Two filmmakers attempt to make a documentary about an anonymous phone-work artist called Longmont Potion Castle who’s been releasing albums of surreal and hilarious prank calls for over thirty years. In spite of a semi-successful crowdfunding campaign and the involvement of celebrity fans, the filmmakers succumb to their own infighting and bad luck leaving an unpaid camera operator to finish the film.
A film within a film, Where in the Hell is the Lavender House? captures the history and ethos of Longmont Potion Castle while following a pair of filmmakers in over their heads. Featuring calls and interviews with Rainn Wilson, Dave Mustaine, Alex Trebek, Travis Ryan, Andrew Bujalski and many more, Where in the Hell is the Lavender House? is not only a glimpse into the mind an incredible artist, it’s also a cautionary tale of how not to make a documentary.
Starring: Ann Lupo, Miles G. Jackson, Kimiko Glenn
“In Reality fearlessly shatters the illusion of the ‘rom-com’ romance, one awkward millennial interaction at a time.” – Refinery29
Despite boasting rich friendships and a creative job, young filmmaker Ann is consumed by the fantasy of finding true love. Just when she thinks she’s found it, she is friend-zoned and the disappointment of rejection shoots her down a deep rabbit hole of unrequited love. Looking for a way to climb out, Ann picks up a camera and sets her sights inward. She confronts multiple characters within her conscious, from a maniacal game show host to a glamorous cabaret performer, that guide her through her investigation of the relationship and her own neuroses. Blending docu-style interview with comedy, drama and hyperbolic fantasies, Ann creates an elaborate, eccentric world that manages to be as intensely relatable as it is one of a kind.
Presented with ReelAbilities Film Festival
A portrait of world music phenomenon Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, a blind indigenous artist on the brink of international reverence. Possessing a deep reserve of musical talent, he struggles with balancing his personal life and keeping the show on the road.
ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE
ReelAbilities strives for inclusion of all people. Individuals needing accommodations to participate should contact the screening venue directly at least two weeks in advance of the event. Our venue is indeed wheelchair accessible.
Each year, CatVideoFest curates a compilation reel of the latest, best cat videos culled from countless hours of unique submissions and sourced animations, music videos, and, of course, classic internet powerhouses. Screening events take place all over the world in a host of venues and raise money for cats in need, often through partnerships with local cat charities, animal welfare organizations, and shelters to identify how best to serve cats in the area.
What better way for us humans to come together than by watching cats?
Starring: William Campbell, Marissa Mathes, Lori Saunders
A crazed artist who believes himself to be the reincarnation of a murderous vampire kills young women, then boils their bodies in a vat in this cult favorite from Roger Corman and American International Pictures.
The films of Roger Corman are often as well-known for their behind-the-scenes stories as they are the ones unfolding on the screen, but none of these tales is quite so complex, or quite so extraordinary, as the making of Blood Bath. The saga began when Corman invested in a Yugoslavian Krimi-like picture entitled Operation Titian just prior to it going into production. Insisting it be filmed in English, he sent actors William Campbell and Patrick Magee, and uncredited story editor Francis Ford Coppola (all fresh from Dementia 13), to Dubrovnik to make a US-friendly movie but wasn’t satisfied with the end results. First it was re-cut and re-scored to create Portrait in Terror, a film more in line with drive-in tastes, then it was handed over to Jack Hill (Spider Baby), followed by Stephanie Rothman (Terminal Island), each undertaking reshoots that resulted in a vampire picture by the name of Blood Bath.
A person talking during a film can be the most annoying thing imaginable – unless that person is the director. Join Vimeo curator Ina Pira as she screens recent and upcoming Staff Picked films with live, unscripted commentary from some of the best creators on Vimeo. Founded in 2008, Vimeo Staff Picks has emerged as one of the preeminent channels for online video and one of the most coveted awards for young filmmakers, having helped launch the careers of many celebrated directors. Hear from the next generation of storytellers in a format that’s sure to be eclectic and insightful.
The entire program will screen once, then a second time with commentary by the directors.
Women Are Mean
Director Doron Max Hagay
2018 / 6 MIN
John Reynolds stars at Greg, a man-child on a rant against women.
I Was In Your Blood
Director Joseph Sackett
2018 / 8 MIN
A young boy falls in love with his babysitter.
Lucia, Before and After
Director Anu Valia
2016 / 13 MIN
After travelling 200 miles, a young woman waits out Texas’s state-mandated 24-hour waiting period before her abortion can proceed.
Miramare
Director Michaela Müller
2010 / 9 MIN
A look at life on the Mediterranean borders of Europe, where tourists try to relax while immigrants struggle to get a chance for a better life.
Allen Anders: Live at the Comedy Castle – Circa 1987
Director Laura Moss
2018 / 7 MIN
The fever dream of a 1980s stand-up comic who is either having a nervous breakdown or the best set of his life.
Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld
Screening in 2D
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where more than one can wear the mask.
Starring: Carmiña Martínez, José Acosta, Natalia Reyes
From the Oscar nominated team behind the genre-defying Embrace of the Serpent comes an equally audacious saga centered on the Wayúu indigenous people during a crucial period in recent Colombian history. Torn between his desire to become a powerful man and his duty to uphold his culture’s values, Rapayet (José Acosta) enters the drug trafficking business in the 1970s and finds quick success despite his tribe’s matriarch Ursula’s (Carmiña Martínez) disapproval. Ignoring ancient omens, Rapayet and his family get caught up in a conflict where honor is the highest currency and debts are paid with blood. A sprawling epic about the erosion of tradition in pursuit of material wealth, Birds of Passage is a visually striking exploration of loyalty, greed, and the voracious nature of change.
Hoop Dreams goes to the mat in Wrestle, an intimate coming-of-age documentary about four members of a high-school wrestling team at Huntsville’s J.O. Johnson High School, a longstanding entry on Alabama’s list of failing schools.
Coached by teacher Chris Scribner, teammates Jailen, Jamario, Teague, and Jaquan each face challenges far beyond a shot at the State Championship: splintered family lives, drug use, teenage pregnancy, mental health struggles, and run-ins with the law threaten to derail their success on the mat and lock any doors that could otherwise open. Tough-love coach Scribner isn’t off the hook, either; he must come to terms with his own past conflicts while unwittingly wading into the complexities of race, class and privilege in the South.
Director Suzannah Herbert and Co-Director Lauren Belfer captured over 650 hours of footage during the course of the team’s final season to create this closely observed, deeply affecting depiction of growing up disadvantaged in America today.
Starring: Keira Knightley, Alexander Skarsgård, Jason Clarke, Alexander Scheer
The Aftermath is set in postwar Germany in 1946. Rachael Morgan (Keira Knightley) arrives in the ruins of Hamburg in the bitter winter, to be reunited with her husband Lewis (Jason Clarke), a British colonel charged with rebuilding the shattered city. But as they set off for their new home, Rachael is stunned to discover that Lewis has made an unexpected decision: they will be sharing the grand house with its previous owners, a German widower (Alexander Skarsgård) and his troubled daughter. In this charged atmosphere, enmity and grief give way to passion and betrayal.
