2007 Winners

Best in Show $1000 -  "My Name is Wallace"Written and Directed by Bob Pondillo, Produced by David Lawrence, Jessica Berryman & Bob Pondillo

Audience Choice Award $300- "Simple Things" Written by Andrew C. Erin & Peter Ferland, Directed by Andrew C. Erin, Produced by David Huff, Olson Huff, and Tosca Musk

Best Prefessional Documentary $500-   "Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa" Directed by Jeremy Stulberg, and Randy Stulberg, Produced by Jeremy Stulberg, Randy Stulberg, and Eric Juhola

Best Amateur Documentary $250- "Darius Goes West: The Ride of His Life" Written and Directed by Logan Smalley

Best Professional Animation $500- "Raccoon and Crawfish" Directed by Calvert J. Waller III, Peter Hale, Mark Edwards, Karabo Legwaila, Heather Carpini, and Shaun Foster, Produced by Dale Rood, Peter Golia, and Ray Halbritter

Best Amateur Animation $250- "Fission" Written and Animated by Kun-I Chang

Best Professional Short $500 - "Warlord" Written and Directed by David Garrett, Produced by Kaer Vanice

Best Amateur Short $250- "The Little Gorilla" Written and Directed by Harry Kellerman

Best Professional Feature $500 - "Mojave Phone Booth" Written and Directed by John Putch, Produced by John Putch, Jerry Jacobs, and Jerry Rapp

