Tallgrass 2022 Short Takes 5: LITTLE SATCHMO and ANASTACIAS

LITTLE SATCHMO
This is the life of Sharon Preston-Folta. She is the daughter of Louis Armstrong. Her mother  was not Armstrong’s wife, but mistress whom he spent as much time with. Indeed it wasn’t until Preston-Fota saw her father on TV that she found out her parents weren’t married.

This is a solid portrait of a woman who lived for years in the shadows and her famous father. It will show you a side of Armstrong you never knew. It is also a heartbreaking portrait of a “broken family” in that once Preston-Folta was kind of cast aside since she wasn’t the “official” family.

Recommended

ANASTACIAS
The story of five women in Brazil who are struggling to deal with life, love and loss

This is a nice portrait of four women struggling to get by. I don’t know what more to say other than this is worth your time.

EAST BAY (2022) Tallgrass 2022

Tired of chasing being happy, successful and romance and being humiliated at every turn, and feeling as though he let his parents down, accepts his place in life. Hoping to get his life together he reaches out to friends and acquaintances who are also having their own crisis. 

Good little comedy drama is the sort of thing that festivals (and Unseen Films) are supposed to highlight. This is a small gem of a film about some people we really haven’t seen before. It’s an enjoyable film that would probably get lost if it was just dumped into the world. Fortunately Tallgrass has picked it up so it will get some attention.

Then again the film has Constance Wu in a co-starring role so that will get some people to see the film. She is honestly the best thing in the film and what I loved about her performance is she makes it look so easy.

Recommended.

AMANSA TIAFI (Public Toilet Africa) (2021) Tallgrass 2022

One of the best looking at the films at Tallgrass concerns a woman who comes back to the city where she was given to a white art dealer as a child in order to repay an old debt. (Actually there are several other narrative threads running through this film  but the revenge one is that is the through line.)

I have mixed feelings for this film. Beautiful to look at, excellently acted and with style to burn it is a fantastic calling card for director Kofi Ofosu-Yeboah. There are some stunning sequences where everything comes together in a glorious cinematic vision. On the other hand there is a bit too much going on with perhaps too many characters coming and going.  Its not fatal it’s just messy.

While I’m mixed the film is still worth a look for anyone wanting to see great cinematic talent at work.

Dog Lover (2022) Tallgrass Film Festival 2022

Dog Lover is a twisted little short, It’s about a husband and wife whose marriage is on the rocks. She loves the dog more than her husband. What happens when the situation boils over to the film.

Troubling black comedy is not for all tastes. Some people are not going to find the film funny which is fine, everyone can like what they like. I personally liked the film. I got a couple of chuckles from the film. While I could argue that the film might be a couple of minutes too long, the film pulls it together with a denouncement that is going to have some laughing and others groaning.

Worth a look.

A few random Tallgrass 2022 Short Films

 HALLOW HOME
The story of a haunted house.  This is an animated Poem

GRAND NATIONALS-The 74 FIRE
The story of the fire at the Grand National Motor race that changed fire safety in motor sports. This is a hell of a film that will curl your toes in its recounting of the tragedy that happened in 1974.

CLOUD BOY AN AUTISTIC JOURNEY
This is a lovely story of an autistic man's life.

DEEP FEARS
An otter is heart broken when he loses his necklace. A small joy.

HOW NOT TO DATE WHEN TRANS
A trans woman explains her her life and the three date rule. This is a deeply moving film 

Tallgrass 2022 Short Takes 4 THAT THING THAT SOUND, ART OF REBELLION, and STILL WORKING 9 TO 5

THAT THING THAT SOUND
This is a look at the country music staple, steel guitar. I should add that it’s a staple but it may not be for much longer because the instrument is not being picked up by younger musicians who find it too complex and too expensive. This film looks at the instrument, its place in history and the move to teacher younger musicians how to play it.

