BEST IMPACT OF MUSIC IN A FEATURE FILM

ABBY SINGER
Director Ryan Williams, Composer Jeffrey Gold
In danger of becoming a cult film - this film is so cool - Abby Singer is the winning (in more ways than one) film from the first Park City Film Music Festival. Set at Sundance Film Festival, this film includes scenes with a host of famous actors, scenes that become interwoven into the story.Do not miss this one. The famous folks include Kieran Culkin, Jodie Foster, Mark Borchardt, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Redford, Roger Ebert, Robin Tunney, Patricia Arquette, Stockard Channing, John Waters, Matt Dillon, Daniel Day-Lewis, Patrick Swayze, Jake Gyllenhaal, Taye Diggs, Don Cheadle, Jill Hennessy, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. The improvised character of Kevin's father by Jay O. Sanders and the soliloquy by Roger Ebert are great.

THE FRENCH GUY 1hr 22m Director: Ann Marie Fleming
Composer: Patric Caird
A very dark comedy that begins with the main character, a woman returning home from brain surgery. She is somewhat disoriented from being released so soon after surgery. New characters are introduced - each one bringing complications and she has to adjust to a number of situations that become more complicated, deteriorating (or developing depending on your outlook) in scenes that make the audience wince and groan. Beautifully filmed and edited, the music occasionally becomes part of the story. A fair amount of gore.

EROSION 1hr 40m
Dir: Ann Lu, Composer Vincent Gillioz
Haunted by a failing relationship, a man devises a risqué game for escape. He invites a married woman to dinner at a lavish mansion. Unhappily married, she finds the temptation irresistible when Gabe invites her on a second date. To her surprise, she meets him at a humble suburban home. He admits that he broke into both houses for their trysts. The man escalates his pursuit, who ultimately surrenders to the thrill of abandoning her life and having sex in strangers' homes. They push the limits, defying reality by living stolen lives. Be advised: Sex, Adult Language and Theme

HALF EMPTY 1hr 30m
Dir: Robert Peters
Music Score: Leslie Rogers with songs by Robert Peters, Leslie Rogers, Stan Woodard and additional music by mrek Harloff and Jan Plewka
This fun film follows the adventures of Glendale, California motivational speaker Bob Patterson sets off to Germany with the excitement that his self-help book “North Star” has been embraced by the Germans. After he arrives in Hamburg and is met by bitter German publishing liaison Greta Hagemann, he quickly learns that there’s been a big mistake. Bob, armed only with his philosophical index cards, must somehow learn to adapt to a difficult German reception and find his perspective between half full and half empty. Great improvisatory feel and a main character you grow to love.

UNBEATABLE HAROLD
WORLD PREMIERE 1hr 25m Director: Ari Palitz
Composer: Steve Pierson
Palitz gathered the perfect cast for this sweet, kooky comedy: Nicole DeHuff, Gordon Michaels, Dylan McDermott, Taryn Manning, Charles Durning, Henry WInkler, Gladys Knight, Michele Phillips and Phyliss Diller. In Reno, Elvis-wannabe Harold is reaching for the stars while hoping to become a full-time manager at the Wagontrain Steakhouse. Harold truly wants to be a weather man on TV. Harold finally meets his dream girl, Wanda, who has run away from her rocker boyfriend, Jake Salamander. Harold gets her a job at the Steakhouse. When Jake shows up in Reno, Wanda must decide between them.

HEADHUNTER 1hr 30m
Director: Paul Tarantino
Composer Vincent Gillioz
Well-done horror film with an intriguing plot. An ambitious insurance executive wants a better job and turns to a mysterious female headhunter recommended to him. He lands the new job, but it ends up having a complete set of drawbacks. Just enough twists to make this movie nicely interesting
and a pleasure to watch.