2007 Real to Reel Film Festival Schedule! (Scroll down for Synopsis)

Day Playing	Title	Rating	Runtime	Category
Wednesday, July 18 - 7pm-until
	Scaling Up	G	7:47	Animation
	Home for Good	PG	9:46	Short
	Jonas	PG	45:00	Documentary
Intermission
	The Counter	PG-13	12:56	Short
	Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life	PG	87:00	Documentary
	Red Autumn	PG-13	15:00	Short
Thursday, July 19 - 7pm-until
	Blue Suede Wings	G	16:45	Short
	Warlord	PG	12:00	Short
	Simple Things	PG	94:00	Feature
Intermission
	My Name is Wallace	PG-13	17:05	Short
	Kilroy Was Here	PG	15:00	Short
	Kamp Katrina	R	73:00	Documentary
Friday, July 20 - 7pm-until
	Raccoon and Crawfish	G	7:30	Animation
	Remembered	PG	16:18	Short
	Come Walk in My Shoes	PG	56:45	Documentary
	Who to Trust	PG	8:57	Short
Intermission
	Dr. Undead's Frightfest	PG	15:00	Short
	Meter	R	22:13	Short
	Mojave Phone Booth	R	88:00	Feature
Saturday, July 21 - Matinee - 1-5pm
	The Little Gorilla	PG	12:00	Short
	Somewhere in the City	R	13:00	Short
	Cold Ones	R	115:00	Feature
	My War, My Story	PG-13	87:09	Documentary
	Abomination	PG-13	26:46	Documentary
Saturday, July 21 - 7pm-until
	Fission	G	5:00	Animation
	Pillow Girl	PG-13	8:00	Short
	The Von	PG	6:59	Short
	Not Just Another B Movie	PG	5:30	Short
	Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa	R	64:00	Documentary
Intermission
	Welcome to Tolono	R	84:00	Feature
Awards & Party!
FILM SYNOPSIS
"Scaling Up", Animation, Written & Animated by Brian Blasiak To cover his affair, Jimmy's father takes him to a local jazz club so Jimmy can practice his trumpet. With his father in another room, Jimmy sits on the stage and reads his comic book. Suddenly, his father's voice booms through the room. After a few moments of lackluster practice, Jimmy hears a muffled sound coming from a pile of old instruments. Tentatively, he investigates the noise, eventually picking up an old trumpet. As the trumpet meets his lips, something magical happens. While Jimmy gets lost in this experience, his father opens the door and reality comes crashing back. Now, Jimmy is faced with which trumpet to take home: the new uninspiring one or the old magical one? "Home for Good", Short, Written & Directed by Todd Tinkham War is hell...especially for those left behind. Can a young woman's longing bring her soldier husband home? And will he come home for good? "Jonas", Documentary, Written & Directed by Eli Daughdrill "An intimate portrait of Jonas, a 34 yr old schizophrenic, fashioned by his brother, Eli. The film details Jonas's life: marginalized, banal, and unfulfilled. We see a man completely aware of his illness who refuses to let it define him, but who also struggles to find anything else that will. We watch Jonas struggle to keep a job, maintain relationships, and for his own independence, while Eli and the rest of the family relate what they remember from Jonas's initial breakdown, their relationships with him, and his troubled childhood. Through it all, Eli gives his own feelings and reflections, as he struggled to understand what was happening with his brother, and how the illness affected their relationship, before and after the diagnosis. A highly personal film that exposes the complexities of family dynamics, of Jonas himself, and how labels like schizophrenic are incomplete." "The Counter", Short, Written & Directed by Lauren Wagner, Produced by Lauren Wagner & Mark Austin 1962 Alabama. A changing world view visits a small town diner when one day three black students attempt to desegregate the white only lunch counter. The diner's waitress must decide if she will follow the local law of segregation or help the students while members of the town watch her every move. "Darius Goes West", Documentary, Written and Directed by Logan Smalley Where would you go if you'd never been away from home? What would you do it you didn't have much time left? Meet Darius Weems, 16, from Athens, Georgia. Darius has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the most common fatal genetic disorder to affect children worldwide. We (a crew of 11) decided there was no need for his quality of life to disintegrate along with his muscles, so we rented a wheelchair-accessible RV and took Darius, who had never seen mountains, the ocean or even crossed a state line, on the adventure of a lifetime. Our goals: To reach Los Angeles and convince MTV's 'Pimp My Ride' to customize Darius's wheelchair, and to raise awareness of DMD, particularly among our generation, who doesn't know Jerry Lewis. "Red Autumn", Short, Written and Directed by Mohammad "Mike" Elsherif Rick, a guy who has seen it all, finds himself in a drug deal that ends in murder. He's killed Brenda and feels that his problems are over. Things change when a little girl comes to his doorstep looking for help. "Blue Suede Wings", Short, Written by Elizabeth Yeager and Marian Yeager, Directed by Marian Yeager, Asst. Dir. Jennifer Milliman and Stacy Beckwith, Produced by Marian Yeager, Elizabeth Yeager, and Monica Lund What would happen if you woke up to find the tooth fairy in your room? See what happens when 8 year old Lewis catches the thief of teeth, the tooth fairy. . .Except it's not exactly what he's expecting. "Warlord", Short, Written and Directed by David Garrett, Produced by Kaer Vanice An enraged 10-year-old boy lashes out at the hypocrisies around him, then breaks free from society and flees into the wilderness to start a tribe of his own. "Simple Things", Feature, Written by Andrew C. Erin & Peter Ferland, Directed by Andrew C. Erin, Produced by David Huff, Olson Huff, and Tosca Musk After the death of his wife, Dr. Evan Gibbs and his 10 year old son, Nate, leave Chicago to spend the summer setting up a clinic in the North Carolina Mountains . Clashing against the ways of the small community Evan is forced to deal with his recent loss while reconnecting with his son and learning a different pace of life. "Simple Things" is one of the most genuinely heartwarming, moving films about small-town life in America.? - Richard Propes, IndependentCritics.com "My Name is Wallace", Short, Written and Directed by Bob Pondillo, Produced by David Lawrence, Jessica Berryman & Bob Pondillo Wallace Waverly is a socially sheltered, high functioning mentally challenged man who has lived with his mother all his life. Upon her death, Wallace finds himself alone and lonesome, rattling around in mom's big, old Victorian home. Wallace's days now consist of playing ragtime on the family piano and gazing out the front window. One day, as he browses through the personal section of a newspaper he sees an ad that reads: 'Lonely? Need Love? Call 1-900-HOT BABES.' Wallace, taking the ad literally, dials the number and falls in love with Tiffany, the 900 sex-line operator he encounters. 