20Q
Director: Benjamin Keith
35 min; USA
Category: Student
Web site
Victoria Jackson stars in this mockumentary about a
local chapter of the Association of Competitive Questioning
in their
bid to become
the
national
champions. |
|
41 Sekunden (41 Seconds)
Directors: Rodney Sewell & Tobias Martin
4 min; Germany
Category: Narrative Short
Web site
What do you do when your girlfriend tells you that your best
friend kisses better than you? |
|
Absolute Zero
Director: Alan Woodruff
23 min; Australia
Category:
Documentary Short
A railroad worker keeps a log on the wall of a refrigeration car
as he freezes to death, unaware that the refrigeration unit is
broken. |
|
Achilles & Adam
Join the Secret Service
Director: Benton Stephens
15 min; USA
Category:
Student
This documentary explores our most prevalent stories and
the lengths to which we go to protect them, in hopes that we don't
destroy ourselves and the natural world. |
|
Agnieszka: A Dark Symphony of 2039
Director: Martin Gauvreau
12 min; UK
Category:
Narrative Short
Beautiful imagery and special effects combine in this short film
about a young woman who finds a mysterious and dangerous
box. |
|
American Meth
Director: Justin Hunt
1 hr 15 min; USA
Category:
Documentary Feature
Val Kilmer narrates this documentary of the tragedy and triumph
of blue-collar Americans devastated by the methamphetamine epidemic. |
|
A.W.O.L.
Director: Jack Swanstrom
22 min; USA
Category:
Narrative Short
David Morse stars as an American soldier who finds himself trapped
between torture in a prison camp and an idyllic life with a family
he’s
never met. |
|
Bill’s
Big Pumpkins
Director: Ryan Foss
1 hr 27 min; USA
Category:
Documentary Feature
Follow Bill Foss and other charmingly nutty people
as he tries to grow the biggest pumpkin in Minnesota history. FF |
|
The Body in Pain
Director: Randall Hamilton
6 min; USA
Category: Student
A young woman, portrayed by a Dorothy Gale Barbie doll, suffers
a traumatic injury and loses her leg during the Civil War in this
unusual animated tale. |
|
The Bride Wore Blood: A
Contemporary Western
Directors: Scott Beck & Bryan Woods
1 hr; USA
Category: Student
A hired gun’s mission of protection turns to vengeance in
a place where death is currency and justice is a thing of the past. |
|
Carny
Director: Karen Taulelle
49 min; USA
Category:
Documentary Short
This portrait of a traveling carnival family follows them through
one season and illuminates their personal lives in a changing world. FF |
|
The Clinton 12
Director: Keith McDaniel
1 hr 28 min; USA
Category: Documentary Feature
Narrated by
James Earl Jones, this documentary focuses on the integration of
the first public high school after Brown vs. the Board of Education. |
|
The Coffee Shop
Director: Nick Bertelsen
7 min; USA
Category: Narrative Short
Web site
Bob’s request for “just coffee” brings him
unwanted attention from The Coffee Shop staff, customers and
three mysterious
strangers.
FF |
|
Count on Me
Director: Josh Guffey
17 min; USA
Category:
Student
Veteran narcotics officer Matt must come to terms with the pressures
of his job as the biggest and most dangerous bust of his life approaches. |
|
Dance at Redrocks
Director: Chris Liles
4 min; USA
Category:
Animation
Kokopelli is taught an important lesson by an enthusiastic, flute-stealing,
dancing goat in this short animated film. FF |
|
Deconstructing the Family
Directors: Kyle Hasday & Matt Stewart
23 min; USA
Category:
Narrative Short
A father is forced to decide which of his own sons he must shoot
and kill when a grief-stricken man breaks into their house in search
of retribution. |
|
Die Flugbegleiterin (The Stewardess)
Director: Marcin Glowacki
11 min; Germany
Category:
Narrative Short
Where desire ends and addiction begins, this film looks at the
amount of food consumed in a society
which has lost its sense of proportion. |
|
A Driving Lesson
Director: C. Fraser Press
22 min; USA
Category:
Narrative Short
Web site
You're 16, your mom is teaching you to drive, and you hit a furry
little nature critter. Hey, life is a crash course. FF |
|
Dzisiaj jest piatek (It's Friday)
Director: Pawel Naroznik
1 hr 24 min; Poland
Category:
Narrative Feature
A man's normal Friday plans are thrown askew by his boss, his ex-lover's
desires and a meeting with his girlfriend's parents. |
|
