Landlocked Film Festival to show dozens of screenings
A flash of a Hollywood vibe in Iowa City is set to occur this weekend, complete with a green carpet rolled out in front of the Englert Theatre and a city stacked with local and visiting actors, directors, writers, and producers.
The quasi-Hollywood vibe is in honor of the fourth-annual Landlocked Film Festival.
The festival will begin at 7 p.m. with Frygtelig lykkelig (Terribly Happy) at the Englert Theatre, 221 E. Washington St. Screenings continue through Aug. 29 at the Englert, the Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn St., the Bijou, the Sheraton's Carver Room, 210 S. Dubuque St., and the Plaza Room at hotelVetro, 201 S. Linn St. Admission is $5 for selected shows. All other screenings are free.
Mary Blackwood, the president of the Landlocked Board of Directors, said the festival has grown immensely since its start in 2007.
"It was just a matter of some film lovers getting together and saying, 'Let's just do it and see what happens,' " she said. "We had to start somewhere and sensed that if we put a call out there, then people would send us movies."
And she was right. This year films range in production from Burlington to as far as Los Angeles and Australia.
"We like to be really open as to what kind of things people send us," Blackwood said.
The first "green carpet" show, the romantic comedy Is It Just Me?, will screen at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Englert.
Nicholas Downs, the star of Is It Just Me?, plans on returning to his home state from Los Angeles to attend the showing, meet the people involved, and participate in the festival.
Is It Just Me? is the first full-length gay narrative film that Landlocked has featured.
"It is really a universal story," said Downs, an Altoona native. "It is similar to what everyone goes through [in relationships], but instead of having Jennifer Aniston in it, you have two guys."
Is It Just Me? tells the story of a young man, Blaine, who is looking for Mr. Right. When he seems to have found him on an online dating site, Blaine realizes that he signed into the site on his go-go dancing roommate's account. In a quest to find love, he goes through a string of comedic errors in hopes of romance.
The film was shot on a micro budget in July 2009, by writer, director, and producer J.C. Calciano and coproducer Michael Amato. Downs said he knew that the two were behind the film and really wanted to make it a success.
"They were doing something that I knew was going to be good," he said. "I knew it was something to be proud of and write home about."
Landlocked is the 25th film festival in which Is It Just Me? is being featured. The film also just received a New York theatrical release and will open there in October. The film will be released on DVD on Nov. 1.
Downs has received recognition in the past for his work at Landlocked. He won an achievement award in supporting acting for the film that won Best Feature at Landlocked last year, 16 to Life.
Many Iowa natives like as Downs participate in the festival. Burlington resident Lonnie Schuyler, the director of Splatter: Love, Honor, and Paintball, will also be in Iowa City this weekend for the event.
Schuyler won the award for Best Drama at Landlocked in 2007 for his direction in the film Beneath the Mississippi.
His new film is less of a drama and more of a warm-hearted comedy. Schuyler describes the film as a cross between The Hangover and Napoleon Dynamite.
"When I write, I am inspired by people or locations," Schuyler said. "I went and played paintball at Jokers Wild in Burlington, and there were some outrageous characters there and scenery that would look great on film."
Splatter: Love, Honor, and Paintball is Schuyler's third full-length feature film, and although he started as an actor, he said he enjoys being on the other side of the camera better.
Schuyler draws inspiration not only from people he meets and places he goes but from events similar to Landlocked.
"Every festival I go to I make friends and see work that I am just awed by," he said. "It's kind of cool being around creative people; it fuels my juice to keep creating."
This year's festival welcomes newcomers including as Nancy Iverson. Her first film, From Badlands to Alcatraz, is a documentary that will screen at 5 p.m. Friday at the Englert.
Her film takes viewers on a journey with a group of Lakota people from Pine Ridge Reservation, S.D. The group is part of Preservation of Authentic Traditions and Healing, a nonprofit organization that Iverson founded in 2000.
"I made the film because I really wanted to share this story and have other people experience it," she said.
Every summer, her organization brings a group of Native Americans from the Pine Ridge Reservation to San Francisco for a week. They learn how to swim, among other healthy activities, including preparing organic meals.
The culminating event of the weeklong program is a swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco.
"Quite a few of the participants did not know how to swim," Iverson said. "We focus on encouragement and support rather than perfection of a stroke, and I felt the same way about making this film."
In fact, not only was this Iverson's first experience making a film, but she went into the project without any professional training.
"Now that people can actually see the movie there is an incredible amount of interest [in the project] which is very gratifying," she said.
Downs, Schuyler, and Iverson are a testament to the variety and originality that Landlocked honors.
"We like experimental films, and we like to get things from far-off fields," Blackwood said. "We like to look into someone's culture and bring that to Iowa City."
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