ABOUT THE FILMS from 2010
24.7
1:15:00 PG Kirk Monson & Brian Larkin, Urbana, IAThe story of the Vinton area flood of 2008 that chronicles the struggle, recovery and the will of the human spirit to triumph in times of adversity.
"24.7" is the only film that focuses on the impact that the historic Flood of 2008 had on Vinton, Iowa and the surrounding areas. Featuring interviews with many local residents and officials, the film is about 75 minutes in length and chronicles the struggle, recovery and the will of the human spirit to triumph in times of adversity. The film also features a musical score by local talent, Mark Hancock.
A Year In The Life
0:24:20 PG Atom Burke, Solon, IACelebrating the life of pottery artist Clary Illian, this biographical documentary explores themes of aging, a life-long studio practice and semi-retirement.
Through five decades Clary Illian has built her career in small-town Iowa. She recently down-sized her practice. It is a semi-retirement of sorts but she still throws pots on the potter's wheel and fires them herself. Illian is the doyenne of Iowa pottery.
A Young Heart
0:13:25 NR Brooke Lemke, Minneapolis, MNA teenage girl overcomes her first heartbreak.
Emmalee, a teenager girl, struggles when her boyfriend Derek dumps her for her best friend Rachel. Instead of feeling sorry for herself and trying to win Derek back, Emmalee embraces her passion for photography as her way to heal and ultimately find the strength to move on without Derek and Rachel in her life.
Coasting
1:30:00 NR Michael P. Noens, Los Angeles, CAAfter two chance meetings at a hotel bar that lead to a brief but life-changing affair, Wes & Lauren must keep some objectionable secrets from their families and spouses-to-be.
Wes and Lauren meet in a hotel bar one night in Stillwater, Illinois, while visiting the small town for a funeral. When they go back to their lives outside of Stillwater, the memory of that night travels with them; back to their long-term relationships that are slowly becoming stale. Their paths serendipitously cross once again at that same bar and they spend one passionate night together. But when they wake the next morning, they struggle to keep this objectionable affair from their families and spouses-to-be. Microfilmmaker Magazine calls "Coasting" a quirky romantic drama that flies in the face of convention.
Countervail
0:23:00 NR Jeromy Cardiff & Aaron Riggs, Oskaloosa, IATwo brothers find their kinship through a framed homicide and a dying mother.
Since the death of their father, the lives of Blake and Jack have been blinded by their hatred toward one another. The only reason they remain civil to each other is to maintain the facade they have created for their mother's protection. With her cancer diagnosis and the murder of Blake's girlfriend, death becomes the path to reconciliation.
Diary of a Superhero
1:36:00 NR Andrew Kline, Austin, TXA cop, a ninja, and a superhero have 48 hours to save all of us.
Theo, a 16 year old superhero wannabe, joins ranks with a cop and a ninja to save Earth from the threat of nuclear destruction. Theo's adventures will send him plummeting through vortexes, battling a family of zombies, and even going to space.
Driver's Ed Mutiny
1:41:00 PG-13 Brad Hanson, Schaumburg, ILThree Chicago high school students steal their Drivers Ed car to get to L.A.
Driver's Ed Mutiny follows three teenagers who have to make their way from Chicago to Los Angeles, each for their own personal reasons. With no other options, they hijack their Driver's Ed car and embark on a coming-of-age journey down the historic Route 66, with plenty of bumps along the way.
Estival
0:04:58 PG-13 Matei Dima, Cedar Rapids, IAThree friends try to make some money during a time of recession.
While they try to rent their apartments to the tourists visiting the beach of Constoato, Romania three friends discuss several aspects of their private lives.
Focus
0:10:00 PG-13 Beau Batterson, Waterloo, IAA teen struggling with ADHD faces down the everyday demons of high school.
Folly of Man
0:05:45 R John Nordoft, Marion, IAA reclusive man who buries himself in literature loses his grip on reality when he realizes there are no more eggs in the fridge.
It's just one of those days for this mysterious individual. After an early morning spent quoting William Shakespeare things were looking up. That is until he opened the refrigerator and realized that despite there being so many egg cartons, all the eggs were missing. This spurs this eccentric man into a frenzy and he must leave his environment and find more eggs. Only here in the real world he must overcome his own psychological shortcomings or fall prey to them.
