Father & Daughter Film Report
And more on the festival later, let's talk about some of the great films we saw at Deep in the Heart Film Festival, and before we get into the Father/Daughter nods, here are the festival winners:
Some films we thought were worth mentioning:
Click in the image above to see the trailer
On September 12, 1940 the Rangerettes of Kilgore college marched out on the field and changed football halftime forever.
So this film is not only Texas history, but football history.
The brainchild of a fiery little woman named Gussie Nell Davis, the halftime show was conceived at first as a way to keep football spectators in the stands during halftime....
...instead of having them go behind the stands to get drunk and brawl.
Yes, history can be interesting, and Chip Hale and his team did an excellent job of revealing the background, attitude, & class this group created...decades before the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.
This truly is not only a Texas film so appropriate for the Deep in the Heart (of Texas) Film Festival, but really is a must see for any football fan, or anyone who has ever taken part in a halftime show...its your roots & history too.
All we need to do is tell you the premise of his film and you'll instantly see why it is hilarious:
"In order to meet guys, a girl runs into them with her car to break the ice."
Yes, she literally runs into them, or in some cases runs them down as a conversation starter.
She finally (pardon the pun) runs into the man of her dreams, takes him home where fantasy and reality start to blur.
And while watching the film, your lines between fantasy and reality of your relationships will start to blur as well.
This film is more than funny, it explores what we really want in a relationship in a very profound way, and writer/director Andrew Rowe shows us via the spot on acting of Lauren Donnelly how we are all a little crazy when it comes to loving someone to death.
Click in the image above to see the trailer
Click in the image above to see the trailer
You may want to read what happened in Romania when communism collapsed in 1989 to fully appreciate this moving documentary on the dramatic life changes of Romanian Bunee Tomlinson and his American adoptive parents.
This unique story blends into the film itself, for Bunee became a film maker and is the director, stating the most difficult element in producing the film was trying to take all of the photos, film, & stories to tell the story in an interesting way.
The new director handled this quite well, for not only was it popular at Deep in the Heart, but was an official selection into the Cannes Film Festival as well.
What's a film festival without a feature or documentary about the locals?
We saw Part 4 that concludes with “A Mighty Wind", the story of the devastating 1953 Waco tornado that killed many and completely ravaged the downtown area of Waco.
But if you think it's all about the tornado, think again. A Mighty Wind will the hidden stories found in the rubble of the storm’s destruction, as well as how it changes the city forever.
This was really an excellent documentary whether you are into documentaries or not, history or not, tornados or not.
Rarely have we seen a documentary that is also such good story telling...
Sorry, no trailer was available to show you...
Click in the image above to see the trailer
"When I wrote Ya Albi, my first goal was to honor the story of my parents. Both of my parents are immigrants from Taiwan. Though they are not refugees, I can only imagine what they still had to go through in order to adapt and succeed somewhere so far from friends, family, and what they know."
- Writer/Director Christine Chen
Yet, this story is not only how a refugee must adapt and succeed, but how those they come in contact do as well. Chen goes on to say this was never meant to be a political piece, but a lesson on how to tell a simple story in an effective way.
Adding to the powerful statement the film makes is the effective way lead actress Diana Rose connects and affects the audience with a total reversal of the common stereotypes place on refugees today.
This film is racking up wins at festivals all over, upon watching it you will see exactly why....
Of course these are but a tip of the iceberg of all the great films seen at his festival, we have a complete list of the official selections below, but first some words from Festival Director Louis Hunter, who told us about 1,000 people from the community who came to the festival, over 50 film makers who showed up from all over the USA, and of the great support from the city & sponsors, who provided free shoes (yes, free shoes), free booze, and tons of other wonderful things (great T-shirts, by the way, too).
Submissions are open for next year, we'd highly recommend this is one festival you'd want your film to be in....!
Amanda & Louis going over the elements of Deep in the Heart Film Festival's first successful run...
As promised, here's a list of all the official selections:
- Amanda & David Bryant Perkins