ROUNDING FIRST 1hr 26m Director and Music: Jim Fleigner
The young stars steal this movie, though all the characters are well-played. Twelve-year olds Joe, Tiger and Chris break out of Little League baseball camp in order to trail Joe's parents, who have lied to him about a mysterious trip they're taking. The boys must piece together clues, avoid their parents, dodge the police, trust a stranger - and not destroy their friendships in the process - during an adventurous road trip in their last summer before junior high school. In the spirit of STAND BY ME, ROUNDING FIRST is a coming-of-age dramedy set in the summer of 1980.
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STRIKE THE TENT 1hr 37m Directors: Julian Adams, Blaine Miller
Composer: Atli Orvarsson
Based on a true story: This is a journey through the psyche of a southern captain in the waning days of the Civil War. Robert was a planter who fell in love with Eveline, a strong-willed teacher from the north. As they met, the War was upon them. All he knew was tied into the conflict and the one thing that he held to was his love for this beautiful northern woman. He was captured and sent to prison, lost his best friend, his town was burned and the war was all but lost. Her love for him would be the one thing that could carry him through. Beautifully done, not to be missed

CANDY STRIPERS 1hr 30m Director: Kate Robbins,
Composer Vincent Gillioz
Injured in a college basketball game, Matt and his teammates end up in the local hospital. Matt is n traction, unable to move, as things around him are get weird. Sweet young Candy Stripers seem to be changing almost in front of his eyes, seducing the men, then wrapping them up in a hideous weblike substance. Dragging his friends along with him, they make it to the exit only to discover that they are trapped in a hospital under quarantine. Matt's friends are picked off one by one, in a life and death struggle for survival.

LIVING WITH UNCLE RAY
1hr 30m Dir: Gene Duffy, Jennifer Corinna, Composer: Vincent Gillioz
Uncle Ray is a mentally-stressed Viet Nam war veteran who comes to live with his sister and her three children. Ray’s pathetic life settles into watching news on television all day, and the choice of the news featured in the film (set in 1983) adds an interesting sideline. The children are intimidated at first and cater to Uncle Ray, then they begin to devise ways to play trick him. Ray’s two sons show up - sons he never knew he had and a house full of kids romping around leads to dramatic high point in the film. Then Ray’s traumatic stress syndrome kicks back in and he has to go back to the Veteran’s hospital.

NO RETURN 1hr 30m
Dir: Tom Sylla,
Composer: Spencer Nilsen
Is death the end? Alice Darrow isn’t so sure. Recently widowed, still grieving, she becomes involved with another man, but begins to fear her dead husband is trying to contact her from beyond the grave - and his message seems deadly. Is she losing her mind? Or is someone toying with her, trying to destroy her one shot at happiness? Her life turns upside down as the thin line between friends and enemies begins to blur, trapping her in a game of deception and revenge that culminates into her one last chance to end the nightmare - or become part of it forever. Nice twists and turns that help make this genre of film very interesting.

JUPITER LANDING 1hr 30m Director: Stacy Dymalski, Composer: Mary Beth Maziarz
Six reclusive slackers who live in Jupiter Landing -- a run-down house that's been converted into an apartment complex -- are forced to unite when their landlord gives them a 30-day eviction notice. As a result, all the characters are thrown into a tailspin of emotional and moral confrontation they aren't prepared to handle. Each character has a secret they can't afford to reveal. Even the house has a secret -- one that ties the tenants together in a way they never expected. (Character-driven dark comedy with a twist ending)

THURSDAY’S FICTIONS 55m Director: Richard James Allen
Composer: Michael Yezerski
Film based on the book Thursday’s Fictions written by director Richard James Allen.
Thursday’s Fictions is an adult fairy tale, a fantastical parable of spirituality and excess. It is a spiritual thriller about an artist whose conflict between talent and ambition leads the audience on a roller coaster ride through themes of crime and art, death and reincarnation. Visually stunning.

29 REASONS TO RUN 1hr 39m Director: Damon O’Steen, Composers: Konstantinos Christides and Tony Weeks
Slacker Jack Paradise receives a letter claiming Rose is in Texas. His best friend, Peter Jonson, a novel-challenged writer who spends more time at his firm sweat shop and feeling the wrath of his overbearing girlfriend's whip and chain, advises Paradise to go after her. To go, autoless and moneyless Paradise must first trick Peter into going with him, making him believe that this Road Trip could be the story he's been waiting to write. When Peter skips town after drunk-dialing his boss (Stevenson) about leaking secrets of a high profile client, the chase is on. Paradise chasing Rose, Stevenson chasing Peter, and Peter chasing the man inside of him.

