Eclipse Film Festival 2001

Films to be shown at the 2001 Eclipse Film Festival

"A Modern Hat Story"
(USA) Documentary
Filmmaker: Richard Poller
16mm / 15 min
A Modern Hat Story profiles the last hat factory in Jersey City, New Jersey. Founded in the early 1900's by a family of Orthodox Jews, Modern Hatters thrived for decades until cheap imports, style changes, and neighborhood gentrification caused the founders' descendants to close up shop. Oscar Carro, the film's narrator and central character, describes the three-decade period which sales of quality hats steadily and irreversibly declined. However, in the end, the movie is a simple tale of one man's immigrant experience and how it was shaped by his work.
All Ages

"Bird Bonkers"
(USA) Animation
Filmmaker: Nathan Smith
35 mm / 3 min
Based on the art of Jim Christensen, Bird Bonkers is a wonderfully crafted animated short. With it's use of stop motion animation, this film tells the story of a man who instead of using conventional bird hunting methods, goes by other means to carry out his deed.
All Ages

"Cowboy's and Angels"
(USA) Dramatic Feature
Filmmaker: Gregory C. Haynes
35mm / 90 min
Writer-director Gregory C. Haynes serves up a down-home twist on the traditional romantic comedy with this tale of a 30-something lawyer who starts to feel the marriage bug. Danny (Adam Trese) still harbors dreams of becoming a cowboy when his fiancée leaves him on the eve of their wedding ceremony. Luckily, not one, but two women come along to ease his suffering: the bubbly Jo Jo (Pitch Black's Rahda Mitchell) and the more traditional Candice (Mia Kirshner) Cowboys and Angels also premiered at the 2000 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival and won an award at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis a few months later.

"The Cufflink"
(USA) Short Drama
Filmmaker: Stephen Williams
16mm / 9 min
JoAnn, a woman in her mid-sixties, is at home getting ready to attend the birthday of her grandson. She sits at her dressing table, putting on her make-up. She finds a cufflink belonging to her ex-husband. This brings a flood of past voices and memories to her mind. The ex-husband and his new wife are to be present at the birthday party, and she dreads seeing them. The voices grow louder and louder and more strident, causing her to breakdown. To spare herself the pain, she calls her daughter to inform her that she will not be attending the party. The daughter successfully uses emotional blackmail to coerce JoAnn into going.
All Ages

"Daybreak"
(USA) Short Drama / Experimental
Filmmaker: Christian Vuissa
16mm / 12 min
"Daybreak" observes an 18-hour period in the lives of four young people. Their interaction reflects different aspects of their individual identities and mirrors who they really are and who they want to be. The freedom of the moment is mixed with the insecurity about the identity and future of themselves.
All Ages

"Diatribe"
(USA) Short Drama
Filmmaker: Frank Clare
DV / 5 min
"The Battle lines are drawn for a turf war between a homeless woman and an advertising executive in the streets of San Francisco.
Warning: Contains Language

"Digging Ashley"
(USA) Short Thriller
Filmmaker: Todd Cobery
16mm / 22 min
A reclusive artist (Darren) who rarely leaves his house due to his fears and disgust with the world around him becomes obsessed with the woman next door (Ashley), carrying his affection to the brink of madness. Darren and Ashley's lives converge, but their love story takes a morbid turn through a twisted series of events.
Warning: Contains Violence, and Language

"The Garden of Hesperides"
(USA) Experimental
Filmmaker: Brandon Dayton
8mm / 6 min
"Cadet Jenkins volunteers to be the next participant in a series of disastrously failed moon exploration missions. He has theories about why previous missions have failed, and is eager to test his hypotheses. On the moon, he makes a startling discovery that leaves him petrified.
All Ages

"Harry Knuckles and the Treasure of the Aztec Mummy"
(Canada) Short
Comedy/Horror/Adventure/Kung fu
Filmmaker: Lee Demarbre
16mm / 25 min
Anyone who is a fan of 60's, 70's, & 80's cheesy Kung fu / Action / Comedy / Horror flicks, will love this film. It tells the story of Harry Knuckles a special agent known also as "Spanish fly." Bristling with testosterone and barely suppressed rage and armed with little more than a backpack full of moxy. Harry is on a mission to recover the treasure of the Aztec Mummy, but not before defending himself against a barrage of evil secrets agents, robots, and the undead.
Harry Knuckles and the Treasure of the Aztec Mummy has won over seven international film awards including the "Spirit of Slamdance Award" at the Slamdance Film Festival. Harry Knuckles has also premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Warning: Contains Graphic Violence, and Language

