2020 Best Of Covid Edition Film: The Quilting Queen

The Quilting Queen by Mark Winter

Milwaukee, WI (MKE Premiere)
Running Time: 10 minutes
From 2016
Documentary

An unexpected artist and their personal journey of self discovery and their race against time.



Director Bio:

Mark Winter was born and raised on Milwaukee’s south side, and still calls Milwaukee home. After starting and raising a family early in life, Mark decided to pursue his creative aspirations by entering film school at age 46. “The first half of my life, I did what I had to do. The second half of my life, I’m doing what I want to do!”



Director Statement:

Being raised in the Midwest, I developed an eye for the uniqueness of everyday life. My goal as a storyteller is to share a perspective with the audience that they may not have considered on their own.

That’s why the story of “The Quilting Queen” was so attractive to me. It’s more than a story of overcoming obstacles. It’s really about the attitude it takes to live a fulfilled life by being open to recognize and accept it’s opportunities unconditionally.

My goal was to get the audience to acknowledge the stereo types we all carry and hopefully make a self-assessment of how we look at our world around us

2020 Best Of Covid Edition Film: the good boy

the good boy by A. L. Lee

New York 
Running Time: 15 minutes
From 2016
Drama

A morality tale, "the good boy" is a film about a young boxer who accepts a challenge to fight a brute of a man only to discover his opponent has the mental capacity of a five year old. This is an unflinching look at what happens when you feel honor bound to doing something you know is morally wrong. "the good boy" is about the decisions we make and living with their consequences.


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Director's Bio:

A. L. Lee received an MFA in screenwriting from Columbia University. Her screenplay "The Legend of Pig-Eye", which is an adaptation of the short story with the same title by Rick Bass, won the top prize in the Columbia University Screenwriting Awards.

She originally trained as a violinist at the Eastman School of Music and the New England Conservatory.

She live in New York City with her husband, two sons and two cats.




Director Statement

I'd been studying the films of Krzysztof Kieslowski (Double Life of Veronique, Dekalog, Blue, White Red) when I was writing "the good boy". Watching those masterpieces, you can't help but think about moral dilemmas. Why do people knowingly decide to do something that they know is morally wrong?

I started to watch my own actions and the actions of my friends. I realized that it's easy for most people to do the right thing if they believe they don't have much at stake. But it's just as easy for people to convince themselves that what's at stake is more than what they're willing to pay. Honor, loyalty, money, religion and even love are used on micro and global levels to justify our actions; even actions we know are morally abhorrent.

For Cal, the young boxer, what's at stake is his deal with Ray. "No losin', no forfeitin'." He feels honor bound to Ray. The stake for Quinny is more tragic because what he wants is the love and respect of his step-father and the patrons of their bar. I wanted to explore the consequence of a room full of people, one after another, deciding to do what they know is morally wrong and how they justify their decisions to themselves. 



Screenings:

DisOrient Film Festival
Eugene, Oregon
April 19, 2015
World Premiere
Best Cinematography

WorldFest Houston International Film Festival
Houston, TX
Gold Remi for Original Story

DC Asian Pacific Film Festival
DC
East Coast

The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival
Brooklyn, NY
May 13, 2015
New York

Kaliber35 Munich International Film Festival
Munich, German
June 19, 2015
European Premiere

WILDsound Film Festival
Toronto, Canada
June 25, 2015
Canadian Premiere 

Best Film, Best Overall Acting, Best Cinematography
Periphery of the Empire
Caserta, Italy
July 24, 2015
Italy

Louisville's International Festivals of Film
Louisville, Kentucky
October 1, 2015

Commffest Global Community Film Festival
Toronto, Canada
September 23, 2015

Roma Creative Contest
Rome, Italy

First Glance Film Festival, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
October 23, 2015

