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Archive for the ‘Local films’ Category

Festival Fantastique

Friday, June 11th, 2010

Tis a sad day, for the Little Rock Film Festival is now a year away, and I didn’t get to see nearly as much of this year’s incarnation as I’d hoped. I did, however, get the honor of meeting and introducing Carol Dysinger, the filmmaker behind a wonderful documentary called Camp Victory: Afghanistan. From the website:

“Camp Victory, Afghanistan is a verité documentary that tells the story of several U.S. National Guardsmen stationed in Herat, Afghanistan and the Afghan officers assigned as their mentees. These Americans along with a band of Afghans have been given the enormous task of building the 207th Corps of the nascent Afghan National Army into an institution capable of providing security, stability, peace and justice to a tattered, volatile nation.”

Dysinger said in the Q&A following the Thursday showing that her goal was to bring back what she saw over there and show it to people – a good, clean honest look. In turns it’s funny, sad and scary. Above all, it’s poignant. And it’s definitely worth seeing. Dysinger said she’ll continue to make the festival rounds and plans to sell DVDs of the movie through the website later this year. Stay tuned.

In other festival news, my friend and colleague Jeff LeMaster had a chance to sit down and talk to some folks involved with a project they’re hoping to get off the ground called Arkansas Traveler. It’s too late to get to the teaser screening, but I’m fascinated by the plot and hope to see this film get made.

Lastly, I got the email below this week from the festival’s Levi Agee and wanted to pass it on. I recognize the short notice, and that’s my bad for not being quicker about an update. Story of my life.

Friends,

We’re doing auditions this Saturday for a Southern Comedy entitled “Cotton County Boys” that has a great script and a big heart. It’s kind of a throwback to old fun comedies. Just think Buttercream Gang meets Jackass. My friend and colleague Collin Buchanan is directing it, he’s won ton of awards for his docs and shorts in Conway and screened at Hot Springs and at a Filmmaking Professor Convention in Colorado recently. We shoot in July and August and are auditioning this Saturday. If you know anyone funny with a lot of time on their hands and can act and look like some good Southern folk please send them our way. Please put this on facebook, twitter, myspace, hollywood.com? Just get the word out because the film will be special like me. Here is the details on the film and the audition:

Southern Comedy Film – Open Casting Call
June 12th 2:00 – 6:00PM
The Public Theatre – Little Rock
616 Center Street Little Rock, AR 72201

Inquiries: email kwadfilms@gmail.com or call (479) 871-0801
This is a non-SAG shoot.

Title: COTTON COUNTY BOYS
Producer: Allison Hogue
Production Company: KWAD Films
Director: Collin Buchanan
Exec. Producers: Levi Agee, Collin Buchanan
Dir. of Photography: Jonathan Childs

SHOOTING DATES: mid to late July and August 2010
Paid meals, gas/transportation and film credit

GENRE: Southern comedy
SYNOPSIS: Three simple-minded brothers enter an “America’s Funniest Home Videos”-style game show in an attempt to win the money to save their mother’s house from foreclosure.

FEATURED ROLES:
- BOBBY (MALE, 20s) – Shy and soft-spoken, but warm and intelligent
- SAMUEL (MALE, 20s) – Dimwitted and somewhat irritable, mostly good-natured
- HATTIE (FEMALE, 20s) – Sweet and compassionate love interest of BOBBY
- BETTES (FEMALE, 40s or 50s) – Good Southern woman with a powerful presence, mother to BOBBY and SAMUEL
- MERLE (MALE, 60s) – A man of few words, deceptively wise, boyfriend of BETTES

EXTRAS
Other smaller roles and Extra parts available.

If you are unable to attend one of our auditions, email your photo, resume, and contact information to: kwadfilms@gmail.com

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Posted in Little Rock Film Festival, Local films | No Comments »

A grave film

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Hop Litzwire

Hop Litzwire in his home studio talking about his work as a musician and filmmaker. Photo by Spencer Jansen.

If you picked up last week’s issue, you may have seen that I had a chance to sit down with musician and filmmaker Hop Litzwire, a super nice guy who welcomed me into his awesome home office/studio to chat about his life and times. Those discussions included talk of his documentary Silent Storytellers, which is about the importance of preserving cemeteries. From the footage I saw, it looks absolutely beautiful. I plan to see the whole thing this weekend at the public premier:

What: Silent Storytellers
When: 6 p.m. Friday, March 5
Where: Clinton School of Public Service
Admission: Free*
*Reserve a seat by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or calling 501.683.5239

If you can’t make it Friday, tune into AETN for the broadcast premier at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11. Here’s an AETN interview Litzwire about the doc:

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Posted in Events, Local films | No Comments »

Music and a movie

Friday, January 15th, 2010

“Storage” writer/director Austin Franke

“Storage” writer/director Austin Franke

If you’re in Conway this weekend or downtown Little Rock next week, consider stopping by the Bear’s Den or On the Rocks to help support a local film.

