SIDETRACK FILMS

Low and Behold -- Sundance Film Festival Screening Review

I wait listed Low and Behold at the Sundance Festival in Salt Lake City tonight and have time to share my thoughts about this film

Low and Behold combines fictional and non-fictional elements to create a compelling story about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The fact that most of the cast and crew were from (or near ) New Orleans gives this film a personal flavor.

Tanner Stully comes to New Orleans to work for his uncle as an insurance claims adjuster. Tanner's crass uncle is mostly in it for the money (and in the film as our main comic relief, helping to ease some of the somberness of the subject matter).

Tanner has difficulty adjusting to this job and finding his way around New Orleans. He's stopped near some abandoned warehouses trying to figure out a map when Nixon, a New Orleans native sticks his head in the car window and offers to help Tanner find his next client's home in return for a ride to the park to look his daughter's missing dog. A scared Tanner leaves Nixon in the dust, but is later forced to form an alliance with him when he gets trapped on a client's roof and needs the passing Nixon to prop the ladder back up so that he can get down. – read more

From Jen's Green Journal – Posted on January 27 2007

Low and Behold

Sundance's Low and Behold Fights Swag Guilt

Feeling guilty about the Sundance swag you’ve been collecting while working in a soulless industry that has no redeeming social value? Or maybe just feeling scared about an IRS audit?

There’s a way you can ease your weary conscience. The filmmakers behind the New Orleans-based drama Low And Behold are holding a donation drive to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans, helping many still suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Sidetrack Films and the Louisiana Film Commission have created a drop-off station at The Blackhouse at Buona Vita, located at 628 Heber Avenue between Park and Main Street. – read more

From The Hollywood Reporter – Posted on January 25 2007

Low and Behold

Barlow Jacobs: Major Adjustments

After fleeing New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, actor-writer Barlow Jacobs took refuge at his childhood home in Lookout Mountain, Tenn. There he watched and waited with the rest of the world as the horrors unfolded. Returning to Louisiana about a month later, he found his house had been destroyed -- not by water damage but by a falling tree. Relatively homeless and broke, he contemplated his next move. A family friend noted that there would be a growing need for insurance claims adjusters throughout the storm-ravaged region. So Jacobs traveled to Texas for training to obtain a temporary adjuster's license. "It was one of the most bizarre weeks of my life," he recalls. "Two hundred people, everything from two-toothed welders to disbarred lawyers. The room was just filled with characters."

The "writer part" of Jacobs went into high gear. He notes, "I had another friend who went with me, and I was making him take notes on the actual [course], 'cause I couldn't write fast enough about all the things that were surrounding me." Once he earned the temporary adjuster's license, Jacobs called his friend, film director Zack Godshall, and told him, "Listen, I've got a movie that we need to make, and I'm going down to Florida, and I'm going to do all the research, and then I'm going to come to New Orleans, where we'll write a script and make a movie."

Such bursts of creative enthusiasm can often fade quickly. But that was not the case with Jacobs. This month, the film project he proposed to Godshall, called Low and Behold, debuts at the Sundance Film Festival, with Jacobs credited as co-writer, producer, and star.
– read more

From www.backstage.com – Posted on January 24 2007

Low and Behold

Sundance Blogging: Low and Behold

I just returned from the screening of the early front runner for my favorite Sundance film, Low and Behold. The true indie film tells the story of Turner Stull, an insurance claims adjuster who journeys to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. There, he meets a local man named Nixon who’s seeking help in finding his lost dog, and an odd friendship forms between the two. Eddie Rouse is magnificent in his role as Nixon, an extremely powerful perfomance. I will have a full review at a later date, but this movie is a must see. – read more

From CinemATL Magazine – Posted on January 22 2007

Low and Behold

Film 'Low and Behold' headed for mountains: Louisiana filmmaker's work picked for this year's Sundance Film Festival

Fact-based fiction and the crushing reality of the worst natural disaster in United States history collide in a Louisiana film that’s been selected for this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The annual event in Park City, Utah, is among the world’s most prestigious film festivals.

Low and Behold is the work of Lafayette filmmaker Zack Godshall and his New Orleans friend and collaborator, Barlow Jacobs. The two were looking for a project to do when a family friend suggested that Jacobs, then displaced by Hurricane Katrina, work in south Florida as an insurance claims adjuster.

– read more

From 2theadvocate.com – Posted on January 19 2007

Low and Behold

N.O. film receives acclaim: 'Low and Behold' accepted into 2007 Sundance

Filmmakers Zack Godshall and Barlow Jacobs had thoughts of a movie about an insurance adjuster working in a hurricane-ravaged city. Producers normally would have to pay millions to construct such settings.
But Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans provided a background that was all too real.

"It was a real life setting with a lot of people who actually lived through the storm," said Godshall, a Lafayette native and resident. "They were literally trying to rebuild or do whatever they could to get their lives back in order.

"The setting was so immediate. It didn't exist before when it was regular old New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish. It's kind of like a documentary of that time and place."

