made propaganda films for Hitler.  Through a series of flashbacks set on darkened stages, we learn about Leni from her childhood, to her careers as a dancer, an actress, a film director, and eventually her position making films for Hitler, including "Triumph of the Will", the film that documented Hitler's rise to power.  Certainly she is guilty of inadvertently supporting Hitler's propaganda machine, but she steadfastly denies any guilt and expresses no remorse concerning her dealing with Hitler throughout the film.  She maintains that she was committed to her art and did what she had to do to be true to her films, all else be damned.  I was intrigued by this film, allowing it to work its spell and absorb me into the world of Leni Riefenstahl.  The acting was first rate, and the direction excellent.  I was very pleased with this selection.
"Timmy's Wish", directed by Patrick Cannon---This hilarious short had not only myself by the entire audience in stitches with unrestrained laughter.  Little Timmy is upset and feels that his parents are mean and unfair.  He prays to Jesus that he wishes they were not his parents, in fact he wishes that they were dead.  No sooner has he uttered Amen, then he hears screams from the kitchen. He tiptoes in to find his parents lying in bloody heaps on the floor, and towering over them and covered in blood, the man himself, Jesus.  Looks like Timmy got his prayers answered after all.  Jesus and Timmy have some words, but eventually they get along and clean up the mess.  Timmy is just starting to warm to the idea of having no parents and partying with Jesus, when Jesus suggest he change out of his bloody pajamas.  As Timmy lifts his shirt over his head, Jesus spots a Star of David medallion around his neck and realizes that he answered the prayers of kid from the wrong religion, so off he goes leaving Timmy to deal with the consequences.  Uproariously entertaining.  This one was the gem of the festival, making up for stinkers like "The Wind".
"Reckoning Day", directed by Julian Gilbey---A feature length film from a British director, so we were treated to lots of those accents.  Here we have your basic British action film involving an international crime ring dealing in a powerful new narcotic aimed squarely at the military market.  We also have the lone American operative with the monotone delivery of one liners and tough guy banter who has a personal score to settle with the leader of the crime ring.  The plot is about what I expected, lots of set ups for gunfire and stunts.  The American must intercept and destroy the narcotics within thirty six hours or the drugs will reach the international underworld market.  Buckets of blood, quick cuts, and first person perspective combine in a Guy Ritchie/Quentin Tarantino style shoot 'em up.  I found this film to be too long, overly indulgent, and rather predictable.  However, there were a few good bits of dialogue and sight gags that made the lulls less annoying.