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2019 Screeners

GEORGE LINDSEY UNA FILM FESTIVAL 2020
Film Synoposes

 
Finalists

Narrative Feature Films
Dark Harbor, Joe Raffa, USA, 01:31:00
Olivia, a pregnant woman approaching her due date, returns to Maine for the funeral of her father, but while she's there her father's well kept secrets come after her.
 
Sanzaru, Xia Magnus, USA, 01:33:43
When a mild Filipina nurse is hired by an elderly woman declining into dementia, the walls between this world and the next crumble as she uncovers her employer’s shocking family secret.
 
Thunderbolt in Mine Eye, Sarah Sherman and Zachary Ray Sherman, USA, 01:20:42
A fourteen year old embarks on an awkward but heartfelt first love relationship with her brother's best friend while exploring her budding feminism and a gender double standard at their high school.
 
Professional Documentary
Alice is Still Dead, Edwin P. Stevens, USA, 01:36:30
In an intimate and unflinching examination of dealing with grief, “Alice is Still Dead” tells the story of a murdered loved one through the perspective of the victim’s family. From getting the news to facing the killer in court, the viewer gets an in-depth look at the pain and heartbreak a family must endure while fighting through a nightmare. The filmmaker, and brother of the late Alice Stevens, ultimately asks, is it even possible to move forward after such a traumatic event?
 
Karuna, Eric Herron, USA, 13:39
After the devastating earthquake of 2015, many women and children disappeared from their homes and villages in Nepal. In the shadow of the mighty Mt. Everest lies some of the world's most active human trafficking trains.
Years before the crushing natural disaster, Sharmila Ghimire lays gasping for breath, her heart struggling to pump blood through her body. Her husband, Dhan Raj Ghimire, desperately pleads to an unknown god for mercy, and her condition stabilizes in response. Weeks later, Sharmila's physician shockingly concludes she is healed of her yearslong heart failure. Motivated by their miraculous recovery, Sharmila and Dhan Raj resolve to show compassion to the lost and hurting of Nepal. Many families live in the slums where children are not encouraged to attend school, with government apathy allowing for the continuation of human slavery. In spite of the pain and poverty of Nepal, the Ghimire's are betting on an agricultural investment that could change Nepal forever.
 
Queen of Lapa, Carolina Monnerat and Theodore Collatos, USA, 01:13:00
Larger-than-life actress, cabaret performer, activist, and proud sex professional since the age of eleven, Luana Muniz - arguably one of Brazil’s most recognizable transgender personalities, shapes a new reality for a new generation of transgender sex workers in her hostel by providing a safe working environment in the dangerous neighborhood of Lapa in Rio de Janeiro. Queen of Lapa explores the day-to-day lives, quests for love, housemate rivalries in a turbulent political climate under matriarch Muniz’s watchful and guiding eye.
 
The Mayberry Effect, Christopher Hudson, USA, 01:30:00
The Mayberry Effect is a humorous and inspiring film exploring how The Andy Griffith Show has influenced individuals and audiences over many generations. This film follows David Browning, the nation’s number one Barney Fife tribute artist, Allan Newsome, the Floyd The Barber tribute artist, and many other tribute artists as they entertain crowds all over the nation at various Mayberry festivals helping new and old Andy Griffith Show audiences laugh and stay connected to one of America’s favorite television sitcoms of all time.
 
Professional Narrative Short Film
Black Dispatch, Shea Sizemore, USA, 19:01
Sable, a Confederate engineer's house slave, risks everything by
stealing military plans, in hopes of delivering them to the Union Army and earning her and her family’s freedom.
 
Cherry, Stacey Davis, USA, 12:00
With her father dying of cancer, Helen has high hopes for the family’s last Easter together.
 
You Didn’t Forget, Simon Intihar, Slovenia, 13:40
An elderly woman's day is turned upside down when she sets out to find her missing husband, who's been struggling with memory loss.
 
Vanguard

Creature Companion, Melika Bass, USA, 30:00
In the American suburbs, two women mysteriously and sensuously entwine in this slow-burning, saucy, abstracted fable on the longing and laboring female body.
 
The Finger, Christopher Bell, USA, 08:38
An isolated man agonizes over his response to economic woes and an uncaring system.
 
You Can Go Now, Marisa Merkl, USA, 14:26
An abrupt personal tragedy uproots Tanda from her day and she rushes to face the inevitable. Her new, jolted world feels peculiar—a strange experience that is impossible for any of us to put into words.
 
Student Narrative
Akinyi and Yvonne, Elizabeth Chatelain, USA, 08:15
Two law students, Akinyi and Yvonne, deconstruct women's roles in academia, dating fetishes, and the age old debate of tampons vs pads.
 
Fear in Sanity, Bianca Malcolm, USA, 12:42
After suffering a brutal loss, a widow succumbs to her fears, gives up on the world, and imprisons herself in her home. But just when she decides to better herself, she discovers that she may not be as alone as she thought.
 
