Night Gallery Film Festival - Feature Film Descriptions

OCTOBER 20-25 Backroom at the Silverbow

A. (anonymous) - (Feature Comedy)
By Daniel Bowers
Screens: To Be Arranged

Gavin Tartowski has been called a quack, a cult-leader, and a barista who sees himself as a guru. Looking for a support group to help him with his compulsion to wear extremely tight pants, Gavin was turned away from 12-step programs like AA, NA and GA. “Why all the labels?” Gavin asks. “Why not put all problems under one umbrella?” “That is why I created A. I want to help people no matter what their challenges are.” The group’s newest challenge is Benji, a troubled 35 year-old “huffer” whose mother has sent him to A. As the members struggle with Benji, they begin to work through their own inner-demons and start to see the value in their lives. Although Tartowski’s methods are less than orthodox, his ability to heal is indisputable. This film is as life affirming as “A” itself.

As Smart As They Are - (Documentary)
By Joe Pacheco
Screens: Monday October 23, 6:00 pm

After moving to New York, One Ring Zero’s founding members, Joshua Camp and Michael Hearst, discovered a curious unmarked store in Brooklyn that doubled as a makeshift office for McSweeney’s, an offbeat publishing company founded by author Dave Eggers. In addition to selling an odd assortment of products ranging from small rubber cubes to lumberjack supplies, the peculiar storefront also served as the venue for a weekly literary reading series that brought a variety of both burgeoning and established writers to the tiny space.
With Camp on accordion and Hearst on claviola, they soon began performing as the house-band for the series and ultimately invited a handful of authors to contribute lyrics. After receiving contributions from a wide range of celebrated writers including Paul Auster, Jonathan Lethem, Rick Moody and Dave Eggers, the duo then faced the challenge of setting this diverse compilation of lyrics to music.
Featuring live performances, studio sessions, and interviews with the writers and musicians, “As Smart As They Are” explores the relationships between music and literature while painting a portrait of the New York literary community that fostered the band.

Big Fish in Middlesex - (Feature Drama)
By Jonathan Straiton
Screens: Tuesday October 24, 6:00 pm

Set against the life in a prejudiced southern small town, young adults struggle with violence, discrimination, exploitation, tyranny and death. When the going gets tough, they get tougher and meaner. Fate throws unexpected curves as some struggle with the trappings of small town life while others dream of flight and escape but each will reach a turning point at the crossroads of life.

Drop Box - (Feature Comedy)
By Anesty Carasouos
Screens: Monday October 23, 7:15 pm

Tom is a burnt-out video store clerk who spends his entire days dealing with rude or negligent customers. When his latest customer seems a bit tenacious about getting a copy of Mariah Carey’s Glitter back, he’s going to give her a hard time about it, not only because he can’t stand people renting stupid movies, but she’s also being overly pushy about it. When he won’t give it back by conventional means, the young woman finally comes clean by revealing that she is a world-famous pop star named Mindy, and that she has accidentally returned the wrong tape in the video store drop box. Instead of Glitter, Mindy has mistakenly returned a personal videotape of her engaged in a sex tryst with two other people, and if the tape were to leak out, it might ruin her multimillion-dollar career. Unfortunately for Mindy, Tom only finds great amusement in her story, refusing to give her the tape back without earning it first, as she must jump over increasingly difficult hurdles in order to keep the video from being seen by the public eye.

Hooch & Daddy-O - (Feature Comedy)
By Oscar Madrid
Screens: Saturday October 21, 10:15 pm

In this mockumentary a film crew explores the pop culture impact of the 80’s cop show “Hooch & Daddy-O” and what happens when the cast reunites to film a made for TV movie.
“A dangerous piece of cinema disguised as a “buddy film,” HOOCH & DADDY-O challenges the conventions of documentary, while jabbing at your funny bone with an incisive, spearing wit.” - Thomas Crone (52nd City).

Jump - (Documentary)
By Justin Bookey
Screens: Friday October 20, 9:05 pm

In some counties, length is everything. Every spring since 1928 thousands converge upon Calaveras County to see whose frog will jump the farthest. JUMP follows the sweat and sacrifice of those who yearn to be the County’s top frog jockey - and be enshrined on the Hop of Fame. This heartfelt “frogumentary” uncovers an historical community that still honors its feisty connection to a Wild West past. Inspired by a true fable: Mark Twain’s “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”

The Lady From Sockholm - (Feature Comedy)
By Lynn Lamousin
Screens: To Be Arranged

