News/Press - Filmmaker Justin Hannah's Short Film Night featured in Ace Weekly

Filmmaker Justin Hannah's Short Film Night featured in Lexington's Ace Weekly
Posted September 12, 2013

Lexington's excellent Ace Weekly interviewed each of the Kentucky filmmakers participating in the second Short Film Night at Natasha's, curated and hosted by Justin Hannah.

Filmslang 2013: Short Film Night highlights Kentucky filmmakers

Lexington doesn’t yet have a fullscale Film Festival to call its own, but Filmslang (part of WRFL’s annual Boomslang festival) presents a full slate every Fall.

Filmslang programming, organized by The Lexington Film League and the Lexington Public Library, is scheduled for the week leading up to Boomslang, from September 13-17, 2013 and includes a local music video showcase; a short film night at Natasha’s; the Sundance Film Festival award-winning narrative feature Computer Chess; the feature-length documentary Adjust Your Tracking: The Untold Story of the VHS Collector; the 30-minute sci-fi short film “What is a Group?” by musician Ian Svenonius (Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up, Chain & the Gang); and a “Pecha Kucha” style meet-up for the local film community.

Lexington does have a rich history of filmmaking, from the days of 100 Proof up through KET’s ongoing Reel Visions series, and more recent efforts last year like Hitting the Cycle and Pleased to Meet Me. Last winter’s Short Film night, which highlighted local films, was a sold-out affair.

Local filmmaker Justin Hannah, who organized Lexington’s first Short Film Night, as well as the upcoming sequel on September 16, says, “The response we had to the last Short Film Night made me realize that there’s a real interest in this area in films and filmmaking, and the success of events like the Harry Dean Stanton Fest and Bruce Barnett’s Red River Moon premiere just confirms it.”

In curating the followup, he says his goal was for the lineup “to be as eclectic as possible, and run the gamut from comedy to suspense to artistic drama to music video. Next time I’d like to get a short documentary in there.”

Of the roster of six local films, his will be the only music video. He filmed the band, All the Little Pieces, outdoors, at Jacobson Park and an abandoned fishing shack in Berry, Kentucky. He says, I felt a really strong connection to ‘Sol Melodiam.’ I love the wistful, airy mood of the song and the almost-Buddhist quality in the lyrics. These guys are super talented, especially considering the singer/songwriter is only 12 years old. I think she’s some kind of musical prodigy or something.”

Jeremy Midkiff (an alum of the first short film night), does double-duty this time around. He plays the obsessive main character in Thom Southerland’s West of Rome, and he and Jonathan Moore continue their ongoing ballads of Rob and Ova with Second Chances. He admits, ” I would like to continue doing all of the aspects (writing, directing, acting, editing), but hopefully not all in the same movie the way I am in the feature we are making. It is just physically and mentally draining to have six different jobs on a feature and to also have a real job too...” continue reading >>

"Consignment" is a stylish period drama written and directed by Justin Hannah, starring Abbra Smallwood, Margaret Wuertz, Jake Gilliam and Jessica McGill, with cinematography by Lee Clements and music by Robert Casal.

Described in reviews as "an alluring, multi-layered film experience" and "a beautifully realized, thought provoking short film," the movie has drawn comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch. "Consignment" won awards for Best Cinematography at the 2015 Blaquefyre Independent Film Festival, Best Kentucky Short at the 2014 Autumn Shorts Film Festival, Best Short Film at the 2013 World Independent Film Expo, and Most Original Film at the 2013 Floyd Film Festival.

Justin Hannah's "Consignment" is now available for instant streaming on Hulu and Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Vimeo On Demand, and IndieFlix.