Take 5 at the 2007 Tallgrass Film Festival
October 19-21, 2007
Please Note: Program Subject to change. Please check website regularly for updates.
Gala Screenings
Opening Night Gala
Kansas vs Darwin
USA, 2007, 86 min
Domestic Documentary Feature
Kansas Filmmaker
Directed By: Jeff Tamblyn
Screening on Friday, October 19 At 8:00 PM at The Warren East Theaters.
KANSAS VS. DARWIN is a smart, funny, feature-length documentary about the Kansas state school board hearings on evolution. The film features personal revealing interviews with all major players on both sides, and exclusive, multi-camera footage of the hearings. Far more than a political film, KANSAS VS. DARWIN skillfully weaves multiple themes into a gripping discussion, putting you face to face with, and inside the heads of these real life characters. Both challenging and entertaining, it's packed with fascinating personalities who will leave you in admiration and astonishment, embarrassment and exasperation, as they feverishly pursue their goals, sometimes stumbling over their own eagerness in the attempt to win the most important battle of their lives.
Saturday Night Gala: Ad Astra Award Gala
Stella Artois Presents: The Saturday Night Gala &
Ad Astra Award Presentation to Don LaFontaine
USA, 2007, 90min*
Special Presentation
Appearances: Don LaFontaine
Screening on Saturday, October 20 At 8:00 PM at The 20th Century Center.
You may not know his face, but you hear his voice everyday. Don LaFontaine, The King of Movie Trailers, has voiced over 5,000 trailers, video games and commercials. He is considered to be one of the busiest actors in Hollywood, by the Screen Actor’s Guild. Often credited with creating the modern movie trailer with his stock lines like “In A World”, WAMPA & the Tallgrass Film Festival are honored to pay tribute to a man who is a true pioneer in the filmmaking industry. Join us for a tribute and Q&A with LaFontaine and meet the man whose voice has launched thousands of films.
Other Special Events
Special Midnight Shorts Program:
Gross, Dark, & Creepy short films
Take A Stab At It
Domestic and International Short Films
Costume Contest planned to precede screening.
(Break out your Halloween costumes early!)
Screening on Saturday, October 20 At 11:59 PM at The Orpheum Theater.
B.Z.P.C. 1
Die Flugbegleiterin (The Stewardess) 12
Droomtijd (Dreamtime) 20
Gay Zombie 20
Ghost of Sam Peckinpah 15
Shuteye Hotel 7
Songbird 6
The Saddest Boy in the World 14
Total minutes 95
The world can be a dark place. Especially at midnight. This selection of dark, creepy, gross, and campy films offer a place for us night owls to see short films that belong in the night. A young boy having the worst birthday of his life, a man awakes to find the ghost of a legendary filmmaker who forces him to take care of some unfinished business in Hollywood, Bill Plympton animates a hotel murder investigation, a boy is given a second chance to come out of the closet now that he is a brain hungry zombie, and other short films here prove that this program is definitely not appropriate for children or people with sensitive constitutions. (Which we promise is a good thing!)
Sunday Special Rock Screening with Live Music
Screaming Masterpieces
Gargandi Snilld
Iceland, 2006, 88 min
International Documentary Feature
Languages: English, Icelandic
Just Added!
Directed By: Ari Alexander, Ergis Magnússon
Producers: Sigurjon Sighvatsson, Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon
Featuring: Björk, Sigur Rós , Múm , Bang Gang , Mugison, Minus, and Slowblow
Followed by Live Music (Bands TBA)
Screening on Sunday, October 21
7:30 PM at The Fisch Haus Studios.
What better way to end a kick ass weekend then with a rock infused film screening followed by some great live music? Screaming Masterpieces examines why Iceland has produced so much imaginative music. This ravishingly-shot documentary combines visual and sonic treats as it explores the tiny island nation at the top of the world, suffused with the towering presence of Björk. The film was two years in the making and takes the audience behind the scenes of Reyjavik's irrepressible musical underground. The creeping glaciers, barren highland sands and dark raging seas full of ghosts form a backdrop to the raw energy of the music.
