El Dorado Film Festival Selections
South Arkansas Arts Center
110 East 5th Street, El Dorado AR
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Films will be shown in the Callaway Theatre and
Stage 2 Black Box (a.k.a. Russel Ballet Studio)
Life Inside Out • 7PM Fri, 9AM Satby Director Jill D’Agnenica
Narrative Feature 103 mins / USA
Life Inside Out tells the story of Laura, the mother of three teenage boys, and her youngest son Shane, the family misfit and a disappointment to his father. When Laura stumbles upon her long forgotten guitar, a gift from her mother and the former passion of her youthful life, she is taken under its spell and soon rediscovers her love for songwriting. As family pressures rise, Laura finds herself pulled between the worlds of responsibility and creative joy. Ultimately, her first brave steps prove to be the catalyst for changing not only her life, but Shane’s as well, in complex and unpredictable ways.
Pechorin • 9AM Thur, 6PM Thur, 3:30PM Fri
by Director Khrushch Roman
Narrative Feature 95 mins / Russian Federation
– subtitles, mature content
The film is based on the Russian classic novel, A Hero of Our Time. While maintaining all the main plot-lines of the novel, it follows the events not as they happen, but as they are reflected in the mind of the dying hero. Through a chain of recollections, he now sees his life as a series of irrevocable mistakes. He begins to agonize over his perfect indifferences to anything except himself. He is tormented and judges himself without mercy. Will he reconsider or repent?
TRUNK’D • 1:30PM Thur, 1:30PM Fri, 11:30AM Sat
by Director Jake Hull
Narrative Feature 72 mins / USA.
TRUNK’D is a unapologetic road-trip comedy that involves four men driving from Nebraska to Texas to dispose of the body of a dead call girl whom they find unresponsive the morning after a bachelor party. The film was shot over a period of fifteen days in southeastern Nebraska. Actors in Trunk’d include an impressive roster of nationally known comedians and up and coming talent.
One Armed Man • 8PM Thur, 10:30 Sat
by Director Tim Guinee &
produced by the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Southern Made 27 mins / USA
CW Rowe has it all. He owns the cotton gin, making him the wealthiest man in Harrison, Texas, and his ascendancy has solidified an unshakable belief in the system that enriched him. Few things ever interrupt the purity of his vision, with the exception of the weekly visit of a young man, Ned, who lost an arm in the gin’s machinery. Ned is a little touched and believes CW can give him his arm back. On a normal day, he goes away when CW offers him five dollars. But, in Oscar-winning writer Horton Foote’s chilling drama, today is anything but a normal day.
Something You Can Call Home
by Director Rebecca Kenyon
Documentary Feature 75 mins UK/USA
For some, the coastal city of Wilmington, North Carolina, is a tourist playground. However, the face of homelessness is changing rapidly. Former business owner Vince has slept under a stairwell for the past year but is determined to turn his life around. Since aging out of foster care, Jerome lives under a bridge, from where he attends college and performs as a female impersonator. Melody, an educated ex-Marine, lost her government job and now fights imminent foreclosure. Karen and feisty daughter Chemaiyah escaped domestic violence to move between different church shelters. Can anyone find a solution that is sustainable? Some make the transition; others fall deeper through the cracks.
Room 19
by Director Kimberley Browning
Documentary Short 20 mins USA
– kid friendly
Julie Tamashiro’s third grade class at Tulita Elementary School in Redondo Beach explores the world of art during their first field trip to the LA County Museum of Art. This innovative teacher uses the lessons of the masters to open a new way of learning.
Lucid
by Director Josh Land
Narrative Short 25 mins USA
Tobey and Edmund are dysfunctional brothers and partner physicists struggling to meet a looming deadline for work. Without his brother’s knowledge, Tobey builds a mysterious machine that could speed up their progress immensely. But when the mental and physical effects of the machine become dangerously clear, Tobey must decide how far he’s willing to go in the pursuit of scientific advancement.
Black Magic
by Director Jack Boubelik
Southern Made 15 mins USA
Phee, a descendant of Marie LaVeau, searches for the grave of the infamous voodoo queen Black Cat Mama Couteaux in order to lift a 200-year-old family curse. Finally discovering the Old Loggy Bayou home, she and her companion Justin dive headfirst into an onslaught of vengeful black magic. Before the night is over, they will face the most evil voodoo queen this world has ever seen if they plan on seeing the sunrise again.
