2021 Iowa Independent
Film Festival | September 9-11
Mason City & Clear Lake, Iowa
A Spring Sojourn via Canoe
8 mins
Dir. Bruce McKee | Local & Iowa Made
Dale has solo-paddled the Winnebago River in North Iowa in every month of every year for nearly two decades. This highlights his Spring canoe floats, showing the ice break-up of the river and drifting into the blooming of Springtime along the river. Narrated with his prose and observations of his passion of paddling and nature around him.
2021 Selected Films
Against The Wind
6 mins
Dir. Hollis Bennett | Documentary
In a year marked by tragedy, the farmers of Iowa face down one of the most destructive storms in US History. This is a story of loss but also perseverance and the indomitable human spirit.
Awakening
14 mins
Dir. Julie Koehnen | Short
At the turn of the 19th century, Midwestern, social elite Clemence Finch’s future is thrown into uncertainty when she accompanies the brewmeister’s wife; a modern woman who engineers a luncheon without a male family member escort. The thrill of her new found independence rocks Clemence’s world and her desire to marry the man she loves is called into question.
Bandwidth
5 mins
Dir. Pat Battistini & Robert Francke | Short
Frank's important job interview on Zoom goes south due to his "stay at home" Covid precautious family using up his bandwidth.
Birdsong
3 mins
Dir. Paul Huenemann | Animation
Roger has retired and what to do, is the problem.
Blood on the Risers
19 mins
Dir. Caleb Fanning | Short
It is 1945 and many men & women have returned home from service during World War II. However, for some, the war is not over. This is where we find Charlie Evans, a paratrooper who jumped into Normandy on D-Day. After three years of being gone, he comes home to his wife, Afton, who has no idea about the burdens and trauma that Charles is bringing home with him. The film tells the story of his struggle to reconcile the trauma of war and his peaceful life at home.
Date Night
11 mins
Dir. Zachery Hess | Student & Iowa Made
After their long marriages end, two 60-somethings are totally out of their comfort zone when it comes to dating. But through an unorthodox encounter, the strangers reconnect with their child-like nature motivating the reluctant duo to give the idea of romance another chance.
Devil's in the Details
4 mins
Dir. Anna Owenson | Student
A witch gets less than she bargains for when she tries to summon Satan on her ex-boyfriend. An occult comedy.
DUET
21 mins
Dir. Mika Orr | Short
Duet is the story of one fateful day in the lives of 8-year-old girls May and Shadmit, who dislike each other but learn that their lives have become oddly intertwined forever. Duet is a multidisciplinary project, uniquely integrating film and music. The story raises questions about loneliness, regret, subject memory and fate that ties two children together for a lifetime.
Dignity
25 mins
Dir. Pat Battistini | Short
"Dignity" is a love story between a woman and her family. However, the family's strength is tested when a moral decision must be made.
Fuchsia
7 mins
Dir. Hannah Wright | Short
Lily, a visionary landscaper, finds friend and foe in a mysterious client.
Have Faith
25 mins
Dir. Zach Neumann | Short
A musical short film about a young woman from a Christian home struggling to decide whether to tell her parents about her crisis of faith. She meets a chorus of her personal demons, her personal angel, and finally the devil herself, before finally choosing whether to tell her parents the truth.
Here
6 mins
Dir. Josiah Yu | Short
A busy worker decides to stay with her friend after noticing suicidal signs.
Inner Selves
5 mins
Dir. Meriem Sakrouhi | Short & Women
Our biggest conflict is the one we create within ourselves. "Inner Selves" is a glimpse of one day in the life of Anna. By putting a mic into her inner voice, the conflicts she creates on her own take control over her actions. Besides Anna's voice, the overlapping inner voices coming from her neighbors and people she crosses paths with -each with their own accents- highlight the global dimension inner voices take.
My Dinner with Werner
18 mins
Dir. Maverick Moore | Short
Based on real events, real people, and real things they actually said, MY DINNER WITH WERNER is a wildly bizarre and wacky farce about a 1987 dinner date with a murder plot as the main dish.
Out at Night
17 mins
Dir. Christopher Hewitt | Short
On a cold night in the middle of nowhere stands Will, a drifter who has just used up his last favour. He’s nowhere to go but he starts to walk, telling himself life can’t be any more unfair when a passing car clips a puddle, soaking him. The car pulls over and the driver, Martin, on his way home from a late night in the office, offers him a lift seemingly out of guilt, before it turns into a desperate proposition: money and warmth for his brief company. Will doesn’t want to say yes but he can’t say no. The two find a quiet spot in the woods to park up... but something starts to go bump in the night before they do.