Official Feature Selections
(listed in Alphabetical Order)
Behind Forgotten Eyes
USA, 2007, 76 min
International Documentary Feature
Languages: English, Korean, Japanese
Mid West Premiere
Directed By: Anthony Gilmore
Producers: Alex Ferrari, Anthony Gilmore
Cast: Yun-Jin Kim
Screening on Saturday, October 20
1:00 PM at the Howard Wooden Lecture Hall at the Wichita Art Museum
Behind Forgotten Eyes examines the enduring legacy of this horrifying chapter of history in both Korea and Japan. As the first English-language film to tackle this volatile issue, Behind Forgotten Eyes aims to focus the world’s attention on this unsettled aspect of Japan’s colonial heritage and to educate an American public unfamiliar with East Asian history and modern society. Behind Forgotten Eyes combines first-hand accounts from both Korean women and Japanese soldiers who lived through the nightmare with the expert testimony of academics, social activists, and professionals from Japan, Korea, and the United States to offer a candid look into an issue that has been ignored for far too long. Time is running out for these women and their stories.
Blood on the Flat Track: Rise of the Rat City Roller Girls
USA, 2007, 94 min
Domestic Documentary Feature
Languages: English
Kansas Premiere
Directed By: Lacey Leavitt, Lainy Bagwell
Cast: The Rat City Roller Girls League
Screening on Saturday, October 20
4:45 PM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
The sport of women's roller derby has made a huge comeback, now with more than 200 leagues nationwide. Blood on the Flat Track focuses on the Rat City Rollergirls of Seattle, who formed their league from scratch in April of 2004. In the first season, the league started playing at a small rink in front of about 200 fans; they now sell out venues of 1500-3000 monthly. This film follows the skaters throughout their first two seasons and focuses on the teams (Derby Liberation Front, Throttle Rockets, Sockit Wenches and Grave Danger), their struggle to win the championship bout and their relationships with each other.
Entry Level
USA, 2007, 85 min
Domestic Narrative Feature
Languages: English
Mid West Premiere
Directed By: Douglas Horn
Producers: Douglas Horn, Reuben Lim, Mark E. Lee, Ben Buffandeau
Cast: D.B. Sweeney, Missi Pyle, Kurtwood Smith, Taylor Negron, Cerdic Yarbrough, Lisa Ann Walter, Steve Ryan, Daniel Southworth
Screening on Saturday, October 20
4:30 PM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
After losing his restaurant, chef CLAY MAGUIRE must start his career all over--at the bottom. Pushing forty with no 'corporate skill-set', Clay enters the world of the Unemployable Interviewees of America. He soon meets others--LIZ, who spent her youth traveling; BOB who's 64--too old for an administrative assistant and too young for a Wal-Mart greeter; and CHARLIE, whose job as a corporate hiring manager is so miserable that he only hires interviewees he hates. Spurred along by the total lack of encouragement by his job counselor SAM, the self-serving wisdom of his homeless buddy NICK, and the most bizarre series of job interviews imaginable, Clay and his fellow job-seekers strive for dignity, success, or at least a job at ENTRY LEVEL.
Girls Rock!
USA, 2007, 91 min
Domestic Documentary Feature
Languages: English
Directed By: Arne Johnson, Shane King
Producers: Arne Johnson
Cast: Carrie Brownstein, Beth Ditto
Screening on Saturday, October 20
11:00 AM at The 20th Century Center
Each summer, Portland’s Rock 'n' Roll Camp For Girls provides a place for girls ages 8–18 to sweat, scream and wail. This cranked-to-eleven documentary follows the dedicated counselors (including Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Beth Ditto from The Gossip), as they guide the girls through selecting their bands, learning instruments, writing songs, and finally performing in Portland clubs. (Ages 8 and up)
Imprint
USA, 2007, 87 min
Domestic Narrative Feature
Languages: English, Lakota
Mid West Premiere
Directed By: Michael Linn
Producers: Carolyn Linn, Chris Eyre
Cast: Tonantzin Carmelo, Carla-Rae Holland, Michael Spears, Cory Brusseau, Charlie White Buffalo
Screening on Saturday, October 20
5:00 PM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
Shayla Stonefeather (Tonantzin Carmelo), a Native American attorney prosecuting a Lakota teen in a controversial murder trial, returns home to the reservation to visit her dying father. Strange visions and ghostly voices propel her on a journey she doesn’t expect. Though Shayla initially rejects a spiritual explanation for her experiences, she begins to uncover what she believes is a link between the visions and her brother’s disappearance two years earlier. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, Shayla deliberately confronts and follows the apparitions, leading her to a horrifying revelation and a purpose she could never have foreseen.