Ghost Player: Relive the Magic
0:54:00 PG DreamCatchers Production, Metro Studios, Dyersville, IALittle did anyone know the blockbuster Field of Dreams would spawn a comedic baseball show starring local ballplayers that would have an 18 year run and travel the world.
In 1989, Hollywood went to Iowa to shoot the FIELD of DREAMS. Little did anyone know this blockbuster would spawn a comedic baseball show starring local ballplayers that would have an 18 year run and travel the world. GHOST PLAYER tells the story of how this zany team and baseball moved audiences around the world and changed the players' lives forever. From Dyersville, we follow the Ghost Players around the world as warm hearted, comedic ambassadors of the best that the American Heartland has to offer - baseball, tomfoolery, and good old-fashioned family fun. We see them bring the comfort that only baseball can give to men and women stationed in the military in the far-flung corners of the world. But most of all, we witness how America's favorite pastime and a Hollywood movie set gave one group of men a second chance to live the life as they've always dreamed.
Hidden Hearts
0:15:00 PG Caity Birmingham, Sherman Oaks, CASiblings Jo and Jim roam the Iowa countryside on a quest to find their father's family and the old farmhouse of their memories, but when they find the perfect house, they must distinguish their fairytale from reality.
Historic Measures
0:38:14 PG Jacob Rosdail & Aaron Riggs, Oskaloosa, IAThree buildings in Oskaloosa are examined and measured by their historic value.
Historic Measures is a documentary that explores three well-known buildings that are a part of Oskaloosa's downtown square, the Iowa building, Smokey Row, and Old McGregors. While simply made up of brick and mortar, these three buildings represent all that Oskaloosa stands for: Pride, Progress, and Tradition. Each building was at one point at risk of being demolished. Yet the community of Oskaloosa, together with the organization "Main Street Iowa", worked to save each building from becoming a parking lot, and the Oskaloosa community has been blessed ever since.
Hitmom
0:17:00 PG-13 Joe Clarke, Iowa City, IAA retired assassin turned housewife is lured back into the hitman business after an old client seeks revenge.
20 years ago, Janet Peterson was the world's number one assassin. Today, she is the world's number one mother. Now, twenty years later, she's coming out of retirement. Kathleen Clarke is a delight in this genre bending flick that is fun for all generations.
I'm Impressed
0:02:39 G Lucas Baty, Des Moines, IAMusic video of the song "I'm Impressed" by They Might be Giants.
In the Silence
0:28:57 PG-13 Adam Orton, Chicago, ILHaving recently suffered a terrible loss, David moves to the country and meets a wandering man who isn't quite what he seems.
David moves to the country in an attempt to find some peace after a terrible accident. His first night in, he meets a stranger who seems eager to make his acquaintance. As the night progresses, David soon realizes the man is not what he seems, but he also shares more in common with him than he could have ever imagined.
Iowa St. Fair Rap
0:03:31 G Eva Andersen & Patrick Berry, Center Point, IAAn Iowan girl breaks it down with her sax in a cow barn and shows everybody at the Iowa State Fair just how exactly you "getchya Iowa on."
Small-town Iowa meets NYC hip-hop as this Iowan rapper describes the story of a spoiled, rich New York girl, Tonya, who is forced to go to the Iowa State Fair by her dad. Once she gets there and sees all the action, she can't help but to fall in love with the excitement and uniqueness of Iowan culture. As the rapper describes the sights and sounds of the State Fair and gives a shout-out to our governor, Tonya's previous notions of Iowa are transformed as she finally joins in with the rest of the Iowan crowd to "get her Iowa on."
Kelsey
0:10:06 NR Christopher Peck, Marion, IAA portrait of an unseen person.
Legend Has It
1:32:00 NR Insane Mike Saunders & Jason Bolinger, Ottumwa, IAA comedy/horror film that breaks the fourth wall like never before.
Ever wonder what it is like to be trapped in a horror movie? If you were to ask Al Cunningham, he'd tell you it's not all fame and fortune. Instead it's blood and death at the hands of a man-eating plant monster.
Love and Valor: The Intimate Civil War Letters
1:32:00 G Charles Larimer & Jennifer Stolte, Chicago, ILLove story between a Union soldier and his wife during the American Civil War, as told through their actual letters.