Godshall and Jacob's product, Low and Behold, was impressive enough to be accepted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, the premier showcase of new work by American and international independent filmmakers. The movie will premiere Jan. 21 as part of the festival's American Spectrum section. – read more

From theadvertiser.com – Posted on January 05 2007

				Low and Behold Low and Behold -- Sundance Film Festival Screening Review I wait listed Low and Behold at the Sundance Festival in Salt Lake City tonight and have time to share my thoughts about this film Low and Behold combines fictional and non-fictional elements to create a compelling story about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The fact that most of the cast and crew were from (or near ) New Orleans gives this film a personal flavor. Tanner Stully comes to New Orleans to work for his uncle as an insurance claims adjuster. Tanner's crass uncle is mostly in it for the money (and in the film as our main comic relief, helping to ease some of the somberness of the subject matter). Tanner has difficulty adjusting to this job and finding his way around New Orleans. He's stopped near some abandoned warehouses trying to figure out a map when Nixon, a New Orleans native sticks his head in the car window and offers to help Tanner find his next client's home in return for a ride to the park to look his daughter's missing dog. A scared Tanner leaves Nixon in the dust, but is later forced to form an alliance with him when he gets trapped on a client's roof and needs the passing Nixon to prop the ladder back up so that he can get down. – read more From Jen's Green Journal – Posted on January 27 2007

				Low and Behold Sundance's Low and Behold Fights Swag Guilt Feeling guilty about the Sundance swag you’ve been collecting while working in a soulless industry that has no redeeming social value? Or maybe just feeling scared about an IRS audit? There’s a way you can ease your weary conscience. The filmmakers behind the New Orleans-based drama Low And Behold are holding a donation drive to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans, helping many still suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Sidetrack Films and the Louisiana Film Commission have created a drop-off station at The Blackhouse at Buona Vita, located at 628 Heber Avenue between Park and Main Street. – read more From The Hollywood Reporter – Posted on January 25 2007

				Low and Behold Barlow Jacobs: Major Adjustments After fleeing New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, actor-writer Barlow Jacobs took refuge at his childhood home in Lookout Mountain, Tenn. There he watched and waited with the rest of the world as the horrors unfolded. Returning to Louisiana about a month later, he found his house had been destroyed -- not by water damage but by a falling tree. Relatively homeless and broke, he contemplated his next move. A family friend noted that there would be a growing need for insurance claims adjusters throughout the storm-ravaged region. So Jacobs traveled to Texas for training to obtain a temporary adjuster's license. "It was one of the most bizarre weeks of my life," he recalls. "Two hundred people, everything from two-toothed welders to disbarred lawyers. The room was just filled with characters." The "writer part" of Jacobs went into high gear. He notes, "I had another friend who went with me, and I was making him take notes on the actual [course], 'cause I couldn't write fast enough about all the things that were surrounding me." Once he earned the temporary adjuster's license, Jacobs called his friend, film director Zack Godshall, and told him, "Listen, I've got a movie that we need to make, and I'm going down to Florida, and I'm going to do all the research, and then I'm going to come to New Orleans, where we'll write a script and make a movie." Such bursts of creative enthusiasm can often fade quickly. But that was not the case with Jacobs. This month, the film project he proposed to Godshall, called Low and Behold, debuts at the Sundance Film Festival, with Jacobs credited as co-writer, producer, and star. – read more From www.backstage.com – Posted on January 24 2007

				Low and Behold Sundance Blogging: Low and Behold I just returned from the screening of the early front runner for my favorite Sundance film, Low and Behold. The true indie film tells the story of Turner Stull, an insurance claims adjuster who journeys to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. There, he meets a local man named Nixon who’s seeking help in finding his lost dog, and an odd friendship forms between the two. Eddie Rouse is magnificent in his role as Nixon, an extremely powerful perfomance. I will have a full review at a later date, but this movie is a must see. – read more From CinemATL Magazine – Posted on January 22 2007

				Low and Behold Film 'Low and Behold' headed for mountains: Louisiana filmmaker's work picked for this year's Sundance Film Festival Fact-based fiction and the crushing reality of the worst natural disaster in United States history collide in a Louisiana film that’s been selected for this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The annual event in Park City, Utah, is among the world’s most prestigious film festivals. Low and Behold is the work of Lafayette filmmaker Zack Godshall and his New Orleans friend and collaborator, Barlow Jacobs. The two were looking for a project to do when a family friend suggested that Jacobs, then displaced by Hurricane Katrina, work in south Florida as an insurance claims adjuster. – read more From 2theadvocate.com – Posted on January 19 2007

				Low and Behold N.O. film receives acclaim: 'Low and Behold' accepted into 2007 Sundance Filmmakers Zack Godshall and Barlow Jacobs had thoughts of a movie about an insurance adjuster working in a hurricane-ravaged city. Producers normally would have to pay millions to construct such settings. But Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans provided a background that was all too real. "It was a real life setting with a lot of people who actually lived through the storm," said Godshall, a Lafayette native and resident. "They were literally trying to rebuild or do whatever they could to get their lives back in order. "The setting was so immediate. It didn't exist before when it was regular old New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish. It's kind of like a documentary of that time and place." Godshall and Jacob's product, Low and Behold, was impressive enough to be accepted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, the premier showcase of new work by American and international independent filmmakers. The movie will premiere Jan. 21 as part of the festival's American Spectrum section. – read more From theadvertiser.com – Posted on January 05 2007