Khadak
Belgium, Mongolia, 2006, 110 min
International Narrative Feature
Languages: Mongolian
Mid West Premiere
Directed By: Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth
Producers: Heino Deckert
Principal Cast: Batzul Khayankhyarvaa, Dugarsuren Dagvadorj, Tsetsegee Byamba, Damchaa Banzar, Tserendarizav Dashnyam, Uuriintuya Enkhtaivan, Otgontogos Namsrai
Screening on Saturday, October 20
10:30 AM at the Howard Wooden Lecture Hall at the Wichita Art Museum
Displaced from the frozen hills of Mongolia to high-rise apartments in a mining town, a family of nomadic sheep herders must adjust to modern city life. An artful exploration of the ongoing tensions between the past and the future, creation and destruction, and accepting or denying one's fate.
Off the Grid
USA, 2007, 70 min
Domestic Documentary Feature
Languages: English
Mid West Premiere
Directed By: Jeremy Stulberg, Randy Stulberg
Producers: Eric Juhola, Jeremy Stulberg, Randy Stulberg
Screening on Saturday, October 20
9:30 AM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
Look out the window while you’re driving through the Southwest. You’ll see stark beauty, but you won’t see the underground community living in the distance. The Mesa has no electricity, running water, or police. It draws a cross-section of Americans from veterans to old hippies and teenage runaways. They all live on the fringe in, the last part of America that is truly free, Anti-establishment beliefs are tested when rebel runaways called, nowhere kids‚ begin to steal from other residents. Mesa elders form a council. This self-imposed government is exactly what they have come to the Mesa to escape.
Outing Riley
USA, 2006, 86 min
Domestic Narrative Feature
Languages: English
Directed By: Pete Jones
Producers: Judd Nissen, Patrick Peach
Cast: Pete Jones, Nathan Fillion, Michael McDonald, Julie R. Pearl, Stoney Westmoreland, Steve Dahl, Jeff Garlin
Screening on Saturday, October 20
3:30 PM at The 20th Century Center
Nobody knows Bobby Riley’s secret; not his no-nonsense priest older brother, not his married-but-enjoys-online-porn brother, and not his fun-loving closest brother Luke (Nathan Fillion). When he finally decides to come out of the closet, Bobby breaks the shocking news to his brothers first, with unexpectedly hilarious results. There's just one problem... nobody believes him. This film is about the strength of family, friends, and love. Michael McDonald from “MadTV” plays his boyfriend Andy and SERENITY’s Nathan Fillion plays his wise-cracking brother Luke. Also featuring Jeff Garlin (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Julie Pearl, Stoney Westmoreland, and Chicago radio personality Steve Dahl. OUTING RILEY is the second film from Chicago native, Pete Jones, winner of the first season of "Project Greenlight."
Red Without Blue
USA, 2006, 77 min
Domestic Documentary Feature
Languages: English
Directed By: Brooke Sebold, Benita Sills, Todd Sills
Producers: Brooke Sebold, Todd Sills, Benita Sills
Screening on Saturday, October 20
1:30 PM at The 20th Century Center
A childhood of traumatizing experiences and surrounding issues of identity, gender, family, drugs, suicide and community are examined in this illuminating documentary about all-American identical twin brothers and best friends Mark and Alex, and how they became twin brother and sister Mark and Clair.
