This country has reached a strange point in its cinematic history. Movies cost millions of dollars to produce and it seems the larger the explosions, the larger the box office grows. By contrast, the meaningful films have a much smaller budget and often a message for its viewers. The cinema has come to be about no more than eye candy, action-packed intros and plot twists.
For those of us wanting more than mindless entertainment, we entrust independent filmmakers and documentarians with the task of providing substance at the multiplex. Visionaries like Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson and Christopher Nolan have made careers out of opening our eyes to previously unimagined worlds and characters.
Witness the success of documentaries like Super Size Me, the Oscar-winning March of the Penguins and the buzz surrounding former Vice President Al Gore’s summer documentary An Inconvenient Truth to see that the American public is searching for more than they are finding in the latest summer blockbusters.
These are films about the human condition, the state of affairs in our country and the world around us?films that challenge us and force us to reevaluate the strength of our own morals and convictions.
These are the types of films local filmmaker Jasen Walter Richardson is striving to create, film as an art form.
Over the hottest weekend in June, he assembled a group of local cast and crew to film a thirty-two minute short that touches on tragedy, politics, the relevance of dreams and the Third Eye, as well as the importance of friendship and compassion.
Cold Summer, written and directed by Richardson, is the story of a group of college pals who reconnect years later after friend Star’s husband dies in a car wreck. The loss is intensified when the body of her daughter cannot be found among the wreckage.
Inspired by Lawrence Kasdan’s 1983 film The Big Chill, Richardson wants to capture the raw human emotions evoked by grief and loss in his script.
“Death is absolute. It is impossible to have life without its role in the natural cycle and it is something that we will all experience,” he says. “Everyone is affected on a different level, each of us and each of these characters.”
Though an ensemble piece consisting of eight amateur actors, each of the castmates was full of praise for Georgia Hemrick, who plays Star.
“She gave me chills,” says producer Rob Minor, whose parents provided the location for the film in the clutch. “I literally had tears in my eyes watching her perform.”
As a mother of a fourteen-year-old daughter herself, Georgia had plenty to draw upon when it came to the heavy subject matter.
“It was really emotional,” she shares. “I was either crying or about to cry throughout the whole thing. It took a lot out of me, but it was a great release.”
The half-hour short was filmed in Lascassas and includes both interior and exterior shots conceptualized by Director of Photography Byron Justiss, co-owner of Video Culture and a film connoisseur who also helped in the editing room. The sound was captured by Matthew Fahner, who had to contest with Tennessee’s myriad collection of summer insects while not missing a beat of dialogue.
For Kristen Jobe, who plays Rachel, the experience was rewarding and challenging. She appreciates the quality of the screenplay as well as the variety of the characters and the actors who play them.
“Jasen brought together a group of people that wouldn’t ordinarily have come together. They were really interesting characters and very diverse. It definitely expanded my perimeters and I would love to work with Jasen again.”
Richardson also managed to create characters that are a complete contrast to the actors, several of whom he had in mind while writing the script, like his buddy Jonathan Fedash known around the ’Boro as Mad Dog Johnson.
Fedash describes his character, Hudson, as a cross between Jack Kerouac and Billy the Kid. Hudson is a drifter, a wandering musician who travels many miles to console his friend and lives a different life than his college coeds. This is Mad Dog’s first film and he is proud of the work.
“Working on this film made me feel alive! It was a very fascinating experience,” he declares. “There are so many facets, so many elements within it, so much going on for a short and the story is incredibly poignant, especially with what’s going on in our world today.”
The contrast between actor and character is most evident with stars Becca Large and Elijah Floyd who play married couple Caitlin and Josh. Each of them plays Bush-supporting conservatives, a complete contradiction to the liberal mindset they share.
Floyd likens it to stepping outside of himself and seeing things from a different perspective. Large found it to be a comfortable and easy transition, as she’s been acting onstage since the age of five.
“This is definitely a learning experience for all of us. The whole cast and crew is commendable, putting forth so much effort and giving such solid performances,” explains Richardson, who intends to continue pursuing his love of film after he graduates with an English degree and Film Studies minor from MTSU in May.
“Film is the combination of all my loves. It’s poetry, it’s music, it’s art. That’s why I love it.”
For now, his focus is on Cold Summer and its Sunday, July 30, premier at the Keathley University Center on MTSU’s campus. The 4 p.m. show is free, but canned good donations are encouraged to benefit The Food Bank of Murfreeboro.
