Standing at the Crossroads: Filmmakers celebrate independence

"Telling our stories" is the mantra of the Crossroads Film Festival, a four-day celebration of independent film kicking off its eighth year today.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation, there is no shortage of stories. Several of this year's screenings are Katrina-themed films.

"A lot of what we get every year is Mississippi filmmakers telling their experiences and stories," said festival director Herman Snell, "so a lot of them have Katrina documentaries that they've done."

Snell said there is no one better to tell the story of Katrina than the filmmakers who experienced it.

"We don't want anybody in Washington, D.C., or anywhere else in the world to forget what happened during Hurricane Katrina down here," he said. "The people documenting these stories, they know how it affects us."

DOCUMENTING KATRINA

One such filmmaker is New Orleans resident and Ole Miss alumnus Barlow Jacobs, who wrote, produced and stars in the feature Low and Behold.

The film is the story of Turner Stull (Jacobs), a directionless young man who comes to New Orleans to work as an insurance claims adjuster.

The film is based on Jacobs’ own experiences.

I had been living in New Orleans for three years when Katrina hit and I evacuated back home to Tennessee,” he said. “My house was destroyed. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do next, and a family friend approached me and said, ‘Why don’t you come do insurance claims down in south Florida?’ ”

After working as a claims adjuster for three months, Jacobs moved back to New Orleans where he and director Zack Godshall decided to make a film of his experiences, financed by the money Jacobs had made.

The film, shot on location in greater New Orleans, went into production just a scant eight months after Katrina hit, giving a fly-on-the-wall view of New Orleans’ devastation and recovery.

“Our entire cast and crew was from New Orleans and greater Louisiana, and that was important to us ... to actually have people working on the film who had experienced the devastation of Katrina,” Jacobs said.

Low and Behold premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was met with a tremendous response.

“People just really got it and connected with it,” Jacobs said.

Other Crossroads films dealing with Katrina include This is My Home: My Katrina Story, Katrina’s Wake, Above the Line: Saving Willie Mae’s Scotch House and An American Opera.

Premiere films

Snell said that several of the films, such as Low and Behold, come to Crossroads while making the festival circuit.

“We always have ... a world cinema showcase where we show all our films that we’ve gotten from Sundance and other festivals around the world,” he said.

Some films even make their debut at Crossroads.

“There’s quite a few that are Mississippi premieres and a couple of world premieres as well,” Snell said.

One film making its world premiere at Crossroads is The Novice, a film written and directed by Mobile native Murray Robinson, a graduate of Millsaps College who wrote the film’s script while living in Jackson.

The film tells the story of Peter (Jacob Pitts), a Jesuit seminarian whose path in life is altered when he falls in love with a flower child named Jill (Amy Acker). The supporting cast includes Oscar winner Alan Arkin as well as acting vets Frank Langella and Orson Bean, who all play priests.

The film was shot in Robinson’s home state of Alabama and financed by local money. The film was completed in 2005, and while Robinson has been seeking a theatrical release for the film, Arkin’s recent Oscar win has brought welcome attention to The Novice.

“When we cast Alan, Little Miss Sunshine hadn’t even gone into production yet,” Robinson said. “None of that could have been foreseen ... we were delighted when he read the script and liked it and responded to it.”

Also making its world premiere at the festival is Heart of an Empire, a feature documentary about a unique Star Wars fan club. Other notable features include 10 Items or Less, starring Mississippi native and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman, and Come Early Morning, the directorial debut of actress Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy) that was partially shot in Mississippi, starring Ashley Judd. Adams will be attending the festival and hold a Q&A session after the screening.

‘Mr. Faulkner’ on film

Of particular interest to longtime Mississippi arts patrons is the film version of Jackson actor and playwright John Maxwell’s popular one-man show, Oh, Mr. Faulkner, Do You Write?, which makes its Mississippi premiere at the festival.

Shot over a series of eight shows in front of a live audience at the University of Mississippi by director Jimbo Barnett, a Meridian native who resides in Los Angeles, Mr. Faulkner has a “concert film” feel to it that effectively translates Maxwell’s stage show to celluloid.

“The mission was to preserve the art,” said Barnett. “I didn’t really want to mess with it much.”

The duo was allowed by the William Faulkner estate to shoot exteriors and additional scenes at Rowan Oak and even use objects that belonged to Faulkner, including his typewriter.

More than movies

But Crossroads is not just about screening independent films. The society is dedicated to cultivating the filmmakers of tomorrow through its workshops and educational programs.
“Certainly to promote independent film you have to encourage independent film being made,” Snell said. “Mississippi, with all its literary storytelling tradition, the next generation of those folks are telling their stories through film.”

Snell said that with camera equipment becoming more portable and affordable, it’s easier than ever to be a filmmaker.

“It just goes to show that anybody that has an idea and a little bit of gear that’s cheaper by the day can go and shoot any stories they have and have the opportunity to share it with the world,” he said.

Parties, too

Another part of the Crossroads experience is the nightly after-parties featuring live bands where filmmakers can mix it up with fans.

“A big part of the movie watching experience is the music,” Snell said, “so we take bands that we think are talented and put a bunch of filmmakers in front of them and see if they enjoy it.”

This year the fest brings in popular national indie rock acts such as Snowden, Deerhunter, Beach House, Amanda Ray, Unwed Sailor and Bear Colony along with local favorites Questions in Dialect and Hattiesburg’s Dark Knights of Camelot. They’ll perform at parties at Hal & Mal’s tonight and Friday and the awards ceremony at George Street Grocery Saturday.

Fans and supporters, Snell said, sustain Crossroads, a nonprofit organization. “This is the only opportunity that most people get to see these films,” he said. “By people coming and supporting it, it allows us to continue to grow and have more things like this every year.”