JURY STATEMENTS ABOUT THE WINNERS FOR NARRATIVE FILMS
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT: Feeling Through by Doug Roland
With gorgeous cinematography, well-paced editing, and an on-screen duo that you can't take your eyes off of, Feeling Through delivers a sobering fairytale about perspective in which we walk in the shoes of a homeless New York teen.
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE: Small Time by Niav Conty (Q&A to follow the feature film.)
Niav Conty is undeniably a director to watch, as her vision is at once unflinching and utterly lyrical, forcing the viewer to go beyond a passive state into very actively experiencing every moment of the film. And we would also like to give a very special recognition to the young lead actress, Audrey Grace Marshall, who serves to uplift a very dark story into a place of deep authenticity.
It can be brutal enough just growing up as a girl. Then add poverty, addiction, and God to the mix. Armed with a gun and a prayer, Emma and her cat bravely go where too many girls have gone before. It’s a war, and we gotta win it!
Critic David Edelstein writes: “The director’s touch is light, even glancing. Every frame carries wonder and dread….it is worthy of our finest humanist directors.” And another of our finest humanist directors, Oren Moverman, stated: “Small Time has an honesty and heart rarely seen in American cinema.” (APRIL 20-21)
Director’s Statement: Niav Conty
Small Time is about a girl growing up in rural America in the shadow of the opioid crisis and “the war on terror?” The film takes an empathetic and at times darkly humorous look at life, faith, and childhood, and presents a difficult, raw view of addiction, PTSD, and the family traumas they create. This story is, fundamentally, about America and its internal contradictions. Like a mirage, one America shimmers before us while we stumble over another. It’s also about childhood and personhood: what shapes the people we become, and what shapes us as a nation.
The film was shot entirely in rural Pennsylvania, an area that has been deeply affected by the ravages of the opioid crisis, and we were able to bring locals in as roles and extras. Many of them, of all ages, had lived through similar experiences.
Selected Filmography: Forever (short), Outworld (short), Person Woman Man Camera TV
Food Pairing Suggestion:
Watching Small Time is going to be even sweeter for Programmer Amara Waterman with chewy chocolate chip cookies and an espresso from Mix Bakeshop.
- Year2020
- Runtime104 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- PremiereOregon
- DirectorNiav Conty
- ScreenwriterNiav Conty
- ProducerJohn J.A. Jannone
- Executive ProducerBallibay Camps INC
- CastAudrey Grace Marshall, Holter Graham, Kevin Loreque, Dominique Johnson, Maria Hasen
- CinematographerNiav Conty
- EditorBabak Rassi, Niav Conty
- Production DesignKate Rance
- MusicJohn J.A. Jannone
JURY STATEMENTS ABOUT THE WINNERS FOR NARRATIVE FILMS
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT: Feeling Through by Doug Roland
With gorgeous cinematography, well-paced editing, and an on-screen duo that you can't take your eyes off of, Feeling Through delivers a sobering fairytale about perspective in which we walk in the shoes of a homeless New York teen.
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE: Small Time by Niav Conty (Q&A to follow the feature film.)
Niav Conty is undeniably a director to watch, as her vision is at once unflinching and utterly lyrical, forcing the viewer to go beyond a passive state into very actively experiencing every moment of the film. And we would also like to give a very special recognition to the young lead actress, Audrey Grace Marshall, who serves to uplift a very dark story into a place of deep authenticity.
It can be brutal enough just growing up as a girl. Then add poverty, addiction, and God to the mix. Armed with a gun and a prayer, Emma and her cat bravely go where too many girls have gone before. It’s a war, and we gotta win it!
Critic David Edelstein writes: “The director’s touch is light, even glancing. Every frame carries wonder and dread….it is worthy of our finest humanist directors.” And another of our finest humanist directors, Oren Moverman, stated: “Small Time has an honesty and heart rarely seen in American cinema.” (APRIL 20-21)
Director’s Statement: Niav Conty
Small Time is about a girl growing up in rural America in the shadow of the opioid crisis and “the war on terror?” The film takes an empathetic and at times darkly humorous look at life, faith, and childhood, and presents a difficult, raw view of addiction, PTSD, and the family traumas they create. This story is, fundamentally, about America and its internal contradictions. Like a mirage, one America shimmers before us while we stumble over another. It’s also about childhood and personhood: what shapes the people we become, and what shapes us as a nation.
The film was shot entirely in rural Pennsylvania, an area that has been deeply affected by the ravages of the opioid crisis, and we were able to bring locals in as roles and extras. Many of them, of all ages, had lived through similar experiences.
Selected Filmography: Forever (short), Outworld (short), Person Woman Man Camera TV
Food Pairing Suggestion:
Watching Small Time is going to be even sweeter for Programmer Amara Waterman with chewy chocolate chip cookies and an espresso from Mix Bakeshop.
- Year2020
- Runtime104 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- PremiereOregon
- DirectorNiav Conty
- ScreenwriterNiav Conty
- ProducerJohn J.A. Jannone
- Executive ProducerBallibay Camps INC
- CastAudrey Grace Marshall, Holter Graham, Kevin Loreque, Dominique Johnson, Maria Hasen
- CinematographerNiav Conty
- EditorBabak Rassi, Niav Conty
- Production DesignKate Rance
- MusicJohn J.A. Jannone