COVID Dystopia: Jesus Dropped a Cluster Bomb

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In the weeks leading up to the Orlando Film Festival, I feel I should share shots from COVID Dystopia. I do this leading into each film festival.

This festival feels special since the film was created in Orlando and so many of the shots relate to Florida’s failed COVID response. The film has been rejected multiple times for other Florida Film Festivals and I thought it would never be shown in this state.

The animated film is controversial  and rather hard edged. It is perhaps too controversial to be shown at your average Film Festival. When it is shown, it wins awards. It won the Best Short Animation Film Award at the Chicago International Reels Film Festival. It won as the Best Short Short Film at the Berlin Shorts Film Festival, and it has won an Honorable Mention at the Charlotte Film Festival and it was a Nominee for the Best Animated Short at the Iowa Independent Film Festival.

Iowa Independent Film Festival: Awards Ceremony

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The last film to screen in the Mason City Community Theater was Stockton to Table Rock. the film was about a high school senior who faced her abusive mother hoping change was possible. The mother deflected and denied while claiming her daughter was manic depressive.

The entire film I felt myself urging the 18 year old to just leave, but relationships are complex and change is scary. There was love even in the alcoholism and abuse. The actress for the film was in the audience and was there for the question and answer session. She seemed so much older and mature in person. I guess that is the sign of a good actress. After the screening the theater had to be made ready for the awards ceremony. Stars had to be hung on the curtains. I stood outside and tried to recover from Stockton. It is a film that lingers and leaves you thinking. It was hard to shake.

The hosts for the awards ceremony where The Other Guys, a local comedy duo in red tuxedos. Most awards went to filmmakers who were not at the festival. Those awards were stacked up on an oval shaped table to the right. As I mentioned in a previous post the filmmakers for a music video called Infinite Battleground were seated next to me in the back row. Unfortunate they did not win, that honor went to Obsessed directed by Ashley Cherie Long. Obsessed got a good laugh when the singer suddenly woke up from a dream and found herself in a harvested cornfield.

Then came the Best Animated Film Award category. I was pleased to be nominated and they played what seemed like a good solid minute of the film. I kept sketching as the other animated films were shown. My fountain pen literally snapped in half over the movie screen in my sketch and a single blob of ink dripped on the screen before I could get a rag to stop the flow of ink. The winner of the best animated film category was Truth Detector, Directed by William Reliford. I finished this sketch in the airport with a sharpie, prismacolor pencil and watercolor.

Meredith Wilson House Iowa

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The Iowa Independent Film Festival is held in two cities, Clear Lake where my film was shown and Mason City which is known as the River City in the Music Man Musical. I had spent a solid day watching films in Clear Lake on day one. My favorite film on that day was Never Not Yours which was brilliantly written. It was about three grown siblings who visited their parents at a secluded cabin. When the parents announced that they were getting divorced all hell breaks loose. It won the award as the Best Feature film and that award was well earned.

The next morning there was a complimentary breakfast at 7 Stars Family Restaurant. I had ordered breakfast here before and ate it at the lakeside hotel overlooking the lake. It was my go to place for a solid western omelet breakfast. At the breakfast, I met Casey Schaffer who directed a short student film called Brothers: A Civil War Story. One of the organizers was beaming and said it was his favorite film. I decided I need to see it so on day two I watched films in Mason City where Brothers was being shown. It was indeed an amazing film especially since it was a student film that had to be produced on a tight budget. I hope one day this is expanded to a feature film.

After the first film block, I decided I needed some air, so I wandered the neighborhood looking for the Meredith Wilson House. The house is the childhood home of the author of the Music Man. It was a beautiful day so I stood leaning against a sign pose and sketched the home. Gnats were the one distraction swarming in front of my failing eyes. My fountain pen was also choosing to not always put down lines. Periodically people would pose for selfies in front of the Music Man sculpture next door.

I also found a rally nice foot bridge that went over the river that flows through town. All the homes on this street were gorgeous Victorian homes that were meticulously renovated. After the sketch was done I returned to the theater to spend the afternoon watching more films. The theater was pitch black when I tried to slip in to watch a documentary about local legend Hob Mason who was a famous jazz pianist. My eyes didn’t adjust to the dark , so I slipped into a front row seat to watch.