River Ways
USA, 2007, 89 min
Domestic Documentary Feature
Languages: English
Mid West Premiere
Directed By: Colin Stryker
Producers: Colin Stryker
Screening on Saturday, October 20
2:00 PM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
River Ways presents a collage of personal perspectives concerning the proposed removal of four dams on the Snake River in Eastern Washington. Environmental groups and fishing interests criticize the dams for their negative impact on salmon populations, but agricultural communities dependent on the dams oppose efforts to remove them. River Ways examines the lives of ordinary people whose futures depend on whether the dams come out or remain. Frank, a Native American fisherman, struggles to make ends meet in the face of dwindling salmon numbers. Ben, a family farmer in Washington, fears the effect of dam removal on his business. And Mark, a commercial fisherman, hangs on to an industry in economic decline. Other subjects include environmental activists, irrigators, sport fishermen, and salmon biologists.
Sweet Mud
Isreal, 2006, 97 min
International Narrative Feature
Languages: Hebrew
Kansas Premiere
Directed By: Dror Shaul
Producers: Sirocco Productions
Cast: Ronit Yudkevitch, Tomer Steinhof, Henri Garcin, Shai Avivi, Gal Zaid, Joseph Carmon, Pini Tavger, Sharon Zuckerman, Idit Zur, Danielle Kitzis, Rivka Neumann, Hila Ofer
Screening on Saturday, October 20
12:00 PM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
In this dark yet comedic coming-of-age story, a boy enters his bar mitzvah year on a southern Israel kibbutz in the 1970s. Trying to reconcile the community’s motto of equality with the reality that his mentally ill mother has been abandoned, he comes to learn that not every person fits into Utopia.
Ten Canoes
Australia, 2006, 92 min
International Narrative Feature
Languages: English, Ganalbingu
Kansas Premiere
Directed By: Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr
Producers: Rolf de Heer, Julie Ryan
Cast: Crusoe Kurddal, Jamie Gulpilil, David Gulpilil, Richard Birrinbirrin, Peter Minygululu, Frances Djulibing
Screening on Saturday, October 20
9:00 AM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
Ten canoes, three wives and one hundred and fifty spears leads to… trouble. Mingygululu, fearing his younger brother has desires for one of his wives, relates a parable of lust, sorcery, gluttony and war from the distant past in hopes of instructing the younger man on the proper way to live.
The Memory Thief
USA, 2007, 94 min
Domestic Narrative Feature
Languages: English
Mid West Premiere
Directed By: Gil Kofman
Producers: Amy Ziering Kofman, Gil Kofman
Cast: Mark Webber, Rachel Miner
Screening on Saturday, October 20
2:30 PM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
THE MEMORY THIEF is the story of Lukas - an aimless, young man in contemporary L.A. who buries thoughts of his own past in the humdrum routine of a tollbooth clerk. A chance encounter with a Holocaust survivor suddenly brings into focus a world and an identity he embraces with frightening intensity - the victimized Jews of World War II. As he begins to enthusiastically act out his newfound obsession, Lukas discovers that survivor's guilt isn't just for the Jews anymore. THE MEMORY THIEF is a mesmerizing, audacious psychological thriller in the tradition of TAXIDRIVER.
Twisted: A Balloonamentary
Presented by Pioneer Balloon Company
USA, 2007, 79 min
Domestic Documentary Feature
Languages: English
Kansas Premiere
Directed By: Naomi Greenfield, Sara Taksler
Producers: Sara Taksler, Naomi Greenfield
Cast: Don Caldwell, Jon Stewart, Laura Dakin, Sheree Brown-Rosner
Screening on Saturday, October 20
11:30 AM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
A flying octopus. A Trojan horse. Two 100-foot-tall soccer players. All made out of balloons. These are just some of the masterful creations you will see as TWISTED: A Balloonamentary takes you right into the heart of Twist and Shout, one of the world's premier balloon twisting conventions. Exploring how eight balloon twisters' lives are dramatically changed by a little piece of latex, this hilarious and heartwarming documentary is about passion, salvation, love, death, race, religion, and a whole lot of balloons. With animation narrated by JON STEWART, TWISTED: A Balloonamentary is a story about people who discover that once you can make a balloon dog, you can do anything.