Organized by writer/director Austin Franke, an undergrad film student at UCA, parties at both locations will feature live music, with proceeds from the cover charges being donated to help with production costs of Storage, a project that will be shot this semester.

The Conway gig will be on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. and will feature performances by Natural State, Chase Pagan, Townsend and Don’t Stop Please. The On the Rocks show will be Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 9 p.m. and will feature Natural State, Apartment 5, This Holy House and Sean Michel.

Both shows should be around $5 cover, according to Franke, who hosts a radio show about local music called “Under the Radar” on 91.3 The Bear. Franke said knowing the bands through his show, he approached them, himself, to ask they’d be willing to do the pro bono gig to help the cinematic production and all agreed.

The movie itself, which will be shot, edited and go through post-production this semester, is about a divorced couple rummaging through their son’s things in an attic. Despite the current distance between them, particularly from the frosty, remarried female half of the pair, the assorted junk sparks memories of their time together, including both being part of a band in the early 1980s.

The money raised from the shows, said Franke, will help pay for things like costumes – some 40-50 period ’80s outfits were mentioned – as well as funds to pay festival fees when the film is finished.

See also the Facebook page for the Conway event.

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Posted in Events, Local films, News | 1 Comment »

See it Sunday (or before)

Monday, December 7th, 2009
Kick me

Kick me

If you’ve picked up Sync this week, you’ve seen I had a chance to chat with Jason Gammel, a kickballer who, along with friend Kenny Reynolds, just finished a documentary called “See ya Sunday” about the Little Rock Kickball Association and his team’s first season as a part of it.
(The film premiers this weekend at Market Street Cinema; see the article or the LRKA website for details on show times.)
Toward the end of that conversation, I asked if I could check out the movie early for this blog, and while Gammel didn’t have a DVD screener handy, he did invite me to his North Little Rock studio to watch the final cut of the film on his computer, an offer I gladly accepted. I figured it would be like watching one of those special edition DVDs with directors’ commentary, only in this case they’d actually be in the room.
Well, it didn’t turn out quite like that. In fact, nobody said a word until after the film was over. But it was a great time nonetheless, and I count myself privileged to be the first person other than the filmmakers to see the finished work.
And about that work: If you’re one to think of documentaries as super serious endeavors that have to either deal with topics of the utmost stuffiness or be narrated by a man whose voice put you to sleep back in high school history class, well then think again.
This film is funny.
Sometimes the comedy is simply in enjoying the outrageous images on screen: a remote controlled car delivering drinks to players on the field or a player dressed as Jesus (with jersey on over his robe).
Other times, it’s thanks to the directors’ clever mix of interview and image, as when you hear a person saying a newcomer who knows nothing about LRKA could get the wrong impression as you see a man lifting up his shirt to bare a hairy chest and rub his nipples.
Then there’s footage of Gammel, himself, completely whiffing on a ball he’s promised to kick the you-know-what out of instead of bunt. That one almost got cut, he tells me afterward.
It’s not the only footage of Gammel in the movie, though, as he is a frequent interview subject throughout. Indeed, he told me after watching that there’s more of him in it than he realized. While that could come across to some as self indulgent, it seems to me to be more out of necessity. Half the focus of the film is about how his team, the Atomic Catsicles, joined the league, and telling that story without him being a part of it seems a tall order.
That story leads to a little confusion, though, because while most of the film follows their path through the spring 2007 season chronologically, some of the interviews, which were conducted after the season was over, reference the success the team has had “before” they actually have it.
Still, “See ya Sunday” is enough to keep a smile on your face for the better part of 60 minutes, even if it’s not all laughs. The founding of the league in particular is a story more poignant than playful.
For those who don’t know about that story or how the league operates or the good work it does, the film should prove informative. For those who do but aren’t part of the LRKA (like me), it’s still amusing. And for kickballers, well, it should go without saying that the film is a must see.

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Posted in Local films | 4 Comments »

Ready to soar

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

Forgive me, audience, for I have sinned. It’s been too dang long since my last posting.

luke-dan_sign

Enoch (Luke Grimes) and "Wheels" (Dan McCabe) share an orange during a scene in War Eagle, Arkansas. The film will have its Little Rock theatrical release Friday at the Rave.

This week’s important in the world of Arkansas filmmaking, though, as it marks the release of War Eagle, Arkansas to theaters in this state and Memphis (and eventually beyond).

Graham Gordy, who penned the film’s screenplay, said it well when he told me, “If everybody in Arkansas hasn’t heard about this film yet, it’s [not for] lack of trying.”

War Eagle, Arkansas first popped up on my radar several years ago when I heard through various filmmaking friends that a feature was being shot in Arkansas. There was some initial buzz before production started, and then I lost track of its progress until I heard in early 2008 that it would premiere during that year’s Little Rock Film Festival. I snagged a screener copy, a little hesitant as to what I’d see. (more…)

Posted in Local films | 1 Comment »

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