"Horse Crazy"
(USA) Feature Children's
Filmmaker: Eric Hendershot
16mm / 80 min
Three kids set out on a journey to catch a wild mustang, along the way having to outwit, outsmart, and undo an evil plot hatched by two roughnecks to steal a prized horse. Writer / Director Eric Hendershot spins another adventurous tale which shows the viewpoint of children who do all they can to beat the odds.
All Ages

"Hypertension"
(USA) Animation
Filmmaker: Jeff Spoonhower
Beta SP / 5 min
Hypertension is a film about a character that repeatedly loses his temper, as a result, causes the complete collapse of his peaceful suburban lifestyle. 3D-computer animation an 2D Japanese-style anime are juxtaposed to create a strangely paranoiac world for Jim, the main character.

"Mabul"
(Israel) Short Drama
Filmmaker: Guy Nattiv
16mm / 28 min
It's the weekend that changes the lives of Yoni and his mentally bordered brother Tomer. Yoni gets his first kiss and celebrates his Bar Mitzvah while Tomer, who's stuck in a eternal childhood, is loosing his suddenly adult brother. The innocent game "Noah’s ark", which they played until that moment, suddenly becomes real.

"The Man without Eyes"
(Quebec) Short Children's / sci-fi
Filmmaker: Martti Ekstrand
35mm / 15 min
It's an autumn evening and it's time to go home from daycare but Tobias' mother doesn't show up. The staff leaves for the night and, soon, Tobias is left all alone, locked in the spooky center. But things get really creepy at midnight when Tobias is forced to confront the evils lurking in the darkness of daycare. 2001 Grand Prix- Best Short presented by: Montreal International Children's Film Festival
All Ages

"Moosh"
(Israel) Short Drama
Filmmaker: Erez Tadmor
16mm / 28 min
A 32-year-old policeman named Moosh has a crumbling marriage with his wife. One night he finds an abandoned baby in an alleyway and must take the child home until Social Services opens. Taking care of the infant brings about a touching reconciliation between husband and wife.

"The Mountain Meadows Massacre" Finalist 2001 Telly Awards
(USA) Documentary
Filmmaker: DSC Motion Picture Students
16mm, DV / 56 min
In September of 1857, nearly 140 Arkansas emigrants camped near Enterprise in southwestern Utah. Local residents had heard rumors that the U.S. Army was en route to put down the growing Mormon movement, so the wagon train was viewed with suspicion and animosity. The Fancher-Baker Party was attacked without warning by Indians and later by local Mormon militia. In all, approximately 120 people were killed, mostly women and children. In 1877, 20 years after the massacre, participant John D. Lee was tried, convicted, and executed by a firing squad on the very spot that the Mountain Meadows Massacre took place. This engrossing documentary includes interviews with historians, reenactments, and photographs that tell all sides of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

"Neighborhood Watch"
(USA) Short Comedy
Filmmaker: Nathan D. Fackrell
S-VHS / 7 min
How far would you go to protect your city, your neighborhood, and your livelihood? Set as a mock news story, Neighborhood Watch tells the story of a vigilante group, which goes to extreme measures to keep the neighborhoods safe from the lawless.
All Ages

"Only Once"
(USA) Feature Film
Filmmaker: Rocco deVilliers
Greg and Kellie found the magic early, but their plans didnt work out exactly as they wanted. Romance, personal dreams and moral challenges tugged on the couples future. Can they find the courage to do whats right?
ONLY ONCE is a film that explores issues of teen morality and religion. In a world of compromised morals, filmmaker Rocco DeVilliers set out to make a film that was both educational and thought provoking. The film stars Austin O'Brien (The Last Action Hero/Promised Land)

"Practical Encounter Avoidance"
(USA) Short Comedy
Filmmaker: Craig Nybo
Beta SP / 13 min
Practical Encounter Avoidance is a comic parody of the self-help video industry. It teaches the viewer how to successfully avoid people on the street. Why waste hours of social energy when you can avoid people who you would rather not talk to. The concept is based on comic, but seemingly feasible theory; taught in detail. Examples of "Avoidance Strategy" are shown as well.
All Ages

