The sixth annual Indie Grits Festival, hosted by the Nickelodeon Theatre in Columbia, South Carolina, is actually more than just a film festival. Much, much more. From April 20-28, there will be film screenings, food tastings, bands playing, theater performances, a craft fair, a technology conference and oh so much more.
As for the films, though, every night — and a few afternoons — of Indie Grits is jam-packed with unique and creative independent feature-length movies and short films. Screenings take place at two locations: At the original Nickelodeon theater at 937 Main St. and at the New Nick location just up the road at 1607 Main St.
The fest opens with Bill and Turner Ross’ narrative feature Tchoupatoulis, about three brothers who sneak into New Orleans on their own to witness the visual spectacles the city has to offer; and the documentary Dragons of Jim Green, directed by Randy M. Salo, about a...
As for the films, though, every night — and a few afternoons — of Indie Grits is jam-packed with unique and creative independent feature-length movies and short films. Screenings take place at two locations: At the original Nickelodeon theater at 937 Main St. and at the New Nick location just up the road at 1607 Main St.
The fest opens with Bill and Turner Ross’ narrative feature Tchoupatoulis, about three brothers who sneak into New Orleans on their own to witness the visual spectacles the city has to offer; and the documentary Dragons of Jim Green, directed by Randy M. Salo, about a...
- 4/6/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
"General Orders No. 9" is playing in NY starting August 28th at the reRun Gastropub Theater as part of its "ReRun Reruns" series. Visit here to see when it'll play near you. Finding a proper entry point to talk about Robert Persons' "General Orders No. 9" is difficult: the film is so uniquely rich and mysterious that listing its merits almost feels, in a way, belittling. There's often this anxiety in the back of the head when trying to dissect any sort of metaphors or symbols in a movie (in this case, a movie that's basically a string of metaphors/symbols)--on…...
- 8/26/2011
- The Playlist
Robert Persons' General Orders No. 9 plays somewhere between a straight up documentary and an avant-garde experiment rich in mood and atmosphere. It is one of those films that populate the festival circuit, equally wowing and perplexing audiences, picking up critical acclaim and then all but disappearing from the public eye.These films are visual tone poems; essays of reflection and reflex, of history filtered through nightmare, through wonder. These are films that offer personal and earnest views of the world, both inner and outer, ethereal and tangible, through such uncompromising cinematic means that I can't but scratch my head, pondering why gems such as these fall to the wayside (even if I know why). So boy am I glad that I saw General Orders No....
- 6/27/2011
- Screen Anarchy
"Cars 2, directed (like several great Pixar films of the last two decades) by John Lasseter, finds itself in the unlucky position of the not-so-bright kid in a brilliant family," finds Slate's Dana Stevens. "No matter if his performance in school is comfortably average; he'll always be seen as a disappointment compared to his stellar siblings. There's nothing really objectionable about Cars 2, although parents of young children should be warned that a few evil vehicles meet violently inauspicious ends. It's sweet-spirited, visually delightful (if aurally cacophonous), and it will make for a pleasant enough family afternoon at the movies. But we've come to expect so much more than mere pleasantness from Pixar that Cars 2 feels almost like a betrayal."
Nick Schager for the Voice: "Pixar's Cars franchise takes a sharp turn from Nascar mayhem and rural red-state-targeted 50s nostalgia to 007 espionage with this upgraded sequel, though in its...
Nick Schager for the Voice: "Pixar's Cars franchise takes a sharp turn from Nascar mayhem and rural red-state-targeted 50s nostalgia to 007 espionage with this upgraded sequel, though in its...
- 6/25/2011
- MUBI
At once inaccessible and condemnatory for its audience, General Orders No. 9 takes a very firm stance on the future of human civilization’s development and makes it perfectly clear that it doesn’t like our tendency to adapt the Earth to our needs and not vice versa. Its tone is stern and even throughout, which only makes the whole endeavor that much more preachy. Director Robert Persons has created a film whose very format will make it difficult for the average viewer to digest, and on top of that he layered a messaging that wags its finger the whole time as if to say “You know how you’re living isn’t right. Go back to a simpler time.” The message isn’t a bad one, but how he puts it across and the uncompromising scorn the film packs with it makes General Orders No. 9 little more than...
