On Paper

A woman named Barbara sits alone a table after her retirement party. A gift box sits in front of her, but she's reluctant to open it due to the circumstances around the giver. By the time she returns home to her husband, the box and the ideas she conjures around it are propelling her to a confrontation. After so many decades of marriage, some hard truths need to be expressed. 

So she thinks. Her husband may strongly disagree. 

Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Arthur Helterbran Jr., a Wisconsin native who earned his MFA in Film Directing from the California Institute of the Arts, On Paper is a poignant film. Helterbran employs lighting and empty space to evoke a type of isolation that can arise in marriage when a couple is not honest with each other for many years. 

You can watch the trailer here: On Paper Trailer

HOME

In the dim light of night, Seo-won wanders in a fragmented reality of memories and emotions. The people she encounters evoke strong feelings, but it isn't entirely clear whether the entire experience is happening inside her mind.  

This film is murky, and that is intentional. 

Writer, Director and Co-Producer Al Chang  frames Seo-won in close focus, enhancing the sense of the action taking place within her own life. A respected filmmaker in Los Angeles's Koreatown, he brings many experiences to his work, including a decade of service in the U.S. Army, hip hop music, and fatherhood. Chang has much to say about family and belonging in this film, but his main character is too trapped inside her own thoughts to express it outright. 

You can watch a teaser here: HOME Teaser

Frail Grounds

A fantastical world awaits Margot when she wakes up one night. Strangely, her siblings are there, and she has no idea how this could be happening. A feeling of moving towards something yet remaining trapped overcomes her; she wants to leave but has no means of escape. Frail Grounds is more intimate than frightening, but Margot is clearly shaken by her unfamiliar environment. 

Student filmmaker Abby Tarpey demonstrates imagination and a penchant for great unknowns in this narrative short. A graduate of Penn State with a B.A. in Film Production, she is now based in Los Angeles, where she is finding many talented people with whom she can collaborate. 

The underlying theme of this film, suicide, is a heavy topic, but Tarpey adds enough layers of light to offer hope. You can watch the trailer here: Frail Grounds Trailer

Saffron Robe

An ambitious and determined spiritual leader is running a monastery in a remote region of Laos despite the cultural revolution that accompanied the communist overthrow of his nation's 600-year-old monarchy. Abbot Onekeo Sittivong could be described as a measured and ascetic man, as one would expect from someone in his position, but he does not simply go with the flow. He wants to uplift people and have an impact on the greater good of his country. 

In addition to educating boys from poor, remote villages, he is reviving the ancient practice of Theravada Buddhism, arguably the core thread of the Laotian social fabric. Whereas many spiritual leaders fled their temples to toil in rice fields and survive as best as they could, the abbot lobbied the country's new political establishment to secure a charter for his school. 

It is a fine achievement. The helmer behind this documentary feature is Jane Centofante, a debut filmmaker who plays the roles of writer, producer and director. To make her film, she first needed to obtain special permission to film it, and the abbot kindly agreed. Centofante settles into the life of the community and draws out many moments of insight. 

As for the boys who attend the school, a small number go on to become saffron-robed monks, but most move on to modern careers that they otherwise would have no chance of pursuing. A Western audience will have no other chance to experience this quiet but important place along the banks of the Mekong River, and it is a place very worth visiting. 

You can watch the trailer here: Saffron Robe Trailer

Finding the Zone

This edifying piece of Americana involves a teenager who dreams of becoming a professional baseball player. His family's midwestern farm may not be the ideal environment for such an ambitious goal, but he does learn certain values here and people who love him are behind him all the way. He's a bit awkward, and his full potential is unclear, but he has talent. 

What he needs the most now is to believe. 

This idea of knowing you can do it, and that you deserve to make it, is a central part of the story. Director Elan Milkes plays with these elements of character through mystical interludes that bring cosmic importance to the action on the ground. It is as if he is suggesting you need to be in harmony with the universe to reach your full potential and find your purpose in life. But how do you know when you're in sync with something so much more vast than yourself? The dramatic question in Finding the Zone is whether professional baseball is, in fact, the young man's calling. 

You can watch the trailer here: Finding the Zone

So Help Me God

In this short film from Brooklyn, a Christian musician who plays modest clubs finds himself entangled in a romantic relationship that has spun out of control. He knows he has a problem with carnal desire—he can't control it—but now things have gone too far. He screwed up big, and even when trying to implement the right fix, he only digs a deeper and deeper hole.

Director Sophia Conger thrives on moral ambiguity and loves to give her audience a jolt. So Help Me God will make some people uncomfortable. It may enlighten, but it does not preach. The musician and his lover are in a hot mess, and no Hand of God will sweep out of the clouds to save either. Instead, they have to sort through their situation, and the foundation the musician is drawing from to make that happen is currently failing him. 

You can watch the trailer here: So Help Me God Trailer

Amy & Monte: A Legacy of Love and Creativity

Summertime in East Hampton, New York evokes a reverie of sun-drenched beaches, calm ocean breezes, delectable hors d'oeuvres and sophisticated company. But within this dreamy landscape, an alt culture vortex arose in the form of artist and couture fashion designer Amy Zerner and her soulmate, best-selling spiritual author Monte Farber. 

Famous for intricate art as well as tarot card readings, they are hard to pin down or categorize. Yet their deep spirituality lends the duo more to exploration than revolution. They don't really crash the party in the Hamptons; it's more like they evoke and paint it. Their Light-Filled, surreal perspective may be salutary in an area that absorbs a good slice of Manhattan in an attempt to flee it. (Many manage just fine, but some weekenders may never get there due to the infamous traffic jams.)

Producer and Director Annmarie Sairrino, who is based in Burbank, seems to have great fun pulling together the pieces around this puzzling, talented and fascinating couple. Seldom do people so irreverent act from a place of such transcendent intentionality. And therein is a story worth telling. It is told very well. 

You can watch the trailer here (parental discretion advised): Amy & Monte Trailer