This is a solid little film on a mostly forgotten instrument. Its not that people don’t know it or it’s unique sound but it is rarely one we think of when we talk about musical instruments we want to play. Hopefully this little gem of a film will correct that and put it back into the public’s consciousness.

Worth a look.

THE ART OF REBELLION
A look Lydia Emily an artist and single mother who is trying to raise her two daughters while making her art and dealing with MS which sometimes requires her to lash paint brushes to her hands so she can paint.

Excellent portrait of an artist and mom as she struggles to do what she loves to do. This is a super you are there doc that is real and raw. We are with Lydia pretty much the entire time and she worms her way into our heart. It’s the sort of a film that stops being about a person but instead becomes just hanging out with a friend.

Recommended.

STILL WORKING 9 TO 5
A look at the film 9 TO 5 and how it changed the world.

Super film that not only is a great look at a great film, but one that show how one film can change things for the better. Full of stories about how the world of business was before the film and how in many ways it changed (and in some ways it hasn’t). This is one of the rare bird docs that not only informs but entertains while doing it. Yea some of the work stories are terrible, but at the same time the illustrate what’s wrong with the way we work.

I loved this film a great deal.

Highly recommended.

ANG MOTEL (2022) TallGrass 2022

This is an absolutely lovely little film  about a young woman who helps an older Filipino woman when her son unceremoniously dumps her at an motel with no vacancies and forces her to fend for herself. Sharing her room with the woman she finds herself enriched.

What a joy. This is an gem of a film that does what great short films do, namely show us a small story where something magical happens that changes our outlook.

Recommended.

Tallgrass 2022 Short Takes 3 ME LITTLE ME and BLACK DADDY THE MOVIE

ME LITTLE ME

Mya, a woman recovering from an eating disorder has her life turned upside down when her job promotes her and her the stress of now being a boss kicks up past feelings, threatening her mental health.

A'Keyah Williams gives a killer performance as Mya in a role that doesn't hit all the expected notes. This is a lovely little gem of a film that gives us real characters to root for instead of just the typical Hollywood cutouts.

This is the sort of film that I started Unseen Films to highlight and as such I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a wonderful off Hollywood film that will touch you.

BLACK DADDY THE MOVIE
Magnificent look at what it takes to be a father. Interviews with several black men  reveal what their relationship was with their fathers as well as how they are handling raising their own children. 

I was moved as I began to understand not only how difficult it is to be a dad but how exponentially difficult it is be a black dad. This film will open your eyes as the men before us speak about what their experiences have been in a way that I've never seen any man do.

This film is a masterpiece and a must see.

Tallgrass Short Takes 2: MIDDAY BLACK MIDNIGHT BLUE, and SHALL I COMPARE YOU TO A SUMMER'S DAY

 

MIDDAY BLACK MIDNIGHT BLUE
A man ponders a lost love while going through his days.

This achingly beautiful film is a cinematic poem about love, loss and memory.  I absolutely love portions of this film because it gets the emotions so absolutely perfect  that I saw sections of my life reflected in them. And yet other moments didn't resonate with me at all as if I was just watching some random stranger talk at me. The result is a film is that in many ways is  more like life than any other.

Recommended for those who want a unique experience.

SHALL I COMPARE YOU TO A SUMMER'S DAY
Director Mohammad Shawky Hassan turns his love diaries into a one of a kind queer musical that uses the 1001 Arabian Nights as template.

This truly one of a kind film is a prime example of why we need as many cinematic voices as we can get. This is a film that shows us a vision of the world that is unlike anything we've really seen before. Mixing musical number, flights of fantasy and real world interactions Hassan has made a film that grabs us and pulls us in. 

It is a film that is wonderfully alive.

While this may not be for all audiences, for those who want to see a cinematic vision that will knock their socks off should make an effort to see it.

QUANTUM COWBOYS (2022) Tallgrass 2022

Genre breaking film is part animated, part live action, part science fiction, part western, part several other things. It's nominally the story of a two drifters traveling across the west however there is a lot more going on including a film crew filming and time travel.