- 6/24/2011
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
Much can be made of duration. The long stretches of time presaging the releases of Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut or, more recently, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, lent each film a preordained measure of value. Yet, those films were helmed by directors with celebrated careers and reputations for being perfectionists. So it comes as an anomaly that General Orders No. 9, premiering at the reRun Gastropub Theater on June 24th, took first-time filmmaker Robert Persons 11 years to make.
General Orders No. 9 is a person-less documentary about Georgia’s ongoing process of urbanization. A synthesis of voiceover, music, maps and imagery, the film considers the possibility of finding meaning in a time of growing disorder. Starting with the establishment of one of Georgia’s centermost towns and ending with the urban sprawl to which it gave way, the film grounded by an occasional narrator who speaks in a slow,...
General Orders No. 9 is a person-less documentary about Georgia’s ongoing process of urbanization. A synthesis of voiceover, music, maps and imagery, the film considers the possibility of finding meaning in a time of growing disorder. Starting with the establishment of one of Georgia’s centermost towns and ending with the urban sprawl to which it gave way, the film grounded by an occasional narrator who speaks in a slow,...
- 6/24/2011
- by Daniel James Scott
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
By Christopher Stipp
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Sue Bourne - Interview
I know, this isn’t quite the movie you were expecting to be showcased here.
Looking at the poster, girls getting their Lord of the Riverdance on, you would probably expect to see a movie about girls fluttering about on a stage in their Shirley Temple curled hair, trying to win the affections of judges as they put on a dazzling show of fancy footwork and high stepping legs. You’d be right, to a degree, but this is a documentary I could not recommend high enough to those looking for a good antidote of the steroid-fueled antics of your local superheroes currently decimating the box office.
What I loved most about Jig is the way director Sue Bourne looks at these dancers.
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Sue Bourne - Interview
I know, this isn’t quite the movie you were expecting to be showcased here.
Looking at the poster, girls getting their Lord of the Riverdance on, you would probably expect to see a movie about girls fluttering about on a stage in their Shirley Temple curled hair, trying to win the affections of judges as they put on a dazzling show of fancy footwork and high stepping legs. You’d be right, to a degree, but this is a documentary I could not recommend high enough to those looking for a good antidote of the steroid-fueled antics of your local superheroes currently decimating the box office.
What I loved most about Jig is the way director Sue Bourne looks at these dancers.
- 6/24/2011
- by Christopher Stipp
Robert Persons’ General Orders No. 9, an elegiac, experimental documentary about the American South, is the type of film that demands viewers to submerge themselves in it like a pool of water—anything less, and it will seem hopelessly abstract. Forgoing anything that could be described as a narrative, it combines a pensive score and poetic voiceover with imagery of nature, maps, crumbling buildings, and small towns giving way to gray, oppressive urban landscapes. “In April, you can still feel it—that something is pushing against the surface of things,” muses narrator William Davidson, as shots of a neglected memorial ...
- 6/23/2011
- avclub.com
(General Orders No. 9 is being distributed theatrically by Variance Films. It opens at the reRun Gastropub in New York City on June 24, 2011. Visit the film’s official website to learn more.)
Deer trail becomes
Indian trail becomes
County road.
General Orders No. 9 is one of those films where the adjectives used to describe it—dense, meditative, reflective, confounding—are intended as compliments, yet they will be mistaken by many for pejoratives. And while it would be stubborn and ignorant to think that everyone will respond to it with open arms, its refusal to speak to anyone except itself is what makes it stand proudly on its own mountain. This first film (how is that possible?!) by Robert Persons is a thoroughly absorbing, hypnotizing experience. Persons’s lifelong passion for the arts—painting, poetry, literature, cinema—is reflected in each and every frame. And while one could write tomes about it,...
Deer trail becomes
Indian trail becomes
County road.
General Orders No. 9 is one of those films where the adjectives used to describe it—dense, meditative, reflective, confounding—are intended as compliments, yet they will be mistaken by many for pejoratives. And while it would be stubborn and ignorant to think that everyone will respond to it with open arms, its refusal to speak to anyone except itself is what makes it stand proudly on its own mountain. This first film (how is that possible?!) by Robert Persons is a thoroughly absorbing, hypnotizing experience. Persons’s lifelong passion for the arts—painting, poetry, literature, cinema—is reflected in each and every frame. And while one could write tomes about it,...
