Slamdance 2012 Coverage
Sundowning
Frank Rinaldi’s debut feature film, shot entirely in Singapore, follows a woman in her twenties named Shannon (played by Shannon Fitzpatrick) as she deals with the early onset of dementia. … read more
Kelly
In his feature film directorial debut, James Stenson brings us Kelly, a documentary about Kelly Van Ryan, a transgender prostitute living in Los Angeles. Stenson reveals Kelly’s life in layers, starting with her living in high demand. But as more about Kelly is revealed, the more one-dimensional she becomes. … read more
Roller Town
Roller Town takes place in a part of the past where everyone roller-skates and everything is awesome. After “gangsters” murder his father, Leo grows up alone, knowing nothing but roller-skating. Leo’s smooth moves at the roller rink help him steal the mayor’s daughter from a local skate-snob, but when the goons who killed his father return to kill disco and turn local teens into video-arcade-addicted zombies, will roller-skating be enough to help Leo defeat them? … read more
We Win Or We Die
Mahdi Zew, an oil company administrator and father of two daughters, pilots his car with a trunk full of explosive gas cylinders into the heart of the Katiba. This suicidal and heroic act devastates his family, yet creates a new future for Benghazi. … read more
Welcome to Pine Hill
Based on real events in the life of lead actor Shannon Harper (playing himself), Welcome to Pine Hill presents an intimate look into the life of a young black man as he severs the ties of his drug-dealing past and attempts to cope with his sudden diagnosis of terminal cancer. … read more
February
Opening with a dark and surreal sex scene, we follow the main character’s search for human connection on the most basic level. Sex permeates the 11-minute film, from the thumping sounds our character hears above the basement floor while fixing a pipe, to the blowjob he receives in an alley outside of a booming nightclub. … read more
The Sound of Small Things
Peter McLarnan presents a gut-wrenching look into the young marriage of Sam and Cara as they struggle to maintain trust and communication despite Cara’s recent deafness. A group of visual artists’ first foray into narrative filmmaking, The Sound of Small Things uses lush cinematography to capture the nuances of human interaction. … read more
Getting Up
Slamdance alumnus Caskey Ebeling’s Getting Up documents the artistic rehabilitation of Los Angeles graffiti legend, social activist and publisher Tempt One. … read more
Doppelgänger Paul (Or A Film About How Much I Hate...
Doppelgänger Paul follows the strange and unusual friendship between Karl and Paul, both of whom are lonely and somewhat antisocial. When two other “Doppelgängers” show up with a massively edited version of Karl’s 20,000-page manuscript, Karl and Paul set off on a road trip to Portland to confront them. Along the way, Karl and Paul learn that they must first confront themselves. … read more
Comforting Skin
In his directorial debut, Derek Franson reveals the story he wrote 13 years ago, following Koffie on her search for emotional, and sexual, connection. Koffie believes she’s found that connection in her tattoo, which provides sensual pleasure as it moves about her body in masturbatory-esque moments, and she begins to withdraw from friends and family. But when her tattoo begins to turn into a jealous douche bag, Koffie must conquer the only person really standing in her way: herself. … read more
Ben Franklin Blowing Bubbles at a Sword
In his “first screening, ever, first short film, ever,” Jonathan Napolitano documents three “mental athletes” as they train for and compete in the 2011 USA Memory Championships. … read more
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists
From the prankster beginnings of early hacktivist groups and the awkward birth of Anonymous from the loins of the website 4Chan, documentary filmmaker Brian Knappenberger follows the sometimes slow, sometimes mind-blowing-ly fast development of the hacktivist movement. Through interviews with former and current Anonymous members, footage taken by the activists themselves and some very impressive editing, We Are Legion presents a surprisingly historically correct version of past events that no newsroom would approve of.
… read more