Molly
by Director Craig Elrod
Narrative Short 12 mins USA
After a breakup with his girlfriend, Byron and his best friend organize a complicated breakdown including denial, regret, and depression.
Working Title
by Director Logan Gee
Narrative Short 9 mins USA
Michael gets cold called by a producer to deliver a screenplay and jumps at the chance. The only problem is he doesn’t have a screenplay. Michael teams up with his friend Alexis to start thinking up ideas; an astronaut alone in space, cowboys planning a bank heist, an experimental art piece, film noir, a father-son lumberjack story with zombies, a horror movie of only pissing spiders, a stop motion crime drama with breakfast food. However, none of these ideas are good enough for Michael. Will they find the right story in time?
A Man On The Edge
by Director Edward Lyons
Narrative Short 11 mins Australia
A troubled man is on a cliff top on the verge of committing suicide when he is interrupted by a young vivacious woman. Through a series of heart wrenching flashbacks he reveals to her how he killed his wife. As he tries to come to terms with his grief, the woman offers him hope in a manner he never expected.
The Emergency Room
by Director R. J. Daniel Hanna
Narrative Short 6 mins USA
Nick and Cassandra, an unmarried couple with a baby on the way, find themselves in the emergency room in the middle of the night. Cassandra claims to be going into labor, but Nick won’t hear of it. “We’ve got six weeks,” he tells her repeatedly. Cassandra is in her own fantasy world. She tells the nurse that the two of them are engaged, and hints to Nick without subtlety that marriage could solve all their problems. As Cassandra’s contractions become more frequent, Nick can no longer deny reality. The pressure pushes him over the edge.
The Invaders
by Director Mark Cabaroy
Narrative Short 6 mins USA
– kid friendly
Invaders is a live action sci fi comedy web-series which chronicles the adventures of eight year old Angie Martinez and her babysitter Beth Adleman. They attempt to repel an alien invasion of earth from all powerful, unseen, other worldly beings. With the help of her teddy bear, Mr. Snuggles, a cardboard space ship Angie has made out of a discarded refrigerator appliance box, and her homemade laser gun, she will wage war against impossible odds with the fate of the world in the balance. This is the pilot episode.
GRAFTERS by Director Nicholas J. DeMicco
Narrative Short 23 mins USA
– mature content
Kurt is an expert car thief whose life is suddenly complicated by an offbeat romance and professional competition. Kurt works for Larry, a father figure who runs a chop shop disguised as a garage. Kurt’s career is threatened by Joe, a lowly mechanic and aspiring car thief. Meanwhile, romance buds for Kurt with Emilie, a young mother with complications of her own. Kurt’s personal and professional lives are speeding towards a dangerous intersection.
Cubical Life
by Director Joshua Waterstone
Narrative Short 5 mins USA
Hearing a computer keystroke that goes against the methodical rhythm of the “cubical life,” a female office drone searches for the cause of the sound that dares to go against the group. She eventually finds the cause; a techie is fixing a bad key at another drone’s cubical. Upon returning to her desk she has a perception shift. Her spirits are lifted by a bit of the outside world that comes streaming into the office. This perception shift changes the cubical to something more…. human.
Mal
by Director Joshua Harrison
Southern Made 9 mins USA
– mature content
Set in a small southern town, Mal tells the story of Daniel as he attempts to elude a crazed posse hell bent on eliminating any people they believe to have become zombies. One such ‘zombie’ is the love of Daniel’s life – Mal. Daniel drags Mal along with him as he attempts to protect her from the murderous posse, believing there may be a cure. Eventually cornered, Daniel and the leader of the posse come face to face, each being ready to die for what they believe to be the right solution to the epidemic.
Restitution
by Director Matthew Pickett
Southern Made 9 mins USA
A young man’s story of family and revenge in the early 1900’s Appalachian Mountains.
My Mother Her Daughter
by Director Erin Good
Narrative Short 10 mins Australia
An elegant short film about powerful bond between mother and daughter. After a violent death in the family, a teenage girl struggles to reconnect with her increasingly distant mother before she loses her too.
Citizen Noir
by Director Michael Ferrara
Narrative Short 11 mins USA
Mark Crane is a downtrodden private eye who decides to take up a case of a little girl’s missing cat. The further he goes, however, he begins to realize things aren’t as innocent as they appear.
The Discontentment of Ed Telfair by Director Daniel Campbell
Southern Made 18 mins USA
Ed Telfair is a simple man. He has a steady job, a beautiful wife, and a best friend named Doug. Ed is a mundane middle-aged man who is dealing with insecurities in his life until he decides to take matters into his own hands.