- 6/23/2011
- by Michael Tully
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Reviewed by Amy R. Handler
(June 2011)
Directed/Written by: Robert Persons
Narrated by: William Davidson
Robert Persons may be new to filmmaking, but he runs neck-and-neck with the great Terrence Malick (“The Tree of Life”) when it comes to the poetic acuity and prophetic horror that is cinema at its most profound. But can the average film buff, intent on getting the most bang for his buck, withstand the slothful pressure of philosophically derived dinosaurs swimming the waters of nowhere and rabbit holes from which there’s no return?
“General Orders No. 9” is Persons’ unique portrait of the state of Georgia, a simple tale (a documentary, really) about America’s 13th colony from its humble beginnings to an unforeseen future that only our descendents will witness. If they’re very lucky, that is.
With unforgettable intensity, Persons moves his camera like a finely made brush, tipping and fanning it through the waters,...
(June 2011)
Directed/Written by: Robert Persons
Narrated by: William Davidson
Robert Persons may be new to filmmaking, but he runs neck-and-neck with the great Terrence Malick (“The Tree of Life”) when it comes to the poetic acuity and prophetic horror that is cinema at its most profound. But can the average film buff, intent on getting the most bang for his buck, withstand the slothful pressure of philosophically derived dinosaurs swimming the waters of nowhere and rabbit holes from which there’s no return?
“General Orders No. 9” is Persons’ unique portrait of the state of Georgia, a simple tale (a documentary, really) about America’s 13th colony from its humble beginnings to an unforeseen future that only our descendents will witness. If they’re very lucky, that is.
With unforgettable intensity, Persons moves his camera like a finely made brush, tipping and fanning it through the waters,...
- 6/22/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Reviewed by Amy R. Handler
(June 2011)
Directed/Written by: Robert Persons
Narrated by: William Davidson
Robert Persons may be new to filmmaking, but he runs neck-and-neck with the great Terrence Malick (“The Tree of Life”) when it comes to the poetic acuity and prophetic horror that is cinema at its most profound. But can the average film buff, intent on getting the most bang for his buck, withstand the slothful pressure of philosophically derived dinosaurs swimming the waters of nowhere and rabbit holes from which there’s no return?
“General Orders No. 9” is Persons’ unique portrait of the state of Georgia, a simple tale (a documentary, really) about America’s 13th colony from its humble beginnings to an unforeseen future that only our descendents will witness. If they’re very lucky, that is.
With unforgettable intensity, Persons moves his camera like a finely made brush, tipping and fanning it through the waters,...
(June 2011)
Directed/Written by: Robert Persons
Narrated by: William Davidson
Robert Persons may be new to filmmaking, but he runs neck-and-neck with the great Terrence Malick (“The Tree of Life”) when it comes to the poetic acuity and prophetic horror that is cinema at its most profound. But can the average film buff, intent on getting the most bang for his buck, withstand the slothful pressure of philosophically derived dinosaurs swimming the waters of nowhere and rabbit holes from which there’s no return?
“General Orders No. 9” is Persons’ unique portrait of the state of Georgia, a simple tale (a documentary, really) about America’s 13th colony from its humble beginnings to an unforeseen future that only our descendents will witness. If they’re very lucky, that is.
With unforgettable intensity, Persons moves his camera like a finely made brush, tipping and fanning it through the waters,...
- 6/22/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
The General Orders No. 9 Trailer has premiered. Robert Persons‘ General Orders No. 9 (2009) movie trailer stars William Davidson. General Orders No. 9 (2009)’s plot synopsis: “Awarded for its visionary cinematography, General Orders No. 9 breaks from the constraints of the documentary form as it contemplates the signs of loss and change in the American South. The stunning culmination of over eleven years’ work from first time writer-director Bob Persons, General Orders No. 9 marries experimental filmmaking with an accessible, naturalist sensibility to tell the epic story of the clash between nature and man’s progress, and reaches a bittersweet reconciliation all its own. Told entirely with images, poetry, and music, General Orders No. 9 is unlike any film you have ever seen. A story told in maps, dreams, and prayers, it is one last trip down the rabbit hole before it’s paved over.”