Visionaria Festival
Siena, Italy

TODOS SOMOS OTROS
Mexico City, Mexico
November 2, 2015
Mexico Premiere

SNOB Film Festival
Concord, NH
February 21, 2015

Fincortex
Colombia
December 1, 2015
South America

Sydney World Film Festival
Sydney, Australia
December 25, 2015

College Town Film Festival, 2015
College Town, PA
March 16, 2016

Film Festival of Castilla-la Mancha ® FECICAM
Castilla-la Mancha, Spain
March 1, 2016 
SPAIN

Ouchy Film Festival, 2016
Lausanne, Switzerland

OvertimeFilms 2016
Mexicali (Baja California) Mexico
March 17, 2016

Kansas City Film Festival
Kansas City, Missouri
April 14, 2016

2020 Best Of Covid Edition Film: Screen: Righter

Screen: Righter by T.C. De Witt

Wisconsin
Running Time: 8 minutes
From 2016
Comedy

On June 10th, Chad Halvorsen brought together a team of Firmament alum and some new friends for the 2016 Milwaukee 48 Hour film Project. What followed was a weekend of indie romance, Michael Bay hero shots, slow-mo running, and cre-a-tivity!
This is "Screen: Righter".


Our required elements:
Genre - Romance or Fable
Character - Luke or Laura Coppersmith, retired circus performer
Prop - a painting or photo of a deceased relative
Line of Dialogue - "What's the big idea?"

Director's Bio:

T.C. De Witt is a multi-awarded writer/director/actor originally from Wisconsin and now based in Los Angeles. His life has been devoted to the arts since he was a child. He's been a stage performer, playwright, stand-up comic, film and television actor, radio DJ, published author, recorded musician, and comic writer/illustrator. While beginning his career on the stage as a playwright and stand-up, he eventually moved into screenwriting and film & television production and has been thriving for nearly a decade. His films have screened at numerous festivals around the world garnering many accolades both in the States and internationally. His success include 5 Best Director Awards, 10 Best Picture Winners, 5 Audience Choice Awards, and a trio of Best Writing awards. He regularly offers his skills to several YouTube partners, Production studios in Los Angeles and the Midwest, and has been a script consultant and ghostwriter on over 60 production just in 2017 so far.

He has worked in Los Angeles since 2007, but he always finds his way back to Wisconsin. As a founding member of Firmament Films, a Madison based production company, as well as a co-founder of [REDACTED] Media out of Milwaukee, T.C. knows Wisconsin and the Midwest to be the best source of creativity, dedication, and an underrepresented wellspring of talent for storytelling through film, and he is proud to continue to work out of Milwaukee with [REDACTED] Media and Wisconsin talent.

2020 Best Of Covid Edition Film: @Me

@ME by Kristin Peterson
Wisconsin
Running Time: 9 minutes
From 2017
Experimental/Comedy

The short film follows a mid-20s woman on her walk home after a failed set at a comedy open mic. She uses social media (Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook) to reach out to those still awake and online, while basically ignoring her physical surroundings. She types jokes with the 140 characters Twitter allows as comments on people she sees in the wee hours of the night and consistently checks to see how many people “like” her observances. One follower engages her in a conversation that leads to a potential late-night rendezvous.


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Director's Bio:

Kristin Peterson is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee’s Journalism, Advertising and Media Studies (Documentary) program. Kristin is based in Milwaukee where she collaborates with a number of artists including poets, musicians, animators and fellow filmmakers. She currently works as a broadcast producer at the privately owned advertising agency BVK, where she facilitates the production of nationwide, multi-platform campaigns for clients such as Wyoming Office of Tourism, Maine Office of Tourism, and Michigan State University. Previously, Peterson spent three years programming the Beloit International Film Festival where she gained an education of which films affect audiences, and what stories are worth telling. Combined with her 6+ years’ experience screenwriting, directing, location scouting and production design, she creates films of high production value and strong story quality. Her directorial debut “DOG*WALK” (short film) has screened at festivals as prestigious as the Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival (West Coast Premiere), Sarasota Film Festival (East Coast Premiere), Sidewalk Film Festival, and Salento International Film Festival (European Premiere).