American love story between a Union captain and his wife, told through their actual letters. Narrated by Brian Dennehy, the narrative documentary is based on the book 'Love and Valor - Intimate Civil War Letters Between Captain Jacob and Emeline Ritner,' which was featured by the Smithsonian in the month after 9/11. Ritner, a Union captain from Iowa, was a teacher, farmer, and abolitionist before the war. The movie tells of their devotion to each other, patriotism, loneliness, anguish at the death of loved ones, and slavery. Em raising four small children, managing the family farm, dealing with other women in town. Jacob witnessing death of family and friends, participating in great adventure, seeing new lands, changing views of the south.
Nothing
0:08:45 G Scott R. Thompson, MyTownPictures, Spencer, IAWhen none of the passwords to her social networking sites are accepted, a young woman starts to panic about her "cyber death" and what it means to be "nothing" in the only world that matters to her.
Paper Maché
1:30:35 NR Elliot Diviney, Plymouth, MN5 former film students engage in various illegal activities throughout Minneapolis with the intentions of raising funds for their first independent feature.
Jared, Richard, Sam, Kevin, and Robert are a group of slackers, several years removed from film school. After several failed attempts to receive funding for their screenplay, the gang decides to engage in various illegal activities throughout Minneapolis in an attempt to raise the money themselves.
Pigface
0:03:54 PG-13 John Nordoft, Marion, IAA man is pursued by a man wearing a mask through reality and in dreams.
A man gets paranoid when he thinks he is being stalked by a person wearing a mask. He tries to run away but cannot escape when he fails to distinguish dream from reality.
Prairie
0:03:10 G Kevin J. Railsback, Fairfax, IAThe cycle of life on an Iowa tallgrass prairie.
In a single generation 99% of Iowa's tallgrass prairies were plowed under. Today as the last scattered remnants struggle to survive they continue the cycle of life as they have for hundreds of years.
Resilience: The Spirit of Humanity
1:30:00 NR Jeffrey Zahrt & Kirk Monson, Cedar Rapids, IAFirst hand accounts of a community's relentless persistance, inderdependance, battles lost and eventual triumph of the flood of 2008.
In June of 2008, Cedar Rapids suffered the worst flood it had ever experienced. The Cedar River rose to a height of 31.12 feet, 11.12 feet above the previous record set in 1929. The flood exceeded the 500 year flood plain and affected 10 square miles of the city. This film takes an in-depth look at what happened during the flood and how those unsung hero's helped save a city.
Shoot!
0:11:26 PG-13 Lucas Baty, Des Moines, IABecause of a mix up, a hitman kills someone he shouldn't have and becomes a target of the mob.
Silent Kingdom
0:03:10 G Kevin J. Railsback, Fairfax, IAOur Earth is dying if we don't do something about it now, there may be little left.
We've reached a crossroads for Planet Earth. Loss of habitat and species extinction are accelerating at an unnatural rate. If we don't do something about it soon, it may be too late. This PSA for the planet is a wake up call for what we could lose in the not too distant future and what we'll be left with if we do not heed the call.
Sol
0:11:04 PG James Hoff, Cedar Falls, IASol, the lone survivor of a global apocalypse caused by global warming, fights the sun.
After global warming and pollution lead to a global apocalypse that wipes out humanity, the Earth is left scorched and nearly uninhabitable. One man, Sol, survived. Now he spends his days fighting the powerful sun, looking for survivors, and struggling to find a cure to save the Earth.
Something Blue
1:34:00 NR Sean Gannon, Los Angeles, CAA young couple recruit their friend to tag along and videotape the fun moments while planning their wedding, but when his family starts treating her badly and he fails to stand up for her, the lighthearted video becomes an unintentional documentary of a relationship falling into jeopardy.
Why stop at a wedding video, Michael and Jackie figure, when you can document the entire year-long process of getting married, from the proposal through the ceremony? But as family tensions ignite, the camera records a much different story than they'd bargained for. Can their marriage-to-be survive its first big obstacle - the wedding?
Splatter: Love, Honor, Paintball
1:49:00 PG-13 Lonnie Schuyler & Bruce Heppner, Burlington, IAA man tries to win back his family on a paintball field.