Wool War II rages and times are tough for sock puppets. Terrence M. Cotton, a washed-up gumshoe, finds himself knee-high in debt and praying for a big case. Enter Heelda Brum, a finely spun piece of high-end hosiery who hires Cotton to find Darnell, her missing mate. Cotton takes the missing sock case but the heat gets turned on high when Darnell’s unraveled remains are discovered.
At the top of Cotton’s suspect list is the cheaply woven criminal Big Toeny Marnetti. When interrogated, Big Toeny states that Heelda and Darnell aren’t the designer duds Cotton thinks they are, and he tells Cotton the pair has tightly knit ties to an Asian underground silk ring. The news needles Cotton, so he goes looking for answers at The House of Bootah, a restaurant with its toes in every illegal operation in Chinatown.
At the House of Bootah he questions the leader of the smuggling ring, but instead of getting closer to finding who put the pinking shears to Darnell, Cotton discovers that Heelda’s lies may have stained the investigation. When confronted, Heelda won’t come clean; but Cotton is undeterred and sticks to the investigation like static cling.
But can a clean sock find justice in a dirty town? As Cotton threads the strands of the case together and gets closer to the truth, he must watch his step or risk meeting the same frayed fate as Darnell.
The Lady from Sockholm is a pun-lover’s dream film. It’s loaded with so many sock puns and clever film references that you’ll wonder how Producer/Writer Lynn Lamousin came up with all this stuff. The film, in which a sock puppet detective unravels a case involving the disappearance of high-end hosiery, plays well to both children and seasoned film lovers who can enjoy the nods to film noir.

Long Term Relationship - (Feature Drama)
By Rob Williams
Screens: Tuesday October 24, 8:10 pm

Out of all the gay men in Los Angeles (and sadly, he’s tested out more than a few), Glenn has finally found his soul mate — a cute Southern boy named Adam. Their relationship started, as so many great relationships have, with the personal ads (”GWM seeks LTR”). From the moment they met, it was instant attraction. Now Glenn’s in love for the first time, and it feels great. There’s only one problem. Well, actually a few problems. But are they big enough to be deal-breakers, or can Glenn and Adam work through their differences?

Luella Miller - (Feature Drama)
By Dane Giraud
Screens: Friday October 20, 10:30 pm

Thirty-something Lydia Anderson lives alone in a large old homestead in small town New Zealand. More child than woman, she has spent much of her life making costumes for the local amateur theatre and harboring fantasies for the boy next door, Christian Hill.
Lydia has never found the courage to tell Christian her true feelings. When he informs her that he will be leaving Lydia is devastated.
When enigmatic young Luella Miller arrives in town in desperate circumstances, Lydia takes pity on the young woman and invites Luella to stay with her. Luella’s presence instantly disrupts the delicate balance of this small town. She usurps the local theatre director’s wife in the local production’s lead role, seduces her husband and rudely awakens Lydia’s dormant sexuality. A bitter jealously develops when Christian, along with the other men of the town, falls under Luella’s spell.
While the town’s women plot to get rid of her, Luella learns of Lydia’s secret love for Christian, and takes it upon herself to play the matchmaker. She delivers Christian to Lydia in a way more unexpected and shattering that anyone could have imagined. The result of this tragedy will be far more controversial than any small town gossip could ever hope for as blood flows freely.

MIMEtoLITHS - (Documentary)
By Algis Kemezyz
Screens: Saturday October 21, 3:00 pm

Algis Kemezys’ documentary travels to beautiful/mystical Crete, to closely look at Mimetoliths (rocks and stones that imitate living beings), to celebrate its stories, and to embellish it further with the filmmaker’s own sculpture. This is a unique and extraordinary film.

Saving Sophie - (Feature Comedy)
By Lorraine Portman
Screens: Saturday October 21, 8:40 pm

“Saving Sophie” is a contemporary comedy about four very different sisters keeping their fragile niece Sophie from going over the edge in the whirlwind of her wedding, a wake, a baby on the way, two dead bodies, three affairs, family secrets that won’t stay secret, a small child who is no stranger to bribery, a large hungry bird, a carpal tunnel epidemic, and a cousin who won’t get out of his dog suit.

Shifted - (Feature drama)
By Michael Madison
Screens: Monday October 23, 8:45 pm

This is a character-driven drama that takes place over the course of one year in David Anderson’s life. It details the rise, fall and redemption of a successful young businessman stranded in Los Angeles, when the SEC shuts down the company he works for. After losing his job and the beautiful, but expensive Rachel, his life is turned upside down and inside out. This story touches on many contemporary social issues - unemployment, corporate corruption, homelessness, materialism and dealing with bureaucracies. It also deals with love, friendship and redemption. The diverse characters, portrayed by a unique cast are often sad, sometimes humorous, but always real in ways that we all can relate to.

When I Find Bin Laden - (Feature Drama)
By James Bridges
Screens: Friday October 20, 3:00 pm

Set in small town Oklahoma, “When I Find Bin Laden” follows Justin Cable, a man just released after being in prison for trafficking methamphetamines. As Justin returns to his hometown, he finds that being out of prison means he has to struggle to find his place in another world - mainstream life. After reuniting with an old friend (Chuck), Justin finds himself unable to resist the rush of being around the drug world he once knew. During a routine drug bust, Chuck is taken into custody - Justin narrowly escapes. As Chuck awaits his trial, Justin convinces the local investigator that he can go undercover and find the elusive dealer believed to be supplying the southern half of the state. Justin’s quest to save his friend and track down the mysterious supplier - unknown even to his closest associates - forces him into a situation he never thought possible.