Short Film Program Selections
(Please note: films in programs not in order of screening)
The Kansas Film Commission Presents:
The Timothy Gruver Spotlight on Kansas Filmmakers
Local Short Films
| A Momentary Lapse of Brilliance | 12 min. |
| Dir. Rodrick Pocowachit, Wichita | |
| All Down But Nine (WAMPA Filmmaker Academy project) | 10 min. |
| Dir. Mark Oldham, Wichita | |
| Broken Circle | 20 min. |
| Dir. Aaron Sawyer, Independence | |
| Oscar the Artistic Cat | 10 min. |
| Dir. Paul Klusman, Wichita | |
| Reuniting Greensburg | 20 min. |
| Dir. Brian Schodorf, Wichita | |
| Serenade | 5 min. |
| Dir. Sarah Huslig, Lawrence | |
| Trail End | 26 min. |
| Dir. Shannon Keenan, Wichita |
Screening on Sunday, October 21
At 3:30 PM at The 20th Century Center.
The Joel Fein High School Shorts Program
Domestic and International Short Films
Films made by high school students from Kansas, around the country, and world.
| A Leaf Escaped | 3 min. |
| Dir. Isidore Bethel, Atlanta, Georgia | |
| Arcadia | 10 min. |
| Dir. Katie Flynn, San Diego, California | |
| B.Z.P.C | 1 min. |
| Wee’land Bourne, Culver City, California | |
| Coke Hungry | 9 min. |
| Dir. Ien Chi, Seoul, South Korea | |
| Muses | 8 min. |
| Dir. Sahaiya Abudu. Los Angeles, California | |
| New Perspective | 3 min. |
| Dir. David Riff, Wichita, Kansas | |
| Obsession | 7 min. |
| Dir. Sophie Scott, Antibes, France | |
| Price of Fuel | 3 min. |
| Dir. Quinn Wilson, Normal, Illinois | |
| Writers Block and Beyond | 26 min |
| Dir. Keenan Mock, Manhattan, Kansas |
In special recognition of the late Joel Fein, Wichita’s own Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominated Sound Editor (The Buddy Holly Story), the Tallgrass Film Festival will rename the high school filmmaker program in honor of Fein. “Joel was a mentor and a teacher to so many people, young and old, sharing his knowledge, experience and stories about the film industry, it seemed only fitting that we rename the high school program in honor of him, he was inspirational to many aspiring filmmakers.” - Festival Director Lela Meadow.
Screening on Sunday, October 21
At 1:00 PM at The Warren Old Town Theatre.
Featurette Selections
Take a Chance
The Politics of Love
(two Western European perspectives about life and the pursuit of happiness)
The documentary Daddy’s Love preceded by the narrative Shahram & Abbas...........
Screening on Saturday, October 20
3:30 AM at the Howard Wooden Lecture Hall at the Wichita Art Museum
Daddy’s Love
USA, 2007, 50 min
International Documentary Featurette
Languages: English, Norwegian
US Premiere
Directed By: Mette Aakerholm
Producers: Brede Hovland, Tonje Louise Finne
Screening on Saturday, October 20
Time and Location To Be Announced shortly.
I
n October 2006 Kenneth became a father. A single father. A 26 years old gay man, living in a small town in Norway, Kenneth found his solution in a surrogate mother from Kansas who agreed to carry his child. In this documentary we follow Kenneth during the weeks before the birth, on his journey to Wichita, Kansas, where his son is born, and then back to Norway, where his life as a single father begins. The movie raises many questions about societal feelings toward single fathers, surrogate parents, the idea of designer babies, what is natural, and sexual politics. This movie gives us a human view on the heated debate, about GLBT rights to adopt and the use of artificial insemination. Today none of this is legal in Norway. In the end this is not a political film, but rather a movie about the way we look at parenthood, and what it takes to be one.