"Reaper, Sheeper, Treasure Seeker"
(USA) Claymation
Filmmaker: Dave Lieber
16mm / 15 min
Reaper, Sheeper, Treasure Seeker is a story about Death, a Sheep, and Four Pirates, and how their lives coexist and intersect in a coincidental and cosmic fashion. Death hates his job, the Sheep is betters suited for Death's job, and the Pirates are just doing their own job. Three parallel story lines develop independently, and in coming together, solve each other's conflicts.
All Ages

"Shattered"
(USA) Short / Experimental
Filmmaker: Krisi Church
16mm / 4 min
A cinematic poem about a young woman imprisoned by inhibitions. A pane of glass separates her from the inner-peace she seeks. Surrounded in a collage of pictures from her past she begins to piece together who she is and where she came from. After her struggling search she awakens to a realization of her unnecessary self-inflicted bondage. She breaks free from her glass prison. Now reconciled, she can finally look herself in the eye.
All Ages

"Space Monkeys"
(USA) Short Animation
Filmmaker: Michael Terrell
Beta SP / 14 min
Zak is a typical boy with a penchant for comic books, an insatiable curiosity, and an intergalactic satellite dish. He soon discovers that things aren't always like their advertisements in this hilarious animated short.
Warning: Contains Violence

"Squeaky Clean"
(USA) Short Comedy
Filmmaker: Mark Day
DV / 2 min
A verbally abusive husband has it out to make his wife's daily life a living hell through his obsession with cleanliness. Little does he know this oppressed homemaker has a secret that helps her go on day by day.

"The $5 Movie"
(USA) Short Comedy
Filmmaker: Devin Scott
35mm / 16 min
Perseverance and passion shadow a young director's humorous odyssey as he tries to answer the eternal question, "Is it art", by directing the same scene five times over twenty years. The actors and the sets change... but does he in his search for the perfect moment.
Warning: Contains Language

"The Gift"
(USA) Short Drama
Filmmaker: Michelle Jackson
16mm / 7 min
On a cold night during the Christmas season a homeless man warms himself in a church. He realizes we all have something we can give.
All Ages

"The Nook"
(ireland) documentary short
Filmmaker: Denis McArdle
16mm / 30 min
A sensitive portrayal of Martin Lysaght who forgoes a life at sea to run a corner shop for 35 years in Dublin's coastal village of Booterstown. This documentary pays homage to a man who weaves his philosophic, eccentric and loving nature into the hearts of a local community. The Nook is in essence a wonderful study of the free spirit and its place on the earth.
All Ages

"Do Tempo Que Eu Comia Pipoca"
(The Time I've Eaten Popcorn)
(Brazil) Short Drama
Filmmakers: Catherine Agniez and Heloisa Passos
35mm / 18 min
The Time I’ve Eaten Popcorn wants to talk about pleasures and absences that memories evoke in everybody. Clara comes back to the town where she was born, seeking places, smells and feelings. Leo has no memories regarding the place where he lives. It is a poetic essay where the characters' complicity reveals itself to one another through fragility and emotions.

"The Wrong Brother"
(USA) Short Comedy
Filmmaker: Chris Bowman
35mm / 15 min
Hector Wright has always felt that his brothers were above him, 2,000 feet above him. His older siblings Orville and Wilber have invented the world's first airplane, and all of Hectors accomplishments pale in comparison. Hector decides to create an invention of his own, desperate to prove that genius runs in the family.

"Tiffany"
(USA) Documentary Short
Filmmaker: Matthew Fackrell
Beta SP/ 13:00
"Tiffany" tells the touching story of Tiffany Fackrell a young woman who around the age of 12 was confined to a wheel chair. Tiffany tells of her struggles at an early age of having an inability to walk, only to see her dreams of walking start to come true as she works mentally, physically, and spiritually to walk again.
All Ages

"You Will Believe"
(USA) Short Drama
Filmmaker: Donald Alan Straub III
16mm / 33 min
You Will Believe is a dramatic short about four young people in transition who are forced to reevaluate their priorities when the unexpected arrives.