Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival 2008

Closing Work is an evocative reexamination of the impact of America�s first Transcontinental Railroad. The filmmaker employs vignettes inter-cut with text to create a meditation on time, space and connectivity. In 1863, with the Gold Rush having spurred interest, construction began on the Central Pacific Railroad. An important telegraph line was built adjacent to the tracks. Ceremonially completed on May 10, 1869, with the famous "golden spike" event at Promontory Summit, Utah, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific joined up to complete the transcontinental railroad. But this haunting work is not simply about that history but rather an introspective and enigmatic meditation.

An abandoned parking deck turns into an urban battleground for Three anonymous fighters. They engage in combat with futuristic weapons. A high octane mix of choreographed fights and special effects.

Micah Stansell – A Convolution of Imagined HistoriesA Convolution of Imagined Histories is comprised of four chapters, telling four separatestories that make up a meta-narrative.The works are my interpretation of the result of imagining the visual trackto the story of someone else's memories. So they are documentary andat the same time, fiction.The film blends high-resolution digital stills, HD video, 8mm homemovies (transferred to HD video) and composited images.It is my intention to create an interior space – a sound and imagetransportation into something that resembles memory (both specificmemories – in this case, second person memories – and, in some way,universal memories). What makes this duality possible is each smallernarrative’s focus on liminal spaces. They focus on the small, mundanemoments that surround the dramatic (or traumatic) moments.

In this coming-of-age story, the absentee father of an alienated teenage boy returns home to a small town in East Texas, to discover a household of crystal meth addicts. The father and son struggle to reconnect and stay clean while sharing their house with an abusive uncle. The uncle's meth-fueled rage increasingly threatens the safety of the entire family, and in the end, father and son are left with only one option.

J. and Steve, best friends forever, stumble into an opportunity when a Mexican pal, recently deported, needs their help to get back across the border. Surprised at how easy it is to fool the Border Patrol agents in Nogales, the guys see it as a chance to corner the market as the 'Kinder, Gentler People Smugglers,' while beating the Minutemen at their own game in the process. Soon enough, J. and Steve learn the real danger in crossing boundaries.

In 1999, Governor George W. Bush buys a ranch in Crawford, Texas and calls it "home"; an insular community explodes overnight. Bush soon declares candidacy for President and months later, he thrusts the town of 705 into the spotlight as his token symbol – the President’s "Western White House." Crawford is instantly overrun with international press corps and droves of flocking tourists. Shops open; Main St. booms; the locals watch themselves on national TV. But soon, Crawford's boom is busting like the Presidency itself. Left to deal with the aftermath are the real people of Crawford. Their lives are changed forever. And their story is our own.

DANCE OF THE DEAD is an horror/adventure movie that takes place on the night of the big Prom-- the dead rise to eat the living, and the only people who can stop them are the losers who couldn't get dates to the dance.

Chaz Davenport, a dashing but naive playboy, scion of a wealthybusiness clan owns ”The Tower' the hottest new nightclub in town. Hisdiscovery of a web of lies and betrayal leads him to try to unravel theunexpected death of his father. DARK STREETS is a stylish fantasy noirfever dream of blues music, seduction, murder and corruption in highplaces. The film contains 7 original on camera music and dance numberschoreographed by Keith

What was a typical job escalates into a violent argument in this heart-stopping drama. Enrique is a young man far from home trying to make a living wage as a day laborer on the streets of Los Angeles. He thinks he has finally caught a break when Marcus and Kathy pick him up, along with two other immigrant laborers, to help them move. On the job Enrique meets and befriends their teenage son as he helps pack up his childhood room. But things quickly take a turn for the worst when Marcus attempts to pay the men with a check, unaware that day laborers are often cheated out of their wages with bad checks. A simple misunderstanding explodes into a violent standoff with Enrique stuck in the middle. ?A Day?s Work? examines the hopes and fears inherent to the immigrant story, both on the part those crossing the border and those willing to take advantage of the influx of cheap labor. When violence erupts, the prejudices of all involved are brought to light and mistrust, assumption and language stand as barriers to an easy resolution.