Glass Eyes of Locust Bayou
Slamdance Film Festival
Director: Simon Mercer

In the short film Glass Eyes of Locust Bayou, Simon Mercer provides a look at the lifetime of work by amateur filmmaker Phil Chambliss. Toiling from a (very) small town in Arkansas, Chambliss has been using his friends and fellow citizens—and the striking Arkansas backdrop—to fashion films of his own, unique creation for over 30 years now. Using clips from Chambliss’ footage and interviews with the townspeople and Chambliss himself, Mercer is able to paint a distinct reflection of Chambliss’ inimitable world. There is a good amount of humor to be found within the short, though sometimes the audience is laughing with Chambliss and his townspeople and sometimes the audience is laughing at them.

 

Slamdance Film Guide

Trailer