I'm not sure what I think of the film, the mix of visual styles doesn't always come together and the film has too much that is going on. Bonus points for the fact that the film is trying to do way more the typical film.

While I'm not sure  what I think of the film I am recommending this for the long time readers of Unseen, you know who you are, the great people who want to go as far as off Hollywood as possible

Tallgrass 2022 Short Takes 1: ITS STARTED WITH A HORSE, PPP LOAN GONE, DECONSTRUCTING KAREN, and ONCE WAS LOST

IT STARTED WITH A HORSE
Portrait of artist M.T. Liggett who started to make sculptures out of metal and found items. He started to make out door totems that fill his property and line the highway.

This is a good film of an artist and his world. Its hard for me to really discuss this film because I have a family friend who did similar sculptures for decades and I find my discussing the film too in terms of the late Tommy Malloy. 

That said give the film a try.

PPP LOAN GONE
When the Federal government offers loans to small business owners, one is talked into getting a huge loan as a means of getting quick money with little danger but it all quickly spirals out of control.

This comedy is wildly over long, there isn’t enough her to support the two and a quarter run time. If 30 to 45 minutes could be removed this would be a nice little film that moves.

Over length aside the film is good calling card for directors Devon Bray and Naiya Lillu and their crew who manage to pull off some really nice sequences.  I took notice right from the start with a scene in a parking garage and guns drawn. There other some other nice bits here that make me want to see what’s next for everyone involved.

DECONSTRUCTING KAREN
Two women of color invite some white women to dinner in order to discuss racism.

Very good look about race and racism in America. It confronts all of the typical things said  about race head on. 

This must see film is going to get under you skin and make you think in ways that you need to.

The film will play the mill Valley Film Festival October 9 and 11.

ONCE WAS LOST- THE 70-YEAR SEARCH FOR CHAPLAIN EMIL KAPAUN
Excellent look for the body of Emil Kapaun who died during the Korean War helping to keep the American POWs alive and hopeful.  He had been taken to  "the death house" by the North Koreans and never seen again.

This is a moving story about the human spirit and the need to keep the memory of a man who gave up his life protecting the men he considered his brothers. Recommended.

Brief thoughts on the magnificent LOVE,BARBARA (2022) Tallgrass 2022

 

This sort doc is a magnificent portrait of filmmaker Barbara Hammer who made films based on her life as a lesbian. Told by her partner Florrie Burke this is not only a great look at a filmmaker, but more importantly it is a magnificent love story. 

Bring tissues- it will move you to tears in the best sort of a way.

MARY DEBOUTEZ ZELLMER FENOGLIO (2022) Tallgrass 2022

Portrait of one hell of a woman over a ten year period. Beginning in 2008 Fenoglio is a married woman running a junk business with her husband and cats. Life isn't good but she's attacking with style and heart. We watch as she explains her life and philosophy. Ten years on her husband is dead, her business is in the toilet but she is still motoring on as the possibility of life raises its head.

A wonderful moving portrait of one of the ballsiest women you will ever run across. My mother would have called her a great broad and would have tried to track her down so she could hang out with her.  That's probably the best thing that I can say about both Fenoglio and the film. 

This is a just a wonderful film about a wonderful woman. It's a film that made me smile from start to finish because there is something wonderful about a woman who just keeps moving despite it all. I was entranced. Yes she is gruff and loud, but its clear this woman is all out there.

What a wonderful discovery.

Recommended.

A note about ATTACK, DECAY,RELEASE (2022) Tallgrass 2022

I am not going to do a review of ATTACK, DECAY, RELEASE. The reason is not because I dislike the film, I don't, I actually love a great deal, rather it is because I did not see the film under optimal conditions.