Think Tank,
Merri Beth Stanfield, USA, 12:38
 
 
Student Documentary
Every Grain of Rice, Carol Nguyen, USA, 06:19
They say it takes three generations for a culture to assimilate... What happens next? -- an exploration of cultural identity through food and recipes.
 
Man on Fire, Joel Fendelman, USA, 54:00
On a June day in 2014, in the small East Texas all white town of Grand Saline, an elderly white preacher, Charles Moore, drove his car to a nearly empty parking lot at a small shopping center, doused himself in gasoline and lit a flame. He left a note saying he was doing this to bring attention to the unrepented racism in this town.
 
Ready to Work, Seth Farmer and Reagan Wells, USA, 15:20
At a local high school, three seniors attend a job fair through a career-readiness program.
 
Youth Film
Colors Run, Olivia Carter, USA, 16:41
Colors Run follows the unlikely friendship of a broken old soul and a young imaginative girl. She dreams of an imaginary circus while he just wants out of this town to start a new. They never knew their paths would cross, much less they would save each other's lives.
 
Double Vida, Sharleny Gonzalez, USA, 02:00
Two countries, one teen and her journey discovering that home does not need to be a place.

Everywhere You Look: The Ballad of DJ Tanner, Sarah Arnsparger, USA, 09:03
A young, aspiring rapper travels to the hip hop capital of the world in hopes of becoming a star.
 
In addition to the finalists in each category, the following films are official screeners at the 2020 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival
 
Alabama Films
The Song You’ll Never Hear, Stephen Poff, USA, 43:01
A group of friends and band mates gather for their annual New Years celebration. The absence of the groups singer Sean Powell sparks a discussion of recent events that led to his disappearance. "The Song You'll Never Hear" is a follow up to the 2005 release, "Songs About Your Girlfriend".
 
Pie in the Puss, Stacey Davis, USA, 09:27
From a pie in the face, to the pie toss, to the ultimate pie fight - the evolution of pieing in film.
 
Byler Cheatham Roads: The Challenge 200 Years Ago, Margaret Lee, USA, 42:22
Constructing Alabama's first authorized roads 200 years ago. The events. history, war use, current updates.
 
The Strip: Tuscaloosa’s Most Colorful Quarter Mile, Taylor Watson, USA, 01:38:00
A funny, & warmhearted look at the history of the entertainment area in Tuscaloosa, right next to the University of Alabama, known as "The Strip"
 
Remembering Elwood Higginbottom, Jonathan Smith, USA, 06:52
In 1935, Elwood Higginbottom was lynched in Oxford, Mississippi. His family, including his 4 year old son EW, fled. Eighty years later, the family would finally get answers and begin reconnecting
 
Sweet Sorghum, Jonathan Smith, USA 08:58
Sorghum molasses is a regional staple in the southern USA. Two sorghum molasses makers talk about what it is that drives them to grow the crop, maintain the antique equipment used to harvest and process, and then cook down the juice into sorghum molasses.
 
Some Million Miles
, Jared Ragland and Adam Forrester, USA, 12:25
Atop Sand Mountain, a sandstone plateau in northeast Alabama infamous for poultry processing, Pentecostal snake-handling, and methamphetamine production, we meet Chico, Alice, and Misty, whose lives have been shaped by meth use. In a series of confessional vignettes, Chico struggles with reintegration into society following a jail sentence; Alice pursues recovery and fights for custody of her daughter; and Misty rebuilds a stable life after ending an abusive relationship. Set within a rural landscape of abundant beauty and deep poverty, SOME MILLION MILES presents a meditation on loss and the search for redemption amidst systemic social and economic marginalization.
 
Contaminated and Forgotten, Fanny Texier and Martin Loper, USA, 13:38
A few residents in Anniston have decided to stay in this environmentally toxic town that could very much be the epicenter of a worldwide contamination.
 
Old Chums, Ben Johnson, USA, 01:56
Music Video
 
The Odyssey of Cleve Eaton, Kevin Webb, USA, 03:45
A surreal animated journey with musician extraordinaire Cleve Eaton, proving that music can be a salvation for both musician and audience.
 
Fahrenheit 451: The Movie, Andy Farish, USA, 36:33
Guy Montag lives in a horrific future where books are banned and even burned by firemen. He is one of those firemen and has burned books all his life. This all changes when he meets a mysterious woman who challenges all his beliefs.
 
Missing, Landri Kilpatrick, USA, 09:41
Short film about a group of friends who are out for an adventure and then one by one they disappear.
 
Everything’s Fine, I’m Fine, Remi Alex and Sarah Arnsparger, USA, 04:19
A music video for Brent Morgan's song "Everything's Fine, I'm Fine." A broken mother escapes her daily life inside an empty grocery store where she attempts to hide the hopelessness she feels inside.
 
Pathways, Rush Waggoner, USA, 11:53
A neurological shift in the mind has been explored, as a scientist longing for the past exploits a young assistant in hopes of controlling the new advancement.
 