Ruth & Nick: A Confectionery Tale
6 mins
Dir. Carter Rostron | Student
This stop-motion animated short tells the bittersweet story of Nick, a piece of candy who falls in love with a girl who seems out of reach. This film was made by 15-year-old Carter Rostron of Kansas City, using cardboard, construction paper, and a bunch of candy.
She Had It Coming
9 mins
Dir. Gedde Watanabe | Short
Vivian Dean is dead. She was killed at a baby shower... Went down a flight of stairs. And now she is hellbent on finding out who did it.
Sky Blossom: Diaries of the Next Greatest Generation
1 hr
27 mins
Dir. Richard Lui | Documentary
When viewers say they cried, they say it was because of the uplifting hope of the courage and beauty the students share with us. As young as eleven years old, they are taking care of parents and grandparents who are battling sickness. We call them Care Heroes. And there are five million of them in America.
Stuck in the Edit
11 mins
Dir. Phillip Snoxell | Student
After getting a surprise proposal from her girlfriend, Taylor, a soon-to-graduate film major, wants nothing more than to crawl into her work and hide from the rapidly changing world. Unfortunately, her senior film has the same idea and, after taking the form of a monster, reaches out from the computer screen and drags her into the video. Now trapped by her own project Taylor needs to escape an ever-changing landscape while trying to avoid the monster that she created.
Tapeball
1 hr 5 mins
Dir. Joe Nyquist | Documentary
A family in rural Minnesota transforms their expansive front yard into a magnificent ballpark for a game they created based on traditional American baseball. This is the story of how the game evolved and an exploration of the extraordinary moments and culture it has created. What would the world be like if sports were different? Tapeball has the answer.
The First Look
19 mins
Dir. Elizabeth Bode | Student
The First Look is a story about a wedding that goes wrong. SHOCKER! Problems never arise at weddings! In this story though, things go awry when the bride and groom suddenly disappear before the ceremony. Mrs. Bowman, the mother of the bride, is convinced that there is something fishy about their disappearance. The best man Miles, who arrives late, is recruited by a distraught Mrs. Bowman to go on an amateur manhunt throughout the city. Their journey is full of confusion, anticipation, and humor as they unravel the question of the bride and groom’s mysterious disappearance.
To Which We Belong
1 hr 29 mins
Dir. Pamela Tanner Boll & Lindsay Rochardson | Documentary
To Which We Belong is a documentary that highlights farmers and ranchers leaving behind conventional practices that are no longer profitable or sustainable. These unsung heroes are improving the health of our soil and sea to save their livelihoods — and our planet.
Zero Gravity
1 hr 14 mins
Dir. Thomas Verrette | Documentary
A diverse group of middle-school students go on the journey of a lifetime when they compete in a nationwide competition sponsored by MIT to code satellites aboard the International Space Station.
We Made a Friend Today
11 mins
Dir. Madison Chidester | Short & Iowa Made
Two siblings make a new friend at the park, but he has a strange request.
Aloo
16 mins
Dir. Priya Kiran | Student
All Amara Kulkarni wants is to connect with her first generation daughter, Sama, but Sama is strict about keeping her home life and school life separate. When Amara hears about the school’s annual potluck, she takes it as an opportunity to finally join Sama’s world outside of their home. The duo connect while preparing some “party potatoes” but when Amara suggests to bring a traditional Indian dish, any chance of connection is severed and on top of that the dish for the potluck is burned.
Becoming Gepetto
1 hr 6 mins
Dir. Dale Lindquist | Documentary
Becoming Geppetto explores the life and craftsmanship of master luthiers Bruce, and son Matt, Petros, accompanied by performances with solo guitarists. The film follows Bruce’s career, beginning with his struggling to find a life’s goal and, almost by chance, stumbling upon guitar building. It portrays his efforts to learn a craft at a time when there was little information on the subject, along with the struggles and precariousness of making a living as an independent luthier with a young family to support. Eventually his son Matt joins him and together they work diligently to refine their craft, leading to the creation of instruments of exquisite beauty and tonal resonance.
