2009 Winners

Best Animation
Professional: "Reach", Dir. by Luke Randall, Australia
Amateur: "Emily", Dir. by Kim Leow, Canada

Best Short
Professional: "Collector", Dir. by Dempsey Tillman, CA
Amateur: "Bohemibot", Dir. by Brendan Bellomo, CA

Best Documentary
Professional: "Voices from Inside", Dir. by Lucy Martens, Germany

Best Feature
Professional: "Four of a Kind", Dir. by Fiona Cochrane, Australia

Best of Show
"Lunatics, Lovers & Poets", Dir. by John Scoular, FL

Audience Choice Award
"And We Will Dance", by Steve Childs, NC

2009 Real to Reel Film Festival Schedule! (Scroll down for Synopsis)

_Synopsis
Bohemibot - (PG, Short, 26min., dir. by Brendan Bellomo, CA, USA) - A great cyborg harpist, forced to serve as a pilot in the last war on his planet, struggles to overcome a debilitating injury and the loss of his family. His encounter with a young enemy captive reveals that even the din of war can never silence the voice of the heart.   Severing the Soul - (PG, Doc., 18min., dir. by Barbara Klutinis, CA, USA) - Found footage interweaves an account of Rosemary Kennedy's lobotomy procedure in 1941 with an overview of the psychosurgery movement of the 1930's-1960's in the US.   Pie & Coffee - (PG, Short, 20min., dir. by DJ Holloway, OR, USA) - He's there everyday. The homeless man (Doug Jones, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) preaches again in front of Amerige Corp. as the parade of unlistening employees flow into the multi-million dollar company. His message is scattered, gibberish. No one seems to hear him. He eats, later, at his favorite diner. A slice of apple pie, paid for with the coins he has collected in his small jar. The homeless man's desert is interrupted by a well-dressed man in black (Glyn Ratcliffe), who reads the paper as he sips from his steaming cup of coffee. The two men sit opposite each other in the booth. Their conversation is playfully antagonistic, as the man in black questions the worth of doing good in a world full of evil. As they talk, the intended recipients of the homeless man's preaching face choices affecting themselves and people around them. The vice-president of Amerige Corp, Evan Andrews (Trip Hope) has the opportunity to make a huge profit at the expense of some lower-level employees. His assistant, Madison Klein, (Mackenzie Mason) can make professional gains if she compromises the fidelity of marriage. Daniel Kim (Shane Yoon) can accept his fate or fight back and face even worse consequences. And John Dearborn (James Jeffrey Caldwell) knows he should stop Evan but is able to help conceal the questionable actions. Will the seemingly random words of the homeless man resonate enough to influence their decisions or will they choose a different path?   Le Paradis De L'imbecile (A Fool's Paradise) - (PG, Short, 13min., by Patrick Griffin, NC, USA) - Joe is so immersed in his cinematic fantasies that he is incapable of fulfilling the needs of his girlfriend. Rather than give up his fantasies, he becomes consumed by his imagination in a last ditch effort to save the relationship.   Collector - (R, Short, 14min., dir. by Dempsey Tillman, CA, USA) - Justin Sayer, played by actor Brad Renfro, struggles with a mental illness that has forced him to separate himself from his son and from his very life.   The Crimson Mask - (R, 85min., Feature, by Elias Plagianos, NY, USA) - Two desperate men, from different worlds, find themselves unwitting pawns in an ancient ritual. Greed, Lust, Pride, Anger, and Envy have consumed the lives of Thomas Caine, a seemingly wealthy businessman, and Parker, a down on his luck pro wrestler. Both are overwhelmed with insurmountable debts and struggling to break free by any means. As their lives quickly unravel, so does an age-old secret conspiracy that leads the two men down a deadly path of redemption.   outFitin - (G, Short, 3min., dir. by Amanda Lin, NJ, USA) - An abstract music video exploring the meaning of diversity and individualism. Skylight - (G, Animation, 5min., dir. by David Baas, Canada) - A mock animated documentary about the ecological plight of penguins in the Antarctic, possibly foretelling cataclysmic results for the rest of the world.   Jeopardy - (PG, 10min, Shorts, by Garrick Lane, NC, USA) - A Serial Killer on the loose. A City in Fear. Tonight, the story is about to take another turn.   Saving God - (PG-13, Feature, 101min., dir. by Duane Crighton, Canada) - Who will Save God for the Souls who have Lost Him? Convicted felon Armstrong Cane (Ving Rhames) returns to his neighborhood a changed man looking to take over his father's old church and congregation.  The neighborhood though is tough and full of drugs and gangs.  Through Armstrong's tough demeanor and strong faith he tries to make a difference - especially with Norris - a youth on the edge of falling into a lifetime of drugs and gangs.  