SUNNYVALE 1hr 20m
Director: James Ricardo
A young, inexperienced and reclusive man (a virgin) becomes the love object of three young women who have discovered this diamond in the rough hanging out full time in his uncle’s apartment, collecting unemployment and living on fast food. Dialogue makes this movie. Funny conflicts ensue - A clever, funny film that will probably make you laugh out loud.

MANHATTAN MINUTIAE
1hr 30m Director: Steve Becker
Music:
The young owner of the Mindfield Nightclub has a very interesting roommate - the lead singer for the girl band Maxitit. Just about the time his girlfriend is getting bored with him, he invites a childhood friend he used to babysit to stay in his apartment while she begins her university studies in the Big Apple.
Filled with high-powered performances by the band Maxitit, this film is funny and heartwarming.

PURITY 1hr 40m, Dir: NaRhee Ahn Composer George Shaw
The daughter of a minister has lost her mother - both she and her father are grieving, so she decides to postpone her studies for a while as she works to get her bearings. She develops a relationship with a young man she admires. The relationship becomes an embarrassment for the father, since the young man is perceived to be a renegade. This may seem like a simple story, but there are nuances that make this a very interesting film.

THE PROGRAM 50m
Dir: Irin Evers
Composer: Andrew David Daniels
Matt is working in rural Mexico, trying to escape his conventional New York family. Just when he thinks he’s achieved his goal, he receives a computer disk from his deceased grandfather labeled “it took me eighty years to learn the meaning of life.” Intrigued, Matt and his new co-worker, the spontaneous and carefree Sally, journey to the nearest town with a computer to find out what’s on the disk, and on each other’s minds.

THE LYRIC 2hr 16m
Director and Composer: Bernard Dixon
Three members of the underground rap group “cmantix” were killed in an inexplicable car accident. The sole survivor and lead rapper of the group who goes by the name of “Word” has gone into seclusion, but only after releasing one final record. Trevor “Skip” Michaels, a 20-something white film student at Columbia College has been making a documentary in search of Word, in hopes to solve a larger rap conspiracy, which he believes ties Word’s disappearance into the murders of Tupac, Biggie and Jam Master Jay. Adult Language, Sex and Violence

GOD’s WAITING LIST 1hr 20m
Dir: Duane Adler
Composer: Vincent Gillioz
God’s Waiting List is beautifully acted, filmed and edited. Working as a manager in a florist shop is main character Teresa’s main ambition, which is cut short when two men aiming to extract an owed-payment from her brother Soloman, cause a car accident that paralyzes Teresa’s legs. Though her lover Rachel wants to remain with her and help her adjust, Teresa pushes her unstable lover away. Eventually Teresa returns to singing in the church choir and her lover ends up as her brother’s new girlfriend, with both of them in the grips of drugs and alcohol. An involved story that keeps one’s interest to the end. Even the occasional religious overtones are held at bay in a believable and excellent effort by director Duane Adler.

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Film Music Festival Past Winners to be screened during this year’s festival

ABBY SINGER
Dir: Ryan Williams
Composer: Jeffrey Gold
In danger of becoming a cult film - this film is so cool - Abby Singer is the winning (in more ways than one) film from the first Park City Film Music Festival. Set at Sundance Film Festival, this film includes scenes with a host of famous actors, scenes that become interwoven into the story.Do not miss this one. The famous folks include Jake Gyllenhaal, Academy-AwardÆ nominee Don Cheadle, Academy-AwardÆ nominee Stockard Channing, Jay O. Sanders, Robin Tunney, Roger Ebert, Dave Attell, Mark Bochardt, Mike Schank, Johnny Biscuit, Lloyd Kaufman, and many, many more.

IN THE COMPANY of STRANGERS
Dir: Tom Hoffbauer
A young man convicted of participating in a group attack on a gay man is sentenced to perform community service by working at an AIDS hospice. The teenager who begins as rebellious and hard-hearted finds true friends at the hospice, becoming an advocate for open-mindedness, but it is a long process. He endures ridicule and disdain from friends and witnesses first-hand the callous treatment some families inflict on their AIDS-infected family member.

LUBBOCK LIGHTS
See listing and description under Films with Music as a Subject