Atlanta Film Festival 2022: The Virtual Week : Sonic Cinema

Atlanta Film Festival 2022: The Virtual Week

Posted by Brian Skutle Posted on May - 6 - 2022 0 Comment

The Atlanta Film Festival has really become a place for me to watch a rich tapestry of documentary and independent narratives on a variety of subjects. Many of those involve stories of politics and life and death, humor and heartbreak. This year was no different; even as I was unable to go downtown most of the week, the virtual program of the festival had an embarrassment of riches.

Monday, April 25
I had to work on Monday night, which meant missing out on “Phantom of the Open, “A Woman on the Outside”, and the Georgia short film blocks in-person. That being said, the morning and afternoon allowed me the chance to write about the opening weekend- linked to below- and catch up with the Phantom Embraces short film block, which was an interesting collection of weird, experimental short narratives in a variety of genres. Of the films in that block, “Heartless”– a futuristic story about connections that last seven years- and “Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You”, about a composer whose music is intended to ward off a supernatural presence, are the ones to keep an eye out for. It was a good way to start the week.

Tuesday, April 26
Another work evening. Rather than do a feature and a short film block, I chose to watch two features. One I will discuss on Wednesday; the other one was “Miles From Nowhere”, which was screening that night. When I read the description for this drama, about three friends who meet at a cabin for an annual retreat, I was intrigued. You see, one of them has cancer, and was going to tell them, but other revelations arise that make that difficult. As I stated in my review, there is a major miscalculation in the revelations that come up in this story that make it hard for us to gain solid emotional footing. This film was a misfire. Also screening this evening was the Aubrey Plaza thriller, “Emily the Criminal”, which I watched during Sundance. Be sure to check it out when it comes out later this year.

Wednesday, April 27
This was a busy movie day for me. My wife and I took in “The Northman” and “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” apart from the festival, and then I went downtown to watch the drama, “A Love Song”, which I had missed at Sundance. It’s such a lovely film about connection, taking risks and finding peace in solitude; this movie is one that might linger long for me. Because of my working the next day, that was the only in-person screening I took in, but I did take in two other films from this slate earlier- “Only I Can Hear”, a thoughtful documentary about CODAs (Children of Deaf Adults) and “Hekate”, a moody, intriguing drama about two women on the road with near-dead man in their trunk. Wednesday was full of surprises.

Thursday, April 28
Worked during the day, then, it was down to Dad’s Garage for my final in-person screening of the festival. I couldn’t have picked a better note to go out on was the wickedly entertaining “The Murder Podcast”. When two hosts of a ramen podcast feel like their popularity has peaked, they decide to turn to true crime. When they do, however, they might have bit off more than they could handle, but they also might be able to solve some long-unexplained mysteries. The crowd was rocking, the cast and crew was thrilled, and it had an incredible energy that was just right for this goofy film.

Friday, April 29-Sunday, May 1
Because of night shifts the entire weekend at work, in-person screenings were done for me. And so, the end of my fourth year covering the Atlanta Film Festival would be on the virtual program. Before the festival, I made a list of films and short film blocks I wanted to cover, if time allowed. As it would happen, I had three short film blocks, and three features, left. One of each per seemed like the right way to go.

“Master of Light” was a documentary I had my eyes on early in my planning for the festival. It screened Thursday night, and was made available on that night virtually. The film explores the life of George Anthony Morton, a classical painter who also spent time in federal prison for dealing drugs. Wanting to see more Black faces done in the way of the Old Dutch Masters, he goes on a trip home to paint his family, as well as to reconcile with his past. It’s a fascinating look at artistic inspiration, and being able to grow in our outlook on family over the years. For my short film block for the day, I watched the first of two blocks of Georgia-made short films, Georgia Story. It was a rich, insightful collection of narratives- among the highlights were “Ladylike”, about a daughter struggling to express herself sexually; “Post-Citrus”, where a band finds itself at a crossroads when the lead singer is thinking more about their ideas than what is best for the whole band; and, to close out, “Glitter Ain’t Gold”, about a young boy who thinks gold is the way to a woman’s heart. It was sweet and a lovely coming-of-age story.

Saturday began with Flora Borealis, a collection of experimental short films that use sound, images and unconventional narratives to bring us closer to the world. “Whisper, Rustle” is an interesting experiment in stop-motion animation and music; “Ethereal” visualizes a parable about the consequences of dishonesty; and “Eternity on a Loop”, where an employee of God takes a break, and spends time on Earth, which is a wonderful, beautiful look at the beauty of life. My feature for the day was Haya Waseem’s “Quickening”, an emotional story about a young woman of color in Canada struggling between family and her own life- it was one of my favorite films of the festival.

Sunday brought an end to my festival, even though their virtual program is available until May 8. My final feature film was “In the Bones”, a documentary about how political issues regarding gender equality impacts 12 people in Mississippi; it’s an enlightening look at the political process on the state level, and it’ll make you feel frustrated about how far we have to go. For my final short film block, In My Hometown, which takes a more documentary approach at life in Georgia. “A Homecoming I’ll Remember” looks at how two Black girls, decades apart, inspired others by their examples, and “Bad Dream”, an exceptional spoken word look at the dark reality of white privilege vs. Black truth, were the highlights, and made this an interesting way to end my Atlanta Film Festival.

My podcast summary, with interviews, will be coming in the next week. After that, I’ll see you in 2023 to the Atlanta Film Festival.

2022 Atlanta Film Festival- The Reviews
“Emily the Criminal” (YouTube Quick Take)
“Only I Can Hear”
“Outta the Muck”
“Learn to Swim”
“The Game” (YouTube Quick Take)
“Cha Cha Real Smooth”
“Refuge”
“Daughter of a Lost Bird” (YouTube Quick Take)
“892”
“Portraits From a Fire” (YouTube Quick Take)
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On”
“Boycott”
“Miles From Nowhere”
“Hekate”
“A Love Song”
“The Murder Podcast”
“Master of Light” (YouTube Quick Take)
“Quickening” (YouTube Quick Take)
“In the Bones” (YouTube Quick Take)