The Jerome Indie Film & Music Festival is probably the coolest looking film festival ever conjured up, courtesy of founder Toni Michele Ross. The concept is to showcase truly independent material, in the way that many indie film festivals no longer do. In keeping with the concept, the location is the near ghost town of Jerome, almost a mile up in Arizona's Black Hills, surrounded by the Prescott National Forest. Even just working from pictures, it's hard to imagine a more outstanding location for a festival.
Just imagine these three venues, then look up the imagery. The Lighthouse Theatre seats 100; by day, it's the Jerome Fire Station. Trey Brayden Cinemahouse seats 300. That's a former JC Penney officially named the Lawrence Memorial Hall, though it's normally known as Spook Hall. What do you expect from the 'world's largest ghost town'? Finally, there's the Starlit Mine Theatre, a 500 seat parking lot on top of a mountain near the Old Jerome Copper Mine, overlooking the city. Every image I see of Jerome and this festival screams quirky, unique and memorable, and these venues fit those descriptions perfectly.
Back in the 1920s, more than ten thousand people lived in and around Jerome, working its rich copper mines. By the 1950s, the town's population had dropped below a hundred, but a concerted bid to build tourism raised it over four hundred. The most notable resident is Maynard James Keenan, lead singer of the bands Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer. He owns wineries in the area and the feature length documentary about his Arizona winemaking,
Blood into Wine, screens at the festival, which also features wine tasting opportunities throughout.
Working through the schedule, it's clear that the majority of the material being screened is sourced from the state of Arizona, with a few films from further afield. To an explorer of local film, this is a real treat because it allows me to discover hard to find previous work by actors and directors I know. No doubt many of them will be in attendance, as Jerome is only a couple of hours away from Phoenix. One familiar face is the local film critic for the Examiner, Bill Pierce, who programmed a set of AZ Forbidden Films.
It's suitably diverse otherwise, mixing up documentaries with dramas and genre material, as well as older films with brand new pictures receiving their world premieres. As the name of the festival suggests, it's also not just a film festival, as a number of bands will be playing live throughout. Even there, connections are apparent, as one set of short films is devoted to music videos. Threefold Fate, one of the bands playing live, were featured in
Blood Moon Rising, a 2009 film by Brian Skiba, whose newest picture, 2013's
Crushed Velvet, premieres at Jerome with many of the same cast and crew.
Here are all the films that screened this year, with titles linking to my reviews and the IMDb pages added for reference, where possible.
Rating System
1 -
Abysmal | 2 -
Bad | 3 -
Poor | 4 -
OK | 5 -
Good | 6 -
Excellent | 7 -
Classic
| | | | | |
| Documentary Features |
| Title | Year | H | D | Director(s) | IMDb |
| Absent | 2010 | | | Justin Hunt | IMDb |
| American Meth | 2008 | | | Justin Hunt | IMDb |
| Blood into Wine | 2010 | | | Ryan Page & Christopher Pomerenke | IMDb |
| Mill Ave, Inc | 2008 | | | Nicholas Holthaus & Chris Valentine | IMDb |
| Music City USA | 2013 | 3 | 4 | Chris McDaniel | IMDb |
| North Town: Heritage of a Black Community | 2011 | | | Bruce Nelson | IMDb |
| Ripsaw | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Steve Dorssom | IMDb |
| The Speed of Orange | 2012 | | | Justin Hunt | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| Drama Features |
| Title | Year | H | D | Director(s) | IMDb |
| .357: Six Bullets for Revenge | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Brian Skiba | IMDb |
| Broken Roads | 2012 | | | Justin Chambers | IMDb |
| Cathedral Canyon | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Paul Davis | IMDb |
| Celestial Run | 2012 | | | Ruben Garcia | IMDb |
| Hell for a Bounty Hunter | 1980 | 5 | 5 | Ron Nix | n/a |
| Hollywood Seagull | 2013 | | | Michael Guinzburg | IMDb |
| A Man Called Nereus | 2012 | 4 | 4 | Nathan Hill | IMDb |
| Paranoia | 2011 | 5 | 5 | Bivás Biswas | IMDb |
| Passionflower | 2011 | | | Shelagh Carter | IMDb |
| The Red Machine | 2009 | 5 | 5 | Stephanie Argy & Alec Boehm | IMDb |
| Romans Road | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Helen Gibson | IMDb |
| Shouting Secrets | 2011 | | | Korinna Sehringer | IMDb |
| Stuck Outside of Phoenix | 2013 | | | Dean Mongan | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| All AZ Comedy Shorts |
| Title | Year | H | D | Director(s) | IMDb |
| The Arthouse: Lily Moves In | 2013 | 3 | 3 | Kevin Patterson | IMDb |
| Being Nigel | 2010 | 4 | 4 | Mandie Smith & Charlie Steak | IMDb |
| Clint | 2012 | 4 | 4 | Charles Peterson | IMDb |
| Grab Ass | 2012 | 4 | 4 | Matt Chesin | IMDb |
| The Mid-Life Crisis Guide to Your Stripper | 2012 | 4 | 4 | John Kestner | IMDb |
| Mr Wallace the Great | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Nicki Legge | IMDb |
| Porn Shop Heckler | 2006 | 3 | 4 | Jason Ryan | n/a |
| Questions? | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Kimber Leigh | n/a |
| The Story of May Beaver | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Kimber Leigh & Enzo Treppa | n/a |