'My Name is Wallace,' while a sweet and touching comedy, is also the story of personal salvation through love. "Kilroy Was Here", Short; Written and Directed by Charlie Boyles Kilroy Was Here is set in France during World War II. There, an American pilot hangs helplessly from his parachute, tangled in a massive tree. He is soon discovered by a group of orphaned children who have been forced into primitive and feral means in order to survive the war. Separately, the pilot and the children fought for different causes in the same war. Now together, they forge a connection that transcends language - and their cause becomes one. Kilroy Was Here won the FujiFilm Audience Impact Award at the 2006 Angelus Film Festival. This award is presented to the live-action film whose compelling story, imagery, content and technical excellence delivers strong emotional audience impact. This film was also awarded the Act One Award for Outstanding Screenplay, another 2006 Angelus Film Festival Award. "Kamp Katrina", Documentary; Written and Directed by David Redmond and Ashley Sabin Kamp Katrina, a cinéma vérité documentary, follows the in-depth lives of a small group of people who have taken refuge in a garden transformed into a tent city by an extraordinary New Orleans couple, Ms. Pearl and her husband, David. Carnivalesque Films latest documentary uses tragedy as a tool to clarify and illuminate abandonment and madness of their lives. This film has no political targets; instead, it focuses on the struggle of individuals who attempt to pick up their lives in the face of loss, grief, and hope. "Raccoon and Crawfish", Animation; Directed by Calvert J. Waller III, Peter Hale, Mark Edwards, Karabo Legwaila, Heather Carpini, and Shaun Foster, Produced by Dale Rood, Peter Golia, and Ray Halbritter A hungry raccoon searches for food and finds a crawfish on a quest for glory. Their battle will decide the fate between an ego full of pride or a belly full of food. "Remembered", Shorts, Directed by Brian Lee Franklin, Produced by Brian Lee Franklin and John Myers In the untamed West of post-Civil War America , the outlaw Dead Eye Porter is lost in the Nevada desert, having been mysteriously shot in the side. On his way for an appointment in San Francisco to begin publication on a book detailing his exploits, he is rescued by a young black man with seemingly good intentions. It quickly becomes apparent that the man is not all he seems and the two unlikely traveling partners must keep a close eye on each other as well as the dangers that surround them if they hope to make it out alive. "Come Walk in my Shoes", Documentary, Written and Directed by Robin Smith, Produced by Robin Smith and Melanie Star Wilson Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) leads colleagues from the House and Senate on an emotional pilgrimage to 'sacred sites of the Civil Rights Movement' in Alabama . The journey begins in Montgomery where an 18-year-old Lewis first met Martin Luther King, Jr. and ends on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma where the future congressman was brutally beaten leading a march for the right to vote. Along the way we are introduced to some of Lewis's friends who, as he puts it, are among the 'countless unsung heroes who cared deeply, sacrificed much, and fought hard for a better America 'Archival film, historic photographs, and music recorded at mass meetings bring the personal recollections vividly to life. "Who to Trust", Shorts, Written and Directed by Dean Peterson A man realizes that his journal has gone missing from his room. The book where he wrote every single personal thought; his opinions about love, life, and worst of all his friends and family. He becomes paranoid of everybody including his roommate, his friends, and his girlfriend. Whenever he sees somebody he recounts what he's written about them and dreads that they could be reading it. Eventually he accuses his girlfriend of stealing it and breaks up with her. Despondent, he goes home and realizes that he accidentally turned it in to the library, where a lonely librarian pages through the book. "Dr. Undead's Fright Fest", Shorts, Written and Directed by Adam Tate The competition is a killer when you're dealing with the dead. "Meter", Shorts, Directed by Garrick Lane, Produced by Mandi Drum Randle has just picked up his last fare of the night, a narcissistic, angry and aggressive lawyer, Charles who makes a proposal; Two hundred dollars for fifteen minutes. What Randle does not realize is, in taking the two hundred dollars; it will leave him subject to a grueling storm of opinionated rage ending in a tragic turn of events changing both his and Charles' lives forever. "Mojave Phone Booth", Feature, Written and Directed by John Putch, Produced by John Putch, Jerry Jacobs, and Jerry Rapp In the middle of the Mojave Desert , rests an abandoned phone booth, riddled with bullet holes, graffiti, its windows broken, but otherwise functioning. Its identity was born on the Internet, and for years travelers would make the trek down a lonely dirt road and camp next to the booth, in the hopes that it might suddenly ring, and they could connect with a stranger (often from another country) on the other end of the line. This is the story of four working class people from Las Vegas whose lives intersect with this mystical outpost. "The Little Gorilla", Shorts, Written and Directed by Harry Kellerman The Little Gorilla is about a boy who must find the courage to climb a tall and scary jungle gym. In the shadows of looming NYC skyscrapers, and an older brother who lacks faith, the Little Gorilla must unchain the King Kong within. "Somewhere in the City", Shorts, Written Directed and Produced by Ramsey Denison Former drug addict Toby Cray has straightened out his life, but finds straightening other people's lives out impossible. Toby's efforts to help the homeless have all been unsuccessful and he's about to give up when he meets Gabe, an odd, but determined drifter who needs a chance. Will Toby give him one or have years of failure brought him to a point where he no longer has the heart to help. Inspired by the director's experience with the homeless, "Somewhere in the City" is a gritty, realistic portrait about finding hope in seemingly hopeless situations. "Cold Ones", Feature, Written and Directed by Garrett Clancy, Produced by Garrett Clancy, Paul Hellweg, Josephina Sykes, and Patricia Isgate K.C. Corcoran has written one novel, but it's been 10+ years and his drinking and gambling since the weak sales and mediocre reviews re: same book has caused his girlfriend Becky to give K.C. 