Homebrewed

Homebrewed is an annual showcase of American, independent cinema that takes place each Wednesday in June at Ragtag Cinema in Columbia MO, a place that I can be found selling tickets on weekends and, more recently, up in the projection booth learning the ins and outs of DCPs & light dimming. This year I was asked to program the series, a totally unexpected honor! My line up is one of humanism with a twisted strange, each film an outpouring of heart but with a turn of uniqueness in form or character. I am extremely proud of this line up and cannot wait to Skype with the directors after the screenings! This article is a great pice about the line up! And more info can be found at Ragtag Cinema's website!

6/7 Hunter Gatherer (Skype: Josh Locy, Director)

When middle-aged Ashley (Andre Royo, The Wire) returns home after a stint in prison nothing is as he left it; his clothes are out of style, his girlfriend has moved on. After befriending young Jeremy, an equally wayward soul, the unlikely pair embark on a new business venture, searching the neighborhood for dead refrigerators to dispose of for profit. First-time director Josh Locy spins a sweet tale set in the streets of an unnamed urban sprawl, filled with touching, offbeat characters cast to perfection. Viewed through a tilted beauty and eccentric charm, Hunter Gatherer feels oddly disconnected from this world while evoking a very real-life take on day-to-day hustle.

6/14 Sylvio (Skype: Albert Birney, Co-Director)

Sylvio is a lowly cubicle drone at a debt-collection agency, residing alone in the city of Baltimore. Each night he comes home to work on his lifelong passion project: a series of heart-warming puppet shows performed for no one in particular. Sylvio is also an ape. With hints of pure DIY magic, silent-film comedies and an echo of buddy film tropes, Sylvio is a sincere endorsement of real-life connection; a deep exploration of what it means to be a true artist in a digital age of viral doom. Highly stylized and humming to a killer indie-pop soundtrack, it is the kind of movie that makes you smile but that also makes you think about what matters most. (P.S. There may or may not be Sylvio face masks distributed at this screening...wink)

6/21 Princess Cyd (Skype: Stephen Cone, Director)

Like a Victorian bildungsroman, maturation and expectation intersect throughout Princess Cyd, exposed in revealing moments of dialogue as sharp as it is fruitful. Aunt Miranda, a middle aged author/academic, resides in Chicago. Her niece, soccer playing, sun-bathing, sexually precocious teenaged Cyd, decides to visit for the summer from South Carolina. Over the course of their time together the two tacitly explore the essence of identity, discovering much about one another but even more about themselves. A finely acted film that unfolds, play-like, Cyd transcends simple narrative, musing on the metaphysical as it effortlessly glides through issues of desire, fate and faith. A relatable, lovable cross generational family drama with a welcoming edge of inquiry.

6/28 Most Beautiful Island (Skype: Ana Asensio, Director & Star)

After a devastating personal tragedy in her home country, Luciana flees to New York City, piecing together an undocumented life of odd jobs and decrepit apartments. When her friend gives her a lead on a gig Luciana enters into the strange depths of the city literally becoming a player in a deadly game of nightmarish proportions. Shot with a masterful, lush eye on 16mm film, the aura of the city emerges, an organism teeming with lives seen and unseen. Part genre thriller (think Reservoir Dogs) and part social issue thriller (think Get Out), Most Beautiful Island exposes the surreal lengths some go to for opportunity. A startling debut feature equally as powerful as it is edge-of-seat entertaining.