Shahram and Abbas
The Netherlands, 2006, 37 min
International Narrative Featurette
Languages: Dutch, Farsi, English
Kansas Premiere
Directed By: Remy van Heugten
In Shahram and Abbas, two Iranian men, seeking asylum in the Netherlands, try increasing their odds of being granted entry by pretending to be gay. This causes some serious legal and personal repercussions, both severe and comedic.
“TAKE 5” Short Film Program Selections
(Please Note: films are not in order of screening, but rather in alphabetical order)
The 2007 Tallgrass Film Festival is proud to present some of the finest of this years international independent short films. Each program has an eclectic selection of shorts with interesting connections to one another. Enjoy.
Family Matters
A Little Give and Take
| Family Reunion |
19 |
| Lebenswandel (See You at Home) | 22 |
| Little Brother | 7 |
| Lonely Lights, The Color of Lemons | 16 |
| Odi et Amo | 12 |
| Wigald | 11 |
Total minutes |
87 |
9:15 AM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
Someone once said that families are like fudge, mostly sweet with a few nuts. These short films are sure to leave a taste in your mouth after exposing you to families you may or may not relate to. Go through the troubles a German boy struggles with while his parents prepare for a divorce, or a girl who returns to Iceland for a family reunion which will challenge her assumptions of them, or siblings in Singapore left to their own devices when mom goes out on some errand, and many more. Like most family interactions, these films may be funny but are not recommended for children.
Love Interests
Take Heart
| Alguma Coisa Assim (Something Like That) | 15 |
| Beckenrand (Poolside) | 22 |
| Gnist (Spark) | 20 |
| Mr. Right | 15 |
| Saturday Evening Newton, Sunday Morning Enmore | 12 |
| Wigald | 14 |
| The Date | 16 |
Total minutes |
92 |
11:45 AM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
Love isn’t easy right? Hard to find, hard to keep, hard to survive. This selection of short films proves that and hints at why it is all worth it in the end. A lot can happen when a German man returns to Central Park in hopes of meeting a love twenty years unrequited, or two best friends run amok in the streets of Sao Paulo saying everything but what they should, or a woman waking up after a one night stand that may surprise her, and many other heart breaking and warming situations.
Truth vs Fiction
Take Another Look
| I Met the Walrus | 5 |
| I’m Keith Hernandez | 19 |
| P.U.R.E. | 12 |
| Regarding Sarah | 14 |
| The Hunter | 20 |
| The Job | 4 |
| Truth About Tooth | 10 |
Total minutes |
84 |
2:15 PM at The Warren Old Town Theatre
Sometimes things are not the way they seem. This selection of short films introduces us the a new perspective on the tooth fairy, a different type of day laborers, the “real” story of the rise of a famous baseball player and his involvements with presidents and Eddie Money, and many other examinations of the gray area between Truth and Fiction.
Filmmaker Lounge Screenings
Take a Break
| Cocktail Party | 11 |
| Highway Amazon | 12 |
| Kali Ma | 14 |
| Recently Deceased | 12 |
| The Big Lie | 13 |
| Alma | 15 |
| Rose | 34 |
More to be announced! |
These film span the spectrum of genres and showcase some of the best of today’s independent short films. A Tallgrass Film Festival All Access Pass is needed to admit entrance to enjoy these fine films.
Shorts Screening Before Features
| Behind Forgotten Eyes (86 min.) | |
| The World, Naked as a Jaybird | 8 |
| Entry Level (85 min.) | |
| The Job | 4 |
| Girls Rock (90 min.) | |
| When I Grow Up | 7 |
| Off the Grid, Life on the Mesa (70 min.) | |
Sensational City |
|
| Outing Riley (86 min.) | |
| 41 Sekunden (Seconds) | 4 |
| Sweet Mud (98 min.) | |
| Drake | 5 |