| Voyage Trekkers: Welcome Aboard | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Nathan Blackwell | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| Arcadia Student Shorts |
| Title | Year | H | D | Director(s) | IMDb |
| Colorblind | 2013 | 3 | 3 | Rachel Smith | n/a |
| Jaydreaming | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Christian Vazquez | n/a |
| Life of Ryan | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Zack Tomaselli | n/a |
| Tarmac | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Mikey Giambra | n/a |
| | | | | |
| AZ Forbidden Films |
| Title | Year | H | D | Director(s) | IMDb |
| Hand of the Earth | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Barri Chase | n/a |
| Her Special Day | 2009 | 6 | 5 | Casey Moore | IMDb |
| Mia's Blues | 2010 | 5 | 5 | Orchid Tao | n/a |
| Sex and Violence | 2009 | 5 | 5 | Charles Peterson | IMDb |
| The Tortolita Twelve | 2012 | 6 | 5 | Steve Anderson | IMDb |
| The Violation | 2013 | 6 | 6 | Christopher Bradley | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| Documentary Shorts |
| Title | Year | H | D | Director(s) | IMDb |
| Among Giants | 2011 | | | Chris Cresci, Ben Mullinkosson & Sam Price-Waldman | IMDb |
| The Art of Beer | 2012 | | | Oscar Ussery | IMDb |
| The Ghost of the Cuban Queen Bordello | 2013 | | | Lorrie Lawrence | n/a |
| Kooz | 2013 | | | Jenna Duncan | n/a |
| The Light | | | | | n/a |
| Power in the Pristine | 2011 | | | Christine Kassar & James Q Martin | IMDb |
| Why We Climb | 2013 | | | Chris Cresci | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| Drama Shorts |
| Title | Year | H | D | Director(s) | IMDb |
| Afterword | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Devon Dresback | IMDb |
| Canoe | 2011 | | | Shelagh Carter & Deborah Schnitzer | IMDb |
| The Couch | 2012 | | | Rubens Marinelli Neto | IMDb |
| A Day on Bleaker Street | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Bill Wetherill | IMDb |
| The Hole | 2011 | | | Richard Anderson & Ray Hernandez | IMDb |
| It's Over! | 2010 | 5 | 5 | Gita Farid | IMDb |
| James the Janitor | 2012 | | | Nick Van Houghton | IMDb |
| A Lovely Afternoon | 2011 | | | Michael Kirchoff | IMDb |
| Mission Control | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Brandon Nazari | IMDb |
| Outside Man | 2012 | | | Matthew Robert Walker | IMDb |
| Western X | 2010 | | | Nathan Blackwell, Michael Flores & David Sabal | IMDb |
| Winding Road | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Diane M Dresback | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| Holy Moly Horror Shorts |
| Title | Year | H | D | Director(s) | IMDb |
| Alone | 2013 | 4 | 3 | Anthony R Pisano | n/a |
| Conception | | 5 | 5 | Angel Ruiz | n/a |
| Dust Jacket | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Kenneth Miller | IMDb |
| Fidelia | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Candace Rose | IMDb |
| ICE | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Adam Coppola | n/a |
| Incident on Highway 73 | 2012 | 6 | 6 | Brian Thompson | IMDb |
| Last Call | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Kenny Colt | IMDb |
| The Muse | 2012 | 4 | 4 | Brian Kiefling | IMDb |
| Night of the Seamonkey | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Michael S Rodriguez | IMDb |
| Test Footage | 2012 | 4 | 4 | Cody Loepke | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| Love Shorts Baby! |
| Title | Year | H | D | Director(s) | IMDb |
| Eduardo and Ted | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Brittany Meyerhardt | IMDb |
| Kerry and Angie | 2012 | 5 | - | Amanda Melby | IMDb |
| Love Abridged | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Francisco Cortez | IMDb |
| Moving Day | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Chad Darnell | IMDb |
| Second Chance | 2012 | 4 | 4 | Lee Quarrie | IMDb |
| Second Chances | 2012 | 4 | 4 | Jon Ray | IMDb |
| Spark | 2012 | 4 | 4 | Diane M Dresback | IMDb |
| The Sunshine Girls | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Kevin R Phipps | IMDb |
| Tears of a Clown | 2013 | 4 | 5 | Brandon Nazari | IMDb |
| Virtual Intervention | 2010 | 4 | 4 | Jeremy Clayton | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| No Chick Flick Shorts |
| Title | Year | H | D | Director(s) | IMDb |
| Dead Man's Hand | 2011 | 4 | 4 | Tyson Smith | IMDb |
| Extended Stay | 2011 | 5 | 5 | Matt Gismondi | IMDb |
| Gandhi at the Bat | 2006 | 6 | 6 | Stephanie Argy & Alec Boehm | IMDb |
| Home Front | 2012 | 4 | 4 | Brian Ford | IMDb |
| Opportunity | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Brian Osback | n/a |
| Paco's Two Bean Double Frozen Margarita | 2000 | 5 | 5 | Rich Lang & Mark Vasconcellos | IMDb |
| Pattern: Response | 2009 | 5 | 5 | Stephen Krystek | IMDb |
| Sight | 2012 | 6 | 6 | Daniel Lazo & Eran May-Raz | IMDb |
| Worth | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Nic Barker | IMDb |
The Jerome Indie Film & Music Festival is probably the coolest looking film festival ever conjured up, courtesy of founder Toni Michele Ross. The concept is to showcase truly independent material, in the way that many indie film festivals no longer do. In keeping with the concept, the location is the near ghost town of Jerome, almost a mile up in Arizona's Black Hills, surrounded by the Prescott National Forest. Even just working from pictures, it's hard to imagine a more outstanding location for a festival.
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