Flyway Film Festival begins tonight

Talk about it

The fourth annual Flyway Film Festival begins tonight in Pepin and Stockholm and will run through Sunday.

The Festival will screen over 40 feature films and shorts, representing 10 countries. This year, the Festival received more than 800 submissions from filmmakers around the world, more than double the number of 2010 entries.

"We are grateful that we continue to receive tremendous support from the community for our programming and fundraising efforts," said Executive Director Rick Vaicius, referring to the Festival's receipt of a Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) grant from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. "Being able to broaden our exposure to a more diverse audience will be a great value to not only the Festival but also to our local tourism."

Collaborator kicks off the Festival Friday at the WideSpot Performing Arts Center in Stockholm. The film is directed by actor Martin Donovan (Showtime's Weeds) from his original screenplay. Donovan also stars in the film, portraying a once-successful playwright, Robert Longfellow, who is taken hostage by an [ex-con] neighbor while on a routine visit to his childhood home. Two-time Emmy-nominee David Morse plays Gus (the neighbor); a man Robert has avoided since he was a boy. The film also stars Olivia Williams, Katherine Helmond and Eileen Ryan play supporting roles. As the drama unfolds, social status, celebrity and the threat of violence converge, leaving the playwright simultaneously shattered and inspired.

The documentary Dirty Work will close the Festival on October 23 at the Widespot Performing Arts Center. The film is directed by Deb Wallwork (C. Beck), grand prize winner of the 2010 Independent Lens Short Film Award, and a self-described “unapologetic liberal from the steppes of the Northern Plains, the vast American heartland, flyover country”. The film follows a year in the life of a community-supported organic farm, Elsie's Farm; a little field of vegetables that just might change the world. It’s a film about getting your hands dirty, doing work you love, and planting the seeds of the future in continuity with the past.

In addition, the Festival will host an exclusive Friday late night screening of Czech director Tony Laue’s black comedy Aussig on October 21 at the Lake Pepin Art & Design Center. The story revolves around the relationship between two new lecturers at a local university—a Russian and an American. Tension starts when the two men are forced to live together in one small dorm room. The two men could not be more unlike. They quickly develop a dislike for each other. They conflict over everything from ketchup to women. It is as if another Cold War has broken out with the battleground being their little tiny dorm room.

Regular screening and full festival passes, which will include the Opening Night Gala and access to the Festival Lounge at the Breakwater, are available online now at www.flywayfilmfestival.org. Individual tickets are available online now and will also be available during the Festival at the Festival and Venue Box Offices.

Tags: arts and entertainment, announcements, entertainment