Tallgrass Film Festival announces 2022 lineup
The Tallgrass Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 20th annual fest, to be held Sept. 28 through Oct. 2 at various venues in downtown Wichita.
Highlights include musical performances by The Embarrassment and Mojo Nixon and the Toad Lickers, a work-in-progress screening by Kansas-based Academy Award winner Kevin Willmott (”BlacKkKlansman”) and the Ad Astra Award presentation to Troma legend Lloyd Kaufman.
Here’s a look at some of the festival selections (the full line-up is at tallgrassfilm.org)
OPENING NIGHT GALA
“Four Samosas”
Director: Ravi Kapoor
An unmotivated South Asian American rapper, along with three other first-time thieves, plans a heist on a grocery store owned by his ex-girlfriend’s father, in order to steal her wedding diamonds and disrupt her pending engagement.
“The Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon“
Director: Matthew Eskey
During a bicycle trip across the country, a young Neill Kirby McMillan Jr. experiences The Mojo Revelation and becomes Mojo Nixon.
LLOYD KAUFMAN/TROMA FILMS SALUTE
“Poultreygeist”
Director: Lloyd Kaufman
When a military-themed fast-food restaurant chain builds its latest eatery on the site of a Native American burial ground, the displaced spirits take revenge on the unsuspecting diners and transform them into chicken zombies.
“Shakespeare’s Sh*tstorm”
Director: Lloyd Kaufman
In a crude parody of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” Prospero lures a boatload of pharmaceutical executives to Tromaville, New Jersey
“The Toxic Avenger”
Directors: Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman
Superhero The Toxic Avenger is born when a meek mop boy falls into a vat of toxic waste.
FRIDAY DOUBLE GALA SELECTIONS
“All Man: The International Male Story”
Directors: Bryan Darling, Jesse Finley Reed
This documentary peeks behind the pages and personalities of International Male, one of the most ubiquitous and sought-after mail-order catalogs of the ’80s and ‘90s.
“We Were Famous, You Don’t Remember: The Embarrassment“
Directors: Daniel Fetherston, Danny Szlauderbach
This world premiere documentary chronicles the rise, heyday and fall of an iconic yet nearly forgotten post-punk band from Kansas.
SATURDAY CENTERPIECE GALA SELECTION
“Butterfly in the Sky”
Directors: Bradford Thomason, Brett Whitcomb
This documentary explores the journeys of broadcasters, educators and filmmakers who believed television could inspire a lifelong love of reading.
CLOSING NIGHT GALA SELECTION
“Still Working 9 to 5”
Directors: Camille Hardman, Gary Lane
When the highest grossing comedy of 1980, “9 to 5” (starring Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman) became a hit, the laughs hid a serious message about women’s inequality in the office.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
“Planes, Trains and Automobiles”
Director: John Hughes
This 1987 comedy follows a Chicago advertising man (Steve Martin) who struggles to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower curtain ring salesman (John Candy) as his only companion.
“Donnie Darko”
Director: Richard Kelly
This 2001 mind-bending drama follows a troubled teenager (a young Jake Gyllenhaal) who is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
SPOTLIGHT FILMS
“Case of the Mondays”
Director: Brayden Frazier
Two down-on-their-luck friends try to make a quick payday by kidnapping a bigwig in the banking industry. This is the 2022 Take 36 short film race competition audience award winner.
“Death and Bowling”
Director: Lyle Kash
A transgender actor struggles with what it means to be seen after the beloved captain of his lesbian bowling league dies and a mysterious stranger shows up at the funeral.
“Down Town Wolves”
Director: Judah Hansen
Two true-crime podcasters tell the story of a woefully unprepared city invaded by wolves. This is the 2022 Take 36 grand prize winner.
“Hidden Letters”
Director: Violet Du Feng
This documentary tells the story of two Chinese women trying to balance their lives as independent women in modern China while confronting the traditional identity that defines but also oppresses them.
“Immediate Family”
Director: Denny Tedesco
This documentary follows the work and lives of legendary 1970s session musicians who were featured on some of the most iconic recordings of the era.
“It Is In Us All”
Director: Antonia Campbell-Hughes
A formidable man is forced to confront his self-destructive core when a violent car crash involving a precocious teenager challenges him to face his truth.
“Little Satchmo”
Director: John Alexander
A documentary about the secret daughter of Louis Armstrong.
“Mama Bears”
Director: Daresha Kyi
Spread across the country but connected through private Facebook groups, they call themselves “mama bears” because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for all LGBTQ+ people.
“No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas”
Director: Kevin Willmott
This work-in-progress documentary examines people who have found themselves in a battle for LGBTQ rights in the most unlikely places, such as rural Trego County, Salina and Topeka. You’ll meet some of the people C.J. Janovy profiles in her book “No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism in LGBT Kansas.”
“Twenty: A Retrospective”
Director: Todd Ramsey
For the past 20 years, filmmakers from across the world have found themselves in Wichita for the Tallgrass Film Festival. From the start, Tallgrass embodied an ethic of stubborn independence — a desire to buck the status quo and celebrate the best films and filmmakers regardless of their budget, scope or distribution.
“What We Leave Behind”
Director: Iliana Sosa
After a lifetime of bus rides to the U.S. to visit his children, an 89-year-old man quietly starts building a house in rural Mexico. In filming his work, his granddaughter crafts a personal and poetic love letter to him and his homeland.
Reach Rod Pocowatchit at rodrick@rawdzilla.com.