The
Ecstasy of Truckin’ with
Tom
Director: Robert Ostheimer
6 min; USA
Category: Documentary Short
This portrait of Tom Wiles, driver of a semi, is crafted
through a collage of audio and video pod casts. |
|
Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life
Director: Max Allan Collins
1 hr 40 min; USA
Category:
Narrative Feature
Crime fighter Eliot Ness reflects on
his life and accomplishments as a “new breed of cop” in
this biography by Iowa director Max Allan Collins. |
|
Facing Sudan
Director: Bruce Janu
1 hr 30 min; USA
Category:
Documentary Feature
Suffering, death, strength, courage and hope collide as this documentary
shows how ordinary people can do extraordinary things in war-torn
Sudan. |
|
The Father, Unblinking
Director: Ziggy Attias
24 min; USA
Category: Narrative Short
Web site
A quiet, deeply felt story of how two people deal with the death
of their child and their inability to communicate their feelings
to one another. |
|
Fish, but No Cigar
Director: Tara White and Lyn Elliot
4 min; USA
Category:
Animation
An animated movie about a woman who has bigger fish to fry. Literally. |
|
The Garage
Director: Carl Thibault
1 hr 34 min; USA
Category: Narrative Feature
Web site
A young man, while trying to escape a future of working at his
father’s garage, must find his true direction in life after
a devastating incident. Guest starring Martin Donovan. |
|
Genesis Antipode
Director: John Robinson
15 min; New Zealand
Category:
Narrative Short
Jeffrey and Rebecca, two polar opposites, are forced to come to
terms with each other amidst the desolation of a post-apocalyptic
landscape. FF |
|
Glimpse
Director: Dustin Grella
9 min; USA
Category:
Student
An experimental stop-motion animated film that moves from a study
of painter Willem de Kooning into stream-of-consciousness exploration
of freedom from imprisonment. |
|
Góðir
Gestir (Family Reunion)
Director: Isold Uggadottir
19 min; Iceland
Category:
Narrative Short
A New Yorker returns to her native Iceland for her grandfather’s
70th birthday and discovers that she is not the only one in the
family with secrets. |
|
Gulf War Syndrome: Killing Our Own
Director: Gary Null
1 hr 53 min; USA
Category:
Documentary Feature
This controversial documentary seeks to expose the truth about
the war in Iraq, Gulf War Syndrome, and the secrets the government
is
hiding
from
its
soldiers and the world at large. |
|
The Half Life of Mason Lake
Director: Tim Lotesto
1 hr 26 min; USA
Category: Narrative Feature
After Mason is reduced to little more than a child by a brain injury,
his family and friends are unable to cope and his life is not what
it seems. |
|
The Hope of Nine Mile
Creek
Director: Becky McMillen
23 min; USA
Category: Documentary Short
Once a premier trout stream and haven for wildlife, Nebraska's
Nine Mile Creek began drying up. The restoration efforts to save
it
are chronicled
in this documentary. FF |
|
Indelible
Director: Rick Amundson
1 hr 48 min; USA
Category:
Narrative Feature
Web site
Returning home after eight years in prison, Donnie tries to reconnect
with his twelve-year-old daughter. In his efforts to protect her,
he becomes drawn into violence. |
|
Introduction
to Lucid Dream Exploration
Director: John Grigsby
4 min; USA
Category:
Animation
A journey through the depths of the subconscious in search
of self-realization, the animated portion was created
by hand, frame by frame on an Etch-A-Sketch. FF |
|
Janis:
A Daughter’s
Portrait
Director: Sara Peak Convery
7 min; USA
Category:
Documentary Short
Drawing upon old photographs, Super-8 film and the Iowa landscape,
this portrait documents the life and travels of the filmmaker’s
mother. FF |
|
Last Days of Kodachrome Super-8 Movie
Film
Director: David Sawatzki
1 hr; USA
Category:
Narrative Short
Using the last remaining batch of Kodachrome Super-8 movie film,
the filmmakers set out to capture the medium's independent spirit
in this experimental film. |
|
Love & Music
Directors: Ryan Pattan & Jason Pattan
7 min; USA
Category:
Narrative Short
Two Old West cowboys wander off their treasure map and head for
a showdown of a different sort on the main street at high noon. FF |
|
Millions (a lottery story)
Director: Paul La Blanc
1 hr 41 min; USA
Category:
Documentary Feature
Ever wondered what it would be like to win big at the lottery?