Slave 2, Rico Shay, USA, 07:47
Ancestors from the past and lineage of the present are compared to what they are enslaved to mentally.
Many ancestors from the past were enslaved. They were not free. Compared to today, are their lineage presently enslaved? The film's title Slave 2 is a play on the words "two", "to", and "too", but mainly represents the comparisons between "2" time periods. The color of the shoes are red, which symbolizes anger, fire, blood, energy, power, and danger. The Messenger pays homage to Juneteenth history. By letting the slaves free, he gives them all a crown, indicating that they're free kings and queens. The millennial at the end comes across a pile of crowns, symbolizing that his generation forgot their lineage and forgot that they were kings and queens.
 
Life is Good, Matthew Van Sliger, USA, 12:00
A mysterious viral outbreak is spreading across the cities as we pick up the story of RJ and Olivia while they escape their home. They find sanctuary in Ezra's cabin where his rules are final.
 
We Are Human, Daniel Hill, USA, 21:03
We Are Human sheds light on 3 different stories happening in the same time period. One is bullying, The 2nd is a biased officer, and 3rd is trafficking
 
30 Days Notice, Austin Parsons and Bri Bowman, USA, 10:25
​After a three year hiatus from his friends, Marty Southall, invites them all to his home for a "30 Days Notice" party.
 
Mime, Jesse Sockwell, USA, 12:35
A homeless man works the streets as a mime to make ends meet, but one day a little girl appears before him, creating an order of events that will change his life.
 
The Dance, Jesse Sockwell, USA, 11:30
On the day of a performance, a nervous ballerina is ready to rehearse her routine when something else gets her attention...
 
The Deer, Jesse Sockwell, USA, 29:38
A man goes into the woods, alone and emotionally distraught, due to tragic events in the past, ones he can't get over.
 
The Film Roll, Brook Pruitt, USA, 01:00
Stop Motion of a Super 8 mm film cartridge sliding and rolling into a Super 8 mm film camera then the film camera slides off the screen.
 
15 Down, Mike Hayhurst, USA, 14:59
Molly’s world has changed since her grandmother, Mildred, moved in. New responsibilities, new traditions, and a lot more crossword puzzles. 15 Down follows a transformative summer for the Yau family. From soccer games to hair appointments, their everyday routines reinforce their connection and underline what it means to be a mother and a daughter throughout all stages of life.
 
Ella, Kerry Everett, USA, 15:00
Ellen "Ella" Liddy Watson moved to Wyoming where she could vote, own property, and raise her own cattle. She married Jimmy Averell in secret so she could continue to own her own homestead. Jimmy helped her purchase her homestead, improve the property, purchase cattle and a cattle brand. Unfortunately, the two made enemies of local cattle baron A.J. Bothwell. Bothwell and his gang accused Ella of rustling cattle, kidnapped her and Jimmy, and lynched them. This is Ella's story.
 
Five Point Palm Exploding Heart, Tam Le, USA, 15:00
Four friends pick a fight with the wrong guy
 
Dark Necessities, Zach Andry, USA, 13:53
The leader of a Narcotics Anonymous group helps addicts get clean... for good.
 
UNA Cinematic Arts and Theatre Spotlight
The Pursuit, Sam Thigpen, USA, 01:30
A young man is in pursuit of his keys he accidentally locked in his house so that he will be able to go to a date.
 
Hey… we need to talk, Mary Charles Ramsey, USA, 19:00
After catfishing her roommate Harper must decide to reveal herself or risk losing her best friend forever.
 
The Girl in Question, Meredith Murdock, USA, 00:21
 
It Lives in Color, Trent Frederick, USA, 12:05
Grant, an obsessive painter, struggles to find inspiration for his latest piece. After his apprentice, Daniel, fails to help him, he discovers a book that gives him the push that he needs. This push, though, sends him over the edge; not only endangering Daniel and himself, but the universe too.
 
The Artist’s Dilemma, Kristopher Dewberry, USA, 08:16
A rising musician has to decide whether to be himself and play his own music or become a sell out.
 
Fortune and Glory, Nicholas Ratliff, USA, 07:27
Two treasure hunters discover a lost chest. Their partnership crumbles as they fight over who is the rightful owner. Each wanting it for selfish reasons.
 
Diverged in a Bleak Wood, Cole Johnson, USA, 11:02
A man struggles to survive in the bleak wilderness that surrounds him - however, he soon realizes that the true horrors of the world are within him.
 
Florence Academy of Fine Arts Films
Missing
A Companion of My Imagination
Clueless
Chad and Brody the Movie the Second
Beezlebuddy

 
1 Minute FAFA Films
The Underdawg
Shut In
The Outlaw
The Pencil
You CAN Do It
If Sitcoms Were Real Life
Streaks

 



 
 

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George Lindsey UNA Film Festival
UNA Box 5151
Florence, AL 35632-0001
(256) 765-4592
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