2020 Best Of Covid Edition Film: The Homecoming

The Homecoming by Paulina Bugembe

California 
Running Time: 16 minutes
From 2017
Drama

Andy heads home to Milwaukee to plan a homecoming party for her estranged brother who is getting out of prison. As the day of his release arrives, she struggles to bring the family together to welcome him home and repair what was broken when he was sent away.


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Director's Bio:

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Paulina spent most of her formative years with The Movie Channel and HBO. Her love for telling complex, yet human stories was instilled in her at a young age. After spending a number of years in Japan and Hawaii, she has experienced the depth and diversity of the world and the stories it holds. .

She is currently studying directing in the MFA program at Chapman University in Orange County and the Meisner technique in acting at the Joanne Baron/DW Brown Studio in Santa Monica. As an artist and as an individual she is well-educated, well-traveled, and well-defined to craft her own unique vision of the world, through a lens and on screen.

Through acting, writing and directing she aims to directly affect positive change through the stories she tells.

Director's Statement:

My brother has been in and out of prison for ten years. My family has been dealing with what that means for just as long. There have been many collect phone calls, built up hopes, crushing disappointments, tears and at times even laughter. The drastic ups and downs are enough to push any family to it's breaking point, and the stigma associated with prison led us to not talk about it too much outside of the family circle. For a long time, I believed that no one would really be able to understand what it was like for us.

Then I read that according to the Department of Justice, in 2011, 1 in 34 adult US citizens were under some form of correctional supervision. Suddenly, I felt less alone. It got me thinking, how many families could be out there that are affected by a similar circumstance? How many feel like they can't talk about it with anyone? And if they did, how many felt that they wouldn't be heard?

I chose to make this film to give voices to those whose loved ones have gone to prison. There are so many films told from the perspective of those who have gone to prison; I wanted to give a voice to their families and the lasting effect that it leaves on their lives.

One person in the family gets locked up, and we all do, too.

2020 Best Of Covid Edition Film: Midwest Problems

Midwest Problems by Klifford Barkus

Wisconsin
Running Time: 3 minutes
From 2017
Comedy

Nothing worse than being stuck in a snowstorm then being stuck in a snowstorm knowing that your pen pal is having the time of their life... in WARM Arizona!


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Director Klifford Barkus on making his film:

I am currently an indie musician who has directed a few of my own music videos. Acting has always been something I have wanted to do. I came up with the idea of directing my own short films to help expand my performing resume as well as challenging my creative limits.

Midwest Problems is my second short film. The idea of this film coincided with an incident on an icy back road during work. While I was waiting for roadside assistance I realized that I still had my camera stand that I used for my first short film. I took advantage of a messed up situation and turned it into something that I hope you will find entertaining.

Director's Bio:

Klifford Barkus (music stage name Kryptonian Dynamite) entered the indie music scene in 2014 with the internet hit "Big Girl," in which he also directed the music video. Trying to expand his creativity, made his acting/directorial debut with the 2017 comedy-suspense short film, "Laundry Day."

Barkus' second short film, "Midwest Problems" was completed shortly after Laundry Day's wrap up. It was filmed while being stranded during a snow storm. The idea came along while waiting for roadside assistance. The misfortune later paid off with an official selection from the Milwaukee Short Film Festival.

Klifford was born in Philadelphia. He was raised in Southern New Jersey and now resides in Wisconsin.

2020 Best Of Covid Edition Film: Do You Love Me?

Do You Love Me? by Michael Viers

Wisconsin
Running Time: 12 minutes
From 2017
Horror

A short film directed by Michael Viers about a couple slowly drifting apart from one another but who have trouble letting go as events turn violent. Michael's previous film, From The Darkness Theatre won Audience Favorite, Best Director and Best Actor at our festival in 2013. 

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Director Biography:

A man with an encyclopedic knowledge on horror film-making, Michael has directed short films and music videos, most notably FROM THE DARKNESS THEATRE and LOVE YOU STILL. Michael was a featured writer on the popular website Taste of Cinema providing insight into all manner of cinema topics.

His Podcast, the Shame List Picture Show:

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/michael-viers/the-shamelist-pictureshow