What are optimal conditions? Being projected on three huge 1:1 screens with a kick ass sound system pouring our the music. I had to see it on a small TV with an okay sound system. Ten minutes in I knew this was not the way to go.  It's still a great film but knowing this needs to be seen on a big screen lessened the impact. (The full image is well over 3:1 so the image on a small TV is really narrow)

The film is a the visualization of H.P. Mendoza's 2012 electronic album 'Tomorrow', a musical narrative about the travels of a human colony to the moon after Earth is ravaged by a deadly virus. Its as stunning an experience as you'll have all year, but it's one that needs to be seen big.

If you can get to the festival this weekend and see ATTACK,DECAY, RELEASE in a theater do so.  If you must see it on a TV screen find as big a TV as you can.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: THE STRUGGLE AGAINST HATE IN KANSAS (2022) Tallgrass 2022

A look at what it is like to live in Kansas, a very red state,  while being LGBT+ and how those living in the state are trying to confront hate and change the minds of those who don't like them.

Hands down one of the best films at Tallgrass and one of the most important films of 2022. A heartfelt look at what it means to LGBT in a state where it seems that most people don't want you there. Full of stories of people coming out and becoming activists in the communities where they live in this is one of the best films on the subject that I've ever run across.  I was moved to tears.

I love that director Kevin Willmott just points and shoot. Willmott simply has picked some really great people to sit down and tell their story.  Outside of the connection to the Wizard of Oz, this is a low key film where people just talk. That's basically all there is. As a result is a film that will haunt you.

I don't know what to see other than see it.  I can't recommend this film highly enough.

TALLGRASS FIlm Fest starts Wednesday

The Tallgrass Film Festival starts this week and were I not committed to covering the New York Film Festival I’d be on a plane to Kansas to attend. I say this because Tallgrass always programs some of the most interesting films of the year. I usually miss them and have to play catch up. This year I’m going to try and cover it and NYFF at the same time because Tallgrass has so much potential good stuff I can’t miss it.

I know that Tallgrass is programming winners because I’ve seen a good number of them already:

FOUR SAMOAS
ALL MAN THE INTERNATIONAL MAN STORY
Ariela Rubin on BUTTERFLY IN THE SKY
IT IS IN US ALL
HIDDEN LETTERS
LOWNDES COUNTRY AND THE ROAD TO BLACK POWER
BLIND MAN WHO DID NOT WANT TO SEE TITANIC
DEATH AND BOWLING
DISFLUENCY
PARIS IN HARLEM
CIVIL DEAD
Liz Whittemore on UNKNOWN COUNTRY
PEZ OUTLAW
A PLACE IN A FIELD
Ariela Rubin on GOD SAVE THE QUEENS
KLONDIKE
REFUGE
AFTER SHERMAN
OUR FATHER THE DEVIL
Liz Whittemore on Wes Schlagenhauf Is Dying
FRANK AND EMMET (This maybe my most favorite film of 2022)
STRANGER THAN ROTTERDAM WITH SARA DRIVER
EVERYBODY GOES TO THE HOSPITAL
STARFUCKERS
FUCK EM RIGHT BACK
EL CARRITO
CRUISE
BLENDER

I also recommend 

NO PLACE LIKE HOME a deeply moving film about LGBT activism in Kansas. Probably the best film of Tallgrass

ATTACK DECAY RELEASE is a music album shot to be be seen on 3 screens- see it as BIG as possible

Mary DeBoutez Zellmer Fenoglio is great film about a woman who keeps going forward despite the roadblocks life toss her way. This is a woman my mom would have taken a plane to hang out with because she's a great "broad" in my mothers terms.

BLACK DADDY THE MOVIE possibly the best film I’ve ever seen on what it takes to be real father. Never mind that the film focuses on black dads, the truth is what they have to say transcends color. A must see. 

 LOVE, BARBARA Nominally a celebration of the life and work of lesbian filmmaker the truth is the film is a love letter between a couple of great women. Bring tissues.

I’m hoping to catch a few more before the fest starts and then to wade in once the fest is in full swing. It should be fun, so keep reading.

For more details and tickets go here.