This film follows the lives of six big-money winners
through luck, loss and redemption. FF |
|
Moustache Moustache Moustache Moustache
Director: John Moroso
5 min; USA
Category:
Narrative Short
This wacky, crazy, hilarious short asks and answers the
vital question: What does it take to be a manly man? A Moustache! |
|
Mr. Extion
Directors: Barry Battles & Griffin Hood
11 min; USA
Category:
Narrative Short
Two lifelong friends and aspiring filmmakers find that developing
an original idea, with no budget, is hard to pull off. |
|
Nellie's Adventures
Director: Shelley Blanchette
10 min; USA
Category:
Animation
Nellie, a curious dog, takes you along on her adventures that include
a boat trip on Long Island Sound and a camping trip with her favorite
humans. FF |
|
Not That Kind of Christian!!
Director: Andrew Grossman
1 hr 20 min; USA
Category:
Documentary Feature
Openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson and others are interviewed in this
documentary that explores gay and lesbian Christians’ struggle
for acceptance in the Episcopal Church. |
|
Notes from the Rogues Gallery
Director: Joseph M. Petrick
52 min; USA
Category:
Narrative Short
A student escapes the pain of high school by becoming the superhero
Dojo, fighting injustice, and trying to win the girl. Will he succeed?
Watch and find out! FF |
|
The Passover
Directors: Francisco & José Rodriguez
18 min; USA
Category: Narrative Short
A married couple on the way home from a costume party is targeted
by a lethal mugger. The husband must make sense of the ensuing
tragedy that haunts him. |
|
Pillow Girl
Director: Ronnie Cramer
8 min; USA
Category:
Animation
The illustrated covers of over 200 lurid, vintage paperbacks morph
in an almost hypnotic fashion from one to the next in this short
artistic film. |
|
PlaybyPlayMen and the Art of the
Perfect Call
Director: Ziad Hamzeh
1 hr 10 min; USA
Category:
Documentary Feature
Web site
They’re the storytellers of those warm summer nights, for
kids of all ages who never had the chance to get near a major league
ballpark, but instead cradled radios against their ears to hear
the calls of America’s favorite pastime – baseball. FF |
|
Pocket Pair
Director: Mojisola Shabi
9 min; USA
Category:
Narrative Short
Sara, who had everything, is now on the verge of eviction. Expecting
yet another visit from a collection agent, she instead gets a surprising
birthday present. |
|
Project Greenhouse
Director: John Wyatt
28 min; UK
Category:
Narrative Short
Jack, an inventive tinkerer, finds that his latest project - building
Britain’s
cheapest octagonal house - is not what it seems. FF |
|
Recently Deceased
Director: Chris McInroy
12 min; USA
Category: Student
Jim doesn’t know why he’s dead or why he’s back
from the grave, but fortunately he’s got a to-do list to
keep him on track, because being undead is kind of distracting. |
|
Resist Evil Part One: Dropping Evil
Director: Adam Protextor
30 min; USA
Category: Narrative Short
A little acid in a juice box goes a long way in this short that
is part zombie film, part live-action Tex Avery cartoon. |
|
Rick Speed: Private Shrink
Directors: Ty Clancey & Mac Hedges
8 min; USA
Category: Narrative Short
Film noir meets slapstick when private shrink Rick Speed
meets an array of therapeutically challenged clients in this hilarious
spoof. FF |
|
Rommel and the Plot to Kill
Hitler
Director: Nicholas Natteau
1 hr 8 min; USA
Category: Documentary Feature
Field Marshal Rommel became implicated in the 1944
officers' plot against Hitler, illuminating the excruciating dilemma
of the modern soldier forced to choose
between obeying orders and following his conscience. |
|
Room 314
Director: Michael Knowles
1 hr 40 min; USA
Category: Narrative Feature
Web site
Five different stories about five couples in various stages of
their relationships, and their desires to connect, play out in
a single hotel room. |
|
Samsara
Directors: Roshan Murthy & Sam Copeland
14 min; USA
Category: Student
A wryly comedic look at a young man who must figure out if love
is as untamable as nature while he struggles to cope with the
loss of
his
girlfriend. |
|
The
Scientist
Director: Matt Munstermann
4 min; USA
Category: Student
The Scientist constructs his disappearance; love discovers the
clues
he left behind. FF |
|
See Rock City
Director: Doug Osman
30 min; USA
Category: Narrative Short
Annie’s friends must come to terms with each other if they
are to help her give what may be her last stage performance in
this short film. |
|
The Sisterhood of Night
Director: Jeffrey Moss
17 min; USA
Category: Narrative Short
Young girls of a small Midwestern town have formed a secret pact
that leads to suicide and a quandary for the town’s citizens. |
|
Skipping Stones
Director: Matthew Brown
28 min; USA
Category: Student
This beautifully imagined film explores a young boy’s
mind as he teeters between reality and the imaginary world while
coping with
a tragedy. |
|
Startle Pattern
Director: Eric Patrick
13 min; USA
Category: Animation
In this imaginative animated project, the interior space of a
puppet becomes increasingly reflective, revealing the artifice
of his
own creation. |
|
Stomp! Shout! Scream!