When the viewer sees this...
When the viewer sees this...
- 6/12/2011
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? Some of the best authors will tell you that writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a long one, that you have to weigh every sentence. What better medium to see how this theory plays itself out beyond that than with movie trailers? The Guard Trailer I don't know if it got any better for me in 2008 with regard to unexpected gems than In Bruges. Brendan Gleeson has a certain style,...
- 6/4/2011
- by Christopher Stipp
- Slash Film
I almost became a child of the deep south, but I moved away before what one calls the formative years took place. I often wonder what I'd be like had I stayed in Americus, Georgia. I have a wavering, wistful desire to go back to that town... And thus I wonder if "that town" of my early boyhood still exists or if it has turned into something totally unfamiliar to those young eyes. I have a feeling Robert Persons' General Orders No. 9 may address some of these wonderings of mine. Winning awards for cinematography from Slamdance to River Run, Person's 11- years-in-the-making tone poem on the shifting lands of the American South opens on June 24th at Brooklyn, NY's ReRun Gastropub Theater, with I...
- 6/2/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Last week Dread Central's own Heather Wixson (aka The Horror Chick) and Brian Dreads packed up and headed off to the snow-covered hills of Park City, Utah for both the Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals.
On Saturday night Slamdance held its press event at the Treasure Mountain Inn, and the red carpet was packed with up and coming filmmakers and actors as well as some veterans to the genre.
While at the Slamdance event, Dread Central had the opportunity to talk with the cast and crew of the horror comedy The Scenesters, which focuses on a serial killer stalking hipsters in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood.
Also, we took some time to talk with the creators and cast of The Last Lovecraft, a cool new flick centered around the last descendant of the legendary H.P Lovecraft.
The geek out moment for yours truly came when it was time to...
On Saturday night Slamdance held its press event at the Treasure Mountain Inn, and the red carpet was packed with up and coming filmmakers and actors as well as some veterans to the genre.
While at the Slamdance event, Dread Central had the opportunity to talk with the cast and crew of the horror comedy The Scenesters, which focuses on a serial killer stalking hipsters in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood.
Also, we took some time to talk with the creators and cast of The Last Lovecraft, a cool new flick centered around the last descendant of the legendary H.P Lovecraft.
The geek out moment for yours truly came when it was time to...
- 2/3/2010
- by thehorrorchick
- DreadCentral.com
The 16th annual Slamdance Film Festival just wrapped up in Park City and gave out 10 awards to 12 films and 1 screenplay. There are jury awards, audience awards and two sponsored awards. Out of the 91 films that screened this year, here’s the full list of award winners:
Grand Jury Awards
Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Narrative Film
Snow and Ashes, dir. Charles-Olivier Michaud
Special Jury Mention: One Hundred Mornings, dir. Conor Horgan
Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Documentary Film
American Jihadist, dir. Mark Claywell
Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Animated Short
Seed, dir. Ben Richardson and Daniel Bird
Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Narrative Short
Prvi Dan Mira (First Day of Peace), dir. Mirko Rucnov
Special Jury Mention for a short documentary film: Bout That Bout, dir. Nico Sabenorio
Audience Awards
Audience Sparky Award for Best Narrative Film
The Wild Hunt, dir. Alexandre Franchi
Audience Sparky Award...
Grand Jury Awards
Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Narrative Film
Snow and Ashes, dir. Charles-Olivier Michaud
Special Jury Mention: One Hundred Mornings, dir. Conor Horgan
Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Documentary Film
American Jihadist, dir. Mark Claywell
Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Animated Short
Seed, dir. Ben Richardson and Daniel Bird
Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Narrative Short
Prvi Dan Mira (First Day of Peace), dir. Mirko Rucnov
Special Jury Mention for a short documentary film: Bout That Bout, dir. Nico Sabenorio
Audience Awards
Audience Sparky Award for Best Narrative Film
The Wild Hunt, dir. Alexandre Franchi
Audience Sparky Award...
- 1/30/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Slamdance, which runs concurrently with Park City’s Sundance Film Festival, has announced its 2010 line-up, and there are several choices that look to make genre fans sit up and take notice.
