During the next week-and-a-half Dalton State College will wrap up its 2023 independent film series with two screenings of feature films.
The series includes four showings that have been slated for the college’s Goodroe Auditorium at 656 College Drive during four months. The college hosted Chattanooga filmmaker Sarah Wood and her comedy-drama “Amazing Gracie” in September and followed with a screening of Cleveland, Tennessee, resident Matthew Fisher’s feature film “The Good People of Orphan Ridge,” about a rock band that sneaks into a haunted house to record its last album, in October.
The next screening takes place on Wednesday and will feature Atlanta-based director Chris Flippo and his film “Edge of Town” that includes scenes filmed in Dalton. Along with several crew members who worked on the film, Flippo will discuss the filmmaking process.
The film is a “coming-of-age family drama,” said Barbara Tucker, the department chair of communication for Dalton State. “Like the title, this film is an edgier exploration of family conflict.”
“Edge of Town” tells the story of main character Summer Roone whose world is turned upside down when her wayward father and younger brother reenter her life when she least expects it. It stars Georgia actor Audrey Deitz, Geoff James and Duane Whitaker, who had short-but-memorable roles in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” and Rob Zombie’s “Halloween II.” The film is 103 minutes.
On Wednesday, Dec. 6, Dalton State will conclude the film series with a showing of “Access Control,” a 61-minute film directed by Chattanooga-based filmmaker Andrew J. Bullard IV.
Tucker said the film is “a sort of buddy-cop dramedy” and “follows an unlikely duo of hospital security guards who team up to solve a local pill thief case.”
Bullard will host a question-and-answer session following the conclusion of the film. The 2022 film has won and been nominated for several awards across festivals such as “Best Feature Film” and “Best Cast” at the Couch Film Festival in Toronto and “Best Actor” for Bullard at the Crown Point International Film Festival in Chicago.
Each showing has a start time of 6:30 p.m. The screenings are free and open to the public.
“It’s not just for students,” Tucker said. “All are welcome.”
For students at Dalton State who have a concentration or an interest in the school’s film pathway, Tucker said the screenings provide an opportunity to network with local individuals in the field.
“This is an opportunity to make connections with local filmmakers and learn from them,” she said.