'the boot'. K.C. then takes a remote mountain cabin - sight unseen - in order to find redemption through the writing of a new book. The small-town locals, however, have something to say about this idea, and K.C. finds himself pulled into the relationship dramas of a group of angry and frustrated 'fringe-dwellers'. "My War, My Story", Documentary, Directed by Andy Blood, Produced by Carol Dykas Iraq war vets from around the country talk about why many of them oppose the war. Most of them remain loyal to their branch of the service, but believe that U.S. involvement in Iraq is wrong. This documentary is not a statement from the political left-- many of these vets who now abhor the war come from conservative backgrounds. The film is divided into ten topical sections: Why are we in Iraq , Supporting the Troops, On Coming Home, etc. The style is very open, candid and informal. There is some footage from Iraq , including live combat footage involving one of the vets. Many of the vets remain very troubled by their experiences. For them, the war is not over. "Abomination: Homosexuality and the Ex-Gay Movement", Documentary, Written and Directed by Alicia Salzer, Produced by Roy Harker and Anat Salomon Sexual orientation conversion ('reparative') therapies have been criticized by mainstream mental health professionals but are increasingly being practiced by conservative faith communities across the US . Abomination profiles four individuals: Nita, who spent twenty years attempting to suppress her lesbian feelings; Dave, who found the ex-gay community supportive but the 'treatment' ineffective; Randy, a minister who describes his process of integrating his gay and religious identities; and Mary Lou, a mother estranged from her lesbian daughter. Psychiatrist Robert Spitzer, MD, discusses his controversial research on reparative therapy. Mental health experts including Jack Drescher, MD also give their views, and author, Wayne Besen, shares his investigative findings of the ex-gay movement. Abomination is a poignant testament to human resilience and to the sometimes difficult journey to self-acceptance. "Fission", Animation, Written and Animated by Kun-I Chang Fission is a motion Graphic film created by Kun-I Chang. It tells a simple story about a man who sees himself as graffiti on the wall. As the process of the character attempt to escape develops captivating graphics begin to emerge the wall. These elements follow (sometimes attack) the character. The conflict between the two and the environment literally grows out of control and leads us to the resolution. A metaphor of recycling and endless 'Fission' "Pillow Girl", Shorts, Written, Directed and Produced by Ronnie Cramer Pillow Girl was originally a sound-art work created for the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver . Musician/Artist Ronnie Cramer scanned the covers and inside pages of a number of lurid, vintage paperbacks, then ran the collected image and text data through a variety of synthesizers. The resulting sound files were then processed and remixed into a collection of electronic soundscapes called Pillow Girl and Other Songs of Romance. One of these 'songs' was used for the soundtrack for the Pillow Girl film. The recently completed visual portion of the film makes use of the covers themselves, with one illustrated figure morphing into the next every two seconds. During the course of the five minute running time, over 200 covers are presented in this fashion. "The Von", Shorts, Written, Directed and Produced by John Mavety Schoolboy Alex Vonzitzavitz, aka 'The Von', is about to face the most humiliating experience of his life. Remember that nightmare you had about turning up to school naked? Well this is worse.But don't panic, superheroes like 'The Von' always find a way. "Not Just Another B Movie", Shorts, Written, Directed and Produced by Bobby Kanaeaupuni Ryan awakes to a frightening phone call from his girlfriend; soon he discovers that the Apocalypse has come. Can he survive the zombies and monsters invading the office, or will he fall victim to the true terror that lurks beyond one of these doors? "Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa ", Documentary, Directed by Jeremy Stulberg, and Randy Stulberg, Produced by Jeremy Stulberg, Randy Stulberg, and Eric Juhola Look out the window while you're driving through the Southwest. You'll see stark beauty, but you won't see the underground community living in the distance. The Mesa has no electricity, running water, or police. It draws a cross-section of Americans from veterans to old hippies and teenage runaways. They all live on the fringe in 'the last part of America that is truly free. Anti-establishment beliefs are tested when rebel runaways called 'the nowhere kids' begin to steal from other residents. Mesa elders form a council. This self-imposed government is exactly what they have come to the Mesa to escape. "Welcome to Tolono", Feature, Written by Mark Roberts, Directed by Mark Roberts, Shadie Elnashai, Karla Strum, and Matt Mann, Produced by Andy Warfel, Michael Mapes, Don Ferguson, Shadie Elnashai, Nichole Wleklinski, and Teresa Connors After his release from prison on drug charges, Dean Sanders (Mike Trippiedi) returns to his hometown of Tolono, a tiny Midwestern farming community in central Illinois. While struggling to find work, he organizes an AA meeting in the basement of the Baptist church, a meeting that attracts an odd mix of people, with varying backgrounds and addictions. Among them are Joyce Woodcock (Kay Holley), a fifty-year-old self-described drunk, who's contemplating suicide, after a humiliating end to her thirty year marriage; Red Merrel (Gary Ambler) a long-haul truck driver, who has an out-of-control sexual addiction; and Natalie Darnell (Colleen Klein) a young stripper from an abusive background. Welcome to Tolono shows the struggles of real people with real problems, trying to help themselves in a small town where anonymity is impossible, and the hypocrisy of organized religion is unforgivable. As their lives intersect, friendships and alliances are formed, and tragedy is the glue that ultimately bonds them. Real to Reel Film Festival and the Cleveland County Arts Council are not responsible for content on external websites or content in trailers associated with films.