Armstrong must also deal with his past history of violence and make sure he doesn't fall again.   Interpretation - (PG, Short, 7min 35sec., by Lin Oeding, CA, USA) - A romantic couple's brief encounter with several philosophical thugs unfolds in an unusual way.   Voices From Inside - (PG-13, Doc., 65min., dir. by Lucy Martens, Germany) - This film is based on the stories of 16 Jewish Israeli voices of conscience, each representing a different facet of the peace movement inside Israel. Through their eyes and unique perspectives, the film traces Zionism from its beginnings to the reality that exist today, with brutal honesty. It is a film about personal development, the evolution of consciousness of each person, moving from a perspective of nationalist myths to a revelation regarding moral choices for their society - a society that is permeated and defined by militarism and denial. These cross-generational voices have all chosen to break Israel's silence. They have created a path of transcendence, reconciliation and solidarity alongside the Palestinians, forging a path for real peace.   Emily - (PG-13, Animation, 1min., dir. by Kim Leow, Canada) - a little girl with all the freedom to do whatever she wants. Outsource - (PG, Short, 12min., dir. by Daniel Trezise, CA, USA) - Max is about to awaken his long dormant desire for human contact.  In his tiny cell of pure function and wall-to-wall screens, he performs menial tasks for the bourgeoisie through a robotic pod.  When he discovers a way to communicate with Alice in the neighboring cell, he'll stop at nothing to reach her.   Faded Glory - (R, Doc., 91min., dir. by Richard Cohen, GA, USA) - Every person who ever played 'the game,' any game, wishes he could play forever. Whether you were a little league slugger, a high school hero or the big man on campus, those youthful experiences never really leave one's deepest memory bank. This is the true story of National Network, a group of 40-something athletes, some of them good friends for over 18 years, reunited by their 1990 manager, Rick Cohen, in order to compete in the 38+ National Amateur Baseball World Series. 'Faded Glory' follows the trials and tribulations of the Network men and how they fought through the seven 'I's: intervention, incarceration, infidelity, incompetence, injuries, illnesses and insanity, including the sudden death of a teammate one month before the tournament. The bond that unites this motley crew is their love for baseball and their desire to correct their mistakes from the past...and move forward. In their attempt to win a national championship, these men discover who they once were and who they are now. The stories are real, the messages enlightening, the results uplifting.   Our Neck of the Woods - (PG, Short, 17min., dir. by Rob Connolly, CA, USA) - explores the world of Bob Underwood, a disenchanted line foreman at Pilgrimtown's Mold-O-Form factory. Day after day, he produces plastic lawn-ornament deer, secretly longing for more out of life. But his family obligations and inability to assert himself keep him in the same position year after year. Until one day, Elsa, a Georgian refugee, is relocated to work at the factory. Enchanted by her quiet thoughtfulness and haunting singing, Bob decides to save her from succumbing to his own fate. He steals the union dues so that she can   leave the factory and live the life he feels he missed out on. His neglect while carrying out the short-sighted and ill-conceived plan, leads to Elsa's emancipation but also his own through his accidental destruction of the entire factory.     Four of a Kind - (R, Feature, 115min., dir. by Fiona Cochrane, Australia) - Four different women, each with a well-hidden secret they are coaxed, tricked or forced into revealing... sometimes it's better to omit the truth.The twists and turns in this psychological thriller mean things are seldom as they seem. Leto - (PG-13, Short, 29min., dir. by Luke Dye, TN, USA) - The short film follows the story of Mr. Leto, a motel assistant manager who has always lived his life in envy. He sits behind his desk, behind the glass looking out onto the other side. He wishes to be somebody...somebody else. He watches as the motel's occupants pass him by. What he wouldn't give to be any one of them, to have their life. Then on a day that begins like every other, Mr. Leto opens the door to a motel room and everything goes dark. When he catches himself in the mirror, he discovers he has become the occupant of the room, his envious dream come true.  Yet as he begins to live out this new life, Mr. Leto discovers everyone has their vice.    