2015 Films: Elgin Park

Elgin Park by Danny Yourd
Pittsburgh (MKE Premiere)
Running Time: 10 minutes
Screening Time: Saturday, Sept 12th 4pm
Documentary, Biography, LGBT

Michael Paul Smith, a reclusive model builder, doesn't seem to enjoy talking about his childhood. In this short documentary about the remarkably detailed town he built by hand, Smith alludes to memories of bullying, violence, and dark family secrets. Elgin Park is a "dreamlike recreation" of his past, he says, polished with the glossy sheen of mid-century suburbia.

Filmmaker Danny Yourd zeroes in on this tension, drawing it out through the relationship between Smith's childhood and his models. Smith is a charming presence on screen; his warm smile elides those painful experiences, even as he explains how they help inspire his work. And while his miniaturized scenes occasionally feature tragedies, the substance of each tragedy isn't the point. "I created Elgin Park so anybody can be there," he says.

This summer, Smith will publish a book of his Elgin Park photographs.It's now available for pre-order. To see more of his work, visit his Flickr page.

The above synopsis from The Atlantic Magazine.

IMDb Link

DIRECTOR BIO:
Danny Yourd is the long time creative partner of Steve Hoover: together they created the Sundance winning documentary Blood Brother as well as a wide range of previous work that took them all over the world. Danny received the usage of the p.g.a. mark by the Producers Guild of America for his work on Blood Brother. He is recently premiered Crocodile Gennadiy, which he produced, at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. This is Danny’s first directorial effort.


FESTIVALS: 

Aspen Shortsfest
Cinequest
Cleveland
Dam Short Film Festival
Dingle Film Festival
Docaviv
Fargo
Flickers: Rhode Island
Frozen River
Global Visions
Indie Film Festival Boston
Indianapolis Film Festival
Kansas City Film Festival