Director: Jay Wade Edwards
1 hr 17 min; USA
Category: Narrative Feature
Web site
This beach party rock-and-roll monster movie pits an all-girl rock
band and a small town police force against the legendary Skunk
Ape. Cute girls, cute boys, scary monster, and great music! What
more could you ask? |
|
The Story of Bubbleboy
Director: Sean Ascroft
6 min; Australia
Category: Narrative Short
This short fable tells the story of Bubbleboy, who is so afraid
of sharp objects that he has exiled himself and surrounded his
little world in bubble wrap. FF |
|
Suffer the Children
Director: Trevor Glass
1 hr 23 min; New Zealand
Category: Documentary Feature
This documentary asks whether God wants us all to be rich as it
explores the lives and teachings of some of the biggest names in
modern tele-evangelism. |
|
Super-Anon
Director: Stephen Plitt
10 min; Canada
Category: Narrative Short
Al-Anon is a support group for family members of alcoholics. But
what do you do when you're related to a super-hero? Join Super-Anon! FF |
|
Sym-Tales
Directors: Weichieh Yu & Yawen Chang
3 min; USA
Category: Student
Stories inside of stories is the subject of this 3D computer-animated
short film. FF |
|
Tree
Director: Michael Steinbeck
46 min; USA
Category: Narrative Short
Web site
The cryptic visions from an old tree are welcomed by Thomas’ wife
and daughter, but he struggles with what appears to be a vision
of his own demise. |
|
Villisca: Living with a Mystery
Director: Kelly Rundle
1 hr 56 min; USA
Category: Documentary Feature
Web site
The shocking 1912 axe murders in Villisca, Iowa, and the tragedy’s
after-effects on the small community are explored in this fascinating
documentary. |
|
We Are Theo
Director: Geoff Boothby
22 min; USA
Category: Student
This amusing mock-heroic epic concerns a passionate but
indecisive university student pursuing "the greatest girl
in the world." FF |
|
Willow Garden
Directors: Jim Haverkamp & Don Henderson Baker
44 min; USA
Category: Narrative Short
Striking cinematography marks this historic tale about a young
man in a deadly love triangle who must decide whether to follow
his
own
heart or his father’s twisted advice. |
|
In addition to the films which will be shown in the general competition,
we have formally accepted a number of films in the non-competitive
Iowa Showcase category. The Sheraton Ballroom screening facility
will be dedicated to the Iowa Showcase.
20 Questions
The Body in Pain
The Box
The Bride Wore Blood: A Contemporary Western
Busy Day
The Chemistry of Dating
The Coffee Shop
Count on Me
Demon City
Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life
Fightin’ Iowa Style
Genesis Antipode
Ghost of a Chance: The Making of Haunted Villisca
The Headed Horseman
IDFG (Iowa Digital Filmmakers Guild) short film selection
Indelible
Later Than It Seems
A Little Salsa on the Prairie: The Changing Character of Perry, Iowa
Mulletitis
Notes from the Rogues Gallery
On Dasher, On Dancer
The Passover
The Rebirth of Lucretia
Recently Deceased
Remembrance
Resist Evil Part One: Dropping Evil
Shooting Scripts – short films from IMPA (Iowa Motion Picture
Association)
La Sirena
Snipe Hunt
Somos Las Bolas
Stranger with a Stupid Smile
Villisca: Living with a Mystery
Willow Garden
Working Title
