Best of Rural Route Films
with Festival Director Alan Webber
Saturday, March 9th at 8pm
Phil Mechanic Studios
Courtyard Gallery
109 Roberts Street, Asheville
$5 (No one turned away for lack of funds)
The Rural Route Film Festival was created to highlight works that deal with rural people and places.
The creators of Rural Route Film Festival leave it up to the film and video artists to express their unique definitions of “rural” – whether it be a documentary about an organic turnip farm in West Virginia or a fictional backpacking drama set in Peru.
Based in New York, this film festival takes place in the summer and tours the country during the rest of the year. We’re excited to host this “best of” program for Asheville audiences!
SALT (*)
Dir. Robert Gardner. 2.5 minutes. 1968/2011. Dallol, Ethiopia
One of legendary ethnographic filmmaker Robert Gardner’s filmic interests in Ethiopia was to see and film the salt trade between the Highlands and the Dallol Depression, a wondrous environment of unbearable heat and intense color. He managed a start only and these are the bits that emerged.
Painting John
Dir. Audrey Hall. 10 minutes. 2011. Documentary. Livingston, Montana
Hugh Wilson left his career on Wall Street in exchange for the pursuit of his passion – conveying the human condition through art. He paints entirely from life, inspired by the intimate and authentic relationship between artist and subject. The son of Norwegian immigrants, John Holland has lived alone in a rustic Montana cabin his entire adult life devoted to his cattle and family ranch. writer/director, Peter Templeman.
Crosshairs
Dir. Mike Hoath, 12 min. 2011. Narrative. Gidgegannup, Western Australia.
Two brothers from rural Western Australian are caught poaching a lamb on a neighboring property. When Beau refuses to go quietly his younger sibling becomes a pawn in a violent showdown. Script by award-winning writer/director Peter Templeman.
Compound Eyes #1
Dir. Paul Clipson. 6 min. 2011. Experimental. Golden Gate Botanical Gardens, CA.
A macro-menagerie of natural lifeforms are introduced in a forest’s tapestry of earth, water and air: Spiders, slugs, flies, bees, and ants navigate their lives in darkness and light. Filmed in Super-8 with sound collage/music by Jefre Cantu-Ledesma.
The Water’s Edge
Dir. Chris Thomas. 14 min. Narrative. 2011. Snowdonia, North Wales.
In the aftermath of an alien occupation of Britain, a lone man devotes his life solely to a myth that sal- vation can be found in the water. However, he must avoid the threats that surround him.
George Thompson: Street Cleaner
Prod. Mountain Community Television/Appalshop. 2.5 min. Archival. 1977. Norton, VA
In addition to being “the best street sweeper they ever had in the city of Norton,” Thompson was an accomplished, self-taught guitarist. MCTV was a cable access television project that aired locally in the coal mining region of southwestern Virginia from 1972-78. Programs featured homegrown craftspeople, musicians, events, and profiles of local citizens.
Sacha the Bear
Dir. Henri Desaunay. 12 min. 2012. Narrative. Saint-Michel-Des-Andaines, Normadie, France.
A bear finds refuge from a hunter by a pretty girl who lives in the woods. This fun and well- crafted film utilizes archetypal fairytale char- acters, but their well-ordered world lapses into confusion, as the naïve girl starts acting like a seductive woman, the lord starts acting like a beast, and the beast seems surprisingly human.
A Short Film About Ice Fishing
Dir. Jason Shahinfar. 8 min. Narrative. 2011. Barnard, SD.
Two friends devote a winter afternoon in South Dakota to ice fishing, cold beers, friendly chat- ter, man’s best friend, guns, dynamite…all on a frozen lake.
Un Buen Hijo
Dir. Juan Gil Garcia. 20 min. Narrative. 2011. La Mision, Baja, Mexico.
A young man from rural Mexico with secret aspirations of being a drag performer is forced to choose between helping his hard-working farm parents and running for his dreams.
The Hunter
Dir. Marieka Walsh. 6 min. Sand Animation. 2012. Australia.
A boy goes missing in the snow-covered wilderness, feared taken by wolves. A hunter undertakes a journey to find the him, but as he tracks the boy into the mountains, he discovers that his instincts can no longer be trusted. The hunTer is an elegant & surprising stop-motion sand animation that tells a new timeless tale.
It Could Be Good, It Could Be Bad
Dir. Robert Gardner. 6 min. 1997/2011. Chilean Andes.
A breathtaking flight over the Chilean Patagonian Andes in a small craft piloted by filmmaker Robert Fulton.
Line-up of films:
Mechanical Eye Microcinema 