A Clean, Well-Lighted Place - (PG, Short, 15min., dir. by Joe Ciaravino, Canada) - Based on the short story written by Ernest Hemingway. Two waiters converse with each other as they wait for the last customer of the night to leave. Every evening, the same customer sits in the back of the elegant café and drinks brandy in order to alleviate his deep feelings of despair. The younger waiter is arrogant and rude with the customer, while the older waiter is patient and sympathizes with the customer's pain and loneliness. After the customer is sent home, the older waiter begins to face an existential crisis of his own. Making his way through the long, dark hours of the night, he eventually discovers a sense of meaning to his life amidst a world that is seemingly 'full of nothing'.   Waiting for Hockney - (PG, 78min., Doc, by Julie Checkoway, UT, USA) - From a cold and lonely studio, Billy Pappas emerges with the pencil drawing on which he's spent a decade. Now, his sole aim is to gain an audience with the world-renowned artist David Hockney---the one man who can validate that Pappas has taken portraiture where 'Lindbergh took the airplane.' What happens when you meet the god of your own making? A tragi-comic story about the lasting power of one man's American dream.   Open Air - (PG-13, Short, 12min., written by David Paterson, dir. by Shira-Lee Shalit, NY, USA) - In an unnamed conflict in an unnamed country, two women, Dreena, ('Munich's' Lynn Cohen), and Anna, (Agata Domanska) struggle to maintain some form of normality in their lives, all the while trapped from fleeing their homes due to an unseen sniper, who keeps the two women forever on guard.   Invisible Girlfriend - (R, Doc., 76min., dir. by David Redmon & Ashley Sabin, CT, USA) - A man named Charles rides his big red bicycle through rural Louisiana to find his invisible girlfriend, Joan of Arc. Along the way, he meets a variety of people to guide him to his final arrival in New Orleans.   Zipper (Ritch-Ratch) - (Short, 30min., by Asaph Polonsky, Israel) - After a long period of compulsory seclusion, Yaki Gabai, a former building contractor, has again something to look forward to: a voicemail message on his answering machine tells him that his son is about to arrive from abroad for his Bar-Mitzvah celebration. At the same time,he experiences a first human touch after a long time: someone is inserting Polaroid photos under the main door of his house. Surrounded by fake landscapes formed by jigsaw puzzles which serve as a window to the world outside and being dependent upon high dosage of tranquilizing pills, the fragile reality Yaki has built for himself during his solitude will shatter in face of the complex relationship that would ensue with the stranger invading his house and life. Reach - (G, Animation, 4min., dir. by Luke Randall, Australia) - A tiny robot is given the gift of life with only one limitation, the length of his power cable. When a curious bird appears at the workshop window, his lust to live outside of his reach, may be his demise.   And We Will Dance - (G, 69min.,Doc., by Steve Childs, NC, USA) - peeks into the lives of incredibly gifted dance students at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. The film crew follows a select few students throughout their typical days from dorms to dressing rooms, studios to rehearsals. The audience will get a first-hand look into the passionate intensity and the phenomenal dedication these young dancers exude in pursuit of their dreams. This film also shows artist/filmmaker Steve Childs' fascination for drawing and painting dancers and glimpses into his creative process. 'The charm of these spunky personalities is infectious,' says the director, describing the students as 'athletes, full of honesty, humor, charisma and warmth.' And We Will Dance is a documentary film. It is somewhat experimental, showing stunning beauty, with multiple montages of flowing bodies, color and light. Often the audience feels as if they are moving right alongside these dancers. Sometimes the camera is mere inches away from a sprinting dancer, and yet moving right along with them. It is a visual delight that is never seen from the seat of a dance performance hall. Still photography catches some wonderfully intimate moments, including quick surprises using multiple 'bursts' of still photos strung together, which create a fleeting, playful quality to this film. 'I just wanted to film And We Will Dance from my perspective as an artist, having painted dancers for more than twenty-five years,' says Childs. 'That's why I'm making this film and not someone else.   Lunatics, Lovers & Poets - (R, Feature, 116min., dir. by John Scoular, FL, USA) - Scottish-Catholic and drunk, a struggling Novelist finds himself on the verge of success when his alcoholic Shakespeare reciting Father shows up after 20 years. If he can forgive the sins of the Father; he might not repeat 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.