Authors: John Ford
Slamdance Film Review: To The Bone
In yet another Slamdance World Premiere, To The Bone brings a glimpse into the difficult lives of migrant farmworkers. Eleven-year-old Valencia (Naomie Feliu), her father (Jaime Alvarez) and her eight-year-old little brother, Marcos (Carlos C. Torres), work long, hard days for next to no pay—just to give their family a chance at a better life—while all Valencia wants is to go home. But will her attempt to do so have unforseen aftereffects that cause more harm than good? … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Big Words
Set against the backdrop of the 2008 presidential election in beautiful Brooklyn, New York, Big Words revolves around three friends who, 15 years ago, were once members of an unsuccessful hip-hop group. John (Dorian Missick), aka Big Words, is a lyrical genius who, perhaps subliminally, expects himself to fail and thus puts success out of his own reach. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Fynbos
In his first feature-length film, Harry Patramanis presents a story of mystery and doubt. Richard (Warrick Grier) is nearly finished building a lavish glass house in a remote area in the Western Cape of South Africa, but the expense of it all has brought him near bankruptcy and he is now hopelessly running out of time to sell the property. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Glory Days
Glory Days tells the story of a dead-beat dad’s attempt to remain in the past. Jack (Mike Lubik) hauls his two young children (Cory Nichols and Paige Elizabeth Smith) to a New Years Eve party that clearly wasn’t intended for little kids.
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Slamdance Film Review: Shale
Shale is a short film that examines the importance of a balance of power within a relationship. John (Walter Dalton), the owner of a shale pit, is being divorced by his wife, Sheila (Sandra Seacat), and is prepared to destroy everything he owns rather than split things with her. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Kohlhaas
After production pulls the funding for his 16th-century film about Hans Kohlhase, director Lehmann (Robert Gwisdek)—yes, the director in the film is named after the director of the film—refuses to abandon his dream and begs his cast and crew to help him finish filming. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Best Friends Forever
Harriet (Brea Grant), a young comic book artist living in Los Angeles, has just been accepted to a college in Austin, Texas, and decides to road trip there with her BFF, Reba (Vera Miao). As they make their way across the country—in a ’76 AMC Pacer—the nuclear apocalypse begins with four nuclear explosions happening in major US cities. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: The Dirties
Constantly being bullied by a group of kids—known as “The Dirties” because it’s the name of the bullies’ band—at their high school, Matt (Matt Johnson) and Owen (Owen Williams) decide to film a movie about getting revenge. But as Matt gets more and more serious about the idea, Owen begins to worry his friend might take things too far. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: What Isn’t There
At the age of 10, Gibson (Dominic Roco) saw his twin brother die, and he hasn’t spoken since. Now 20, Gibson returns home to Manila for the holidays and finds his family growing slowly more and more distant. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: My Name is Faith
Following a young girl named Faith—who suffers from Reactive Attachment Disorder— and her family, the Junkers, through two camps designed to help families with children who have various attachment disorders, My Name is Faith documents the difficulty of dealing with these very real issues—both as a child and as a family.
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