Variety provided the names of the ten narrative and eight documentary feature films that are, in the spirit of the fest’s motto, “by filmmakers, for filmmakers.” Although not all of them are horror related, in the interest of keeping you guys fully informed on all the latest indie happenings (and because some of the docs just sound so damn interesting with topics like William Burroughs and Bolivian women wrestlers!), the full list follows:
Narrative Competition:
Cummings Farm (Andrew Drazek) - Comedy about three couples who try group sex at a lakeside strawberry farm, naively hoping it will lead to enlightenment; with Laura Silverman.
Drones (Amber Benson & Adam Busch) - A man discovers a universal threat to his life,...
Variety provided the names of the ten narrative and eight documentary feature films that are, in the spirit of the fest’s motto, “by filmmakers, for filmmakers.” Although not all of them are horror related, in the interest of keeping you guys fully informed on all the latest indie happenings (and because some of the docs just sound so damn interesting with topics like William Burroughs and Bolivian women wrestlers!), the full list follows:
Narrative Competition:
Cummings Farm (Andrew Drazek) - Comedy about three couples who try group sex at a lakeside strawberry farm, naively hoping it will lead to enlightenment; with Laura Silverman.
Drones (Amber Benson & Adam Busch) - A man discovers a universal threat to his life,...
- 12/10/2009
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
What's that? You can't wait to hear about the Irish post apocalyptic film One Hundred Mornings? Well you don't have to because we already have a review of it right here! Our own Alan Maxwell called it an "uncomfortably realistic vision of the breakdown of society." Yeah, it's good.
So continuing, part of the Slamdance lineup has been announced and it's got quite a few films we've featured.
Want something horrible in the forest? How about YellowBrickRoad?
Or maybe some William Burroughs? How about William S Burroughs: A Man Within?
Yup, the lineup for one of my favorite festivals is looking mighty fine as usual, and we'll be bringing you more shortly.
Partial lineup after the break!
Narrative Competition
Cummings Farm (Andrew Drazek) Comedy about three couples who try group sex at a lakeside strawberry farm, naively hoping it will lead to enlightenment; with Laura Silverman.
Drones (Amber Benson...
So continuing, part of the Slamdance lineup has been announced and it's got quite a few films we've featured.
Want something horrible in the forest? How about YellowBrickRoad?
Or maybe some William Burroughs? How about William S Burroughs: A Man Within?
Yup, the lineup for one of my favorite festivals is looking mighty fine as usual, and we'll be bringing you more shortly.
Partial lineup after the break!
Narrative Competition
Cummings Farm (Andrew Drazek) Comedy about three couples who try group sex at a lakeside strawberry farm, naively hoping it will lead to enlightenment; with Laura Silverman.
Drones (Amber Benson...
- 12/10/2009
- QuietEarth.us
The competitive lineup for the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival (of which Fangoria is a media sponsor) has been revealed via an announcement on Variety. "As in years past, competing films are by first-time feature directors working with limited budgets and without domestic theatrical distribution in place. Among the 18 titles, 11 are world premieres." the trade reports.
Fright fans may recall that Oren Peli's recent hit Paranormal Activity played the fest in 2008. As always, Slamdance will run side-by-side with the Sundance Film Fest in Park City Utah, January 21-28, 2010. While there's plenty of genre fare to be seen, we've got the entire list of films for you to browse below.
Narrative Competition
“Cummings Farm” (Andrew Drazek) Comedy about three couples who try group sex at a lakeside strawberry farm, naively hoping it will lead to enlightenment; with Laura Silverman. “Drones” (Amber Benson & Adam Busch) A man discovers a universal threat to his life,...
Fright fans may recall that Oren Peli's recent hit Paranormal Activity played the fest in 2008. As always, Slamdance will run side-by-side with the Sundance Film Fest in Park City Utah, January 21-28, 2010. While there's plenty of genre fare to be seen, we've got the entire list of films for you to browse below.
Narrative Competition
“Cummings Farm” (Andrew Drazek) Comedy about three couples who try group sex at a lakeside strawberry farm, naively hoping it will lead to enlightenment; with Laura Silverman. “Drones” (Amber Benson & Adam Busch) A man discovers a universal threat to his life,...
- 12/10/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)
- Fangoria
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