Love at First Sight
by Director Mark Playne
Narrative Short 14 mins UK/SPAIN
This silent film is a heartwarming story of a lonely young man’s increasingly creative attempts to attract the attention of the girl of his dreams. It transcends international borders with a timeless, ageless and universal tale of love. From one Mediterranean balcony to another, it is a gentle film about hope and optimism.
The Beacon
by Directors Jonnie Stapleton and Paul Petersen
Narrative Short 20 mins USA
On their wedding day, Gent and Lady face surreal circumstances at an abandoned lighthouse. Forces beyond their understanding will test their love for one another. Past, present, and future collide to force them to either rekindle their light within or extinguish it altogether.
Applesauce
by Director Nathan Hansen
Narrative Short 11 mins USA
Hule sets out to buy an anniversary gift for Loraine, but stumbles into mysterious Mr. Chang’s shop where he sees a deal for true happiness at a cost of only $40, no catches. Having exactly $40, Hule jumps at the chance. The gift causes more than just a little trouble for Hule and Loraine. They soon learn that true happiness comes with a price. Every sunrise is followed by a sunset.
B-flat
by Director Mariana Youssef
Narrative Short 24 mins Brazil/India
– subtitles
The message from an old friend that is just about to die brings Amar back to India 40 years after he left in order to deliver a mysterious box. As he heads home, he meets someone else on a similar mission. They begin the long trip together; one with a special box and one with a special tuba. In the end music will help them find their way.
Four in the Morning
by Director Alexander Jeffery
Narrative Short 8 mins USA
A whimsical love story set in the wee hours of the morning, Four in the Morning follows Jared, a coffee guzzling office employee turned romantic when he meets his new friend Amber.
How to Make it to the Promised Land by Director Sam Zalutsky
Narrative Short 16 mins USA
One day at summer camp, Lizzie and her fellow campers are forced to play a Holocaust role-play game. They are divided into SS Officers and Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1941. As the game devolves into chaos, Lizzie tries to avoid the ever-increasing frenzy of the campers and the zealousness of her counselors until she must decide whether to participate in this bizarre game of memory and identification.
MARIE
by Director Alfredo Tanaka
Narrative Short 11 mins UK
Marie is a classic beauty who longs for the one man she cannot have, and is willing to give up anything – even her identity – to elicit his affection.
Glimma
by Director Johan Windh
Narrative Short 14 mins Sweden
Two men arrive at a lake for a day of fishing. After finding a strange thing in the water, something happens to time and space and the two men find themselves in a dangerous, if not potentially deadly, position.
Painted Parakeets
by Director Jared Hornsby
Southern Made 14 mins USA
Painted Parakeets tells the story of two women and how their lives are forever linked in ways that they never imaged. Sadly, they are also forever separated in some ways by the truth that has always been concealed from them. How is it possible for one sentence to completely break a heart? One single piece of information can destroy something that took years to build. A passionate love affair can be ended when all both want is one another. How different a completed puzzle can look if one piece is discovered and suddenly put into place! Can it completely alter the entire picture of a life? These thoughts and questions are ones that the movie is sure to inspire. By using a beautiful piece of art by a New Orleans painter to influence the aesthetic and set the localized tone, the heart of the movie is heightened.
Losing Gracie
by Director R. J. Daniel Hanna
Narrative Short 16 mins USA
On the eve of a five-year prison sentence, a father reaches out to his estranged daughter Nikki using the only tool he has left — a lie. Kurt tells her his dog, Gracie, has run off and he needs her help. Despite her suspicions, Nikki comes over to help, leading the two of them into an exploration of their history and their future. Michael Bofshever (Breaking Bad, United 93) stars in this tale of the desperate truths hidden inside our most elaborate deceptions.
Love Struck Dead
by Director Chuck Mere
Narrative Short 10 mins USA
A metaphysics student must decide between sacrificing his own life or that of a stranger after living the same day twice.
The Grand Design
by Director Samuel Bartlett
Narrative Short 9 mins Australia
Sirus, a genuine nice guy, lives in the less affluent streets of Hackney. He is courier controller, motorbike nut and functional heroin addict who makes a bit extra on the side by passing occasional ‘packages’ to his friends. When two corrupt police detectives try to steal the drugs and the money and bump off Sirus and his pals, they soon discover that his friends don’t plan on being pushed around! Together Sirus’s crew formulates a plan to strike back at their would-be attackers with shocking yet hilarious consequences.