A lovable loser realizes that what he really wants out of life is the love of his Ex-wife and the respect of his son, so he sets out to win them back by challenging her new boss to a game out on the (Ex wifes) paintball field. There is just one problem... the man happens to be the captain of the Cobra Elite.
Stewart Little 3000
0:01:30 NR Insane Mike Saunders & Jason Bolinger Ottumwa, IAThis is the closest thing the sick minds at Prescribed Films will get to making a children's movie.
Prescribed Films closest thing to a children's movie. In a day and age of sequels and remakes its the newest film in the Stewart Little films and possibly the last. It's the newest madeup adventures of everyone's favorite movie.
The Drunken Fan Boy
0:05:55 PG Neil Allen & Tripp Yeoman, Iowa City, IAA rookie star wars fan grows overconfident and turns star wars trivial pursuit into a drinking game in an effort to prove to his friends that he is not a "noob."
The Guy Chronicles
0:19:00 NR Aaron Riggs & Ryan Kohler, Oskaloosa, IAA trio of high school friends reunite after an 8 year hiatus.
After a failed marriage and writing career in the big city, 28 year-old Guy Aston is back with his parents in his hometown. Guy attempts to secure a backup job at the local town newspaper, however, his old high school friends catch wind of his homecoming and their different priorities interfere with Guys own, sending them on a wild goose chase.
The Next Act
0:30:00 PG Rob Merritt, Cedar Rapids, IAA documentary that follows the dramatic two-year affect to rescue and rebuild the Iowa Theatre Building in Cedar Rapids after it was devastated by the flood of 2008.
When Theatre Cedar Rapids officials launched a Capitol campaign to renovate their aging home in the Iowa landmark Iowa Theater Building, they had no idea that just three months later, that home would be nearly destroyed by the worst natural disaster in Iowa history. Instantly, what had been a campaign for improvements became a fight to save the existence of a historic theatre with major ties ot Cedar Rapids' cultural past as well as its cultural future. What resulted was an astonishing and dramatic tale of artists, volunteers, and community leaders who refused to give up.
The Nine-Thirty
0:12:00 PG-13 Scott Thompson, Mondovi, WIA bizarre doctor/patient appointment at a psychiatric halfway house.
When the doctor and her patient get together for their nine-thirty appointment at the Havenswood Psychiatric facility, it isn't long before we start to wonder which one needs help the most. Features Emily Schweitz of Fairfield, IA in the lead role.
The Sneakers
0:13:00 PG Directed by David W. Wells, Written by Wes Ford, South Boston, MAA single mother works to buy shoes both her daughter and herself.
Struggling to get by on waitress wages, Emily wants her daughter, Fara, to feel like all the other kids at school. But when Emily cannot afford new shoes for the both of them, she must choose between her own needs and Fara's sense of belonging.
The Waking World
0:07:40 PG Jonathan Spaulding & Patrick Pond, Cedar Rapids, IAA man wakes up to discover he has been living in a virtual world all his life.
Set in the near future the Waking World tells the story of a young man who wakes up one day to discover the world he had always taken for granted is only a shadow of the reality. Suddenly awakened from the mundane he sets out in search of the real world.
What Else Would I Do
0:10:38 NR Owen Wade, Iowa City, IAIn an attempt to realize a childhood dream, an eccentric young man constructs one of Leonardo Da Vinci's machines.
In an attempt to realize a childhood dream, an eccentric young man constructs one of Leonardo Da Vinci's machines. Reality is set aside as his vision comes to life. However the man soon realizes that nothing is as easy as it is in dreams. "What Else Would I Do" explores the way in which childhood aspirations and memories are never forgotten. Childhood dreams remain throughout our lifetime.
Why Am I In A Box
1:16:52 NR Brook Lemke, Minneapolis, MNEllen Farnsby is kidnapped and forced to write a novel while her flaky boyfriend and neurotic love interest search for her.
Ellen Farnsby is a modern-day Schehrazade. And if she doesn't tell the story of a lifetime, someone else will be writing her obituary. She is kidnapped by Paige, a failed novelist with an axe to grind. Jeremy is a video store clerk whose one talent is fooling himself and others that he is an artist. He and pop culture junkie of a detective name Lydecker are hunting for Ellen. Will Jeremy and Lydecker find Ellen before a vicious maniac edits her out of existence? Will Ellen write a brilliant novel or end up a tragic movie-of-the-week?
