Making Imagination Reel
Watch the Best of CFF 2021 Here!
The Chesapeake Film Festival (CFF) announces a new bi-monthly series, “Making Imagination Reel,” showcasing outstanding films featured in the 2021 Festival. The first program in the series, available through December 2021 and January 2022, offers three incredible short films and interviews with their filmmakers. The series is free on chesapeakefilmfestival.com.
“By popular demand, we’re making selected films from 2021 available on our website,” said Cid Collins Walker, CFF Festival Director. “Every two months, we’ll bring you exceptional films that won CFF awards and/or were most popular with our virtual audience. You’ll also get extensive interviews we conducted with the filmmakers. I’m very excited to share those.”
The December and January lineup includes these films and interviews with their directors:
CFF Award for Best Made-in-Maryland film
Our Story: LifeTime Wells (17 minutes) Watch Now
This powerful film follows the remarkable story of a water charity based in Denton, MD that has drilled more than 2,500 water wells in Africa to help underserved populations all over the continent.
Director Rob Simmons skipped walking across a stage for graduation to fly 7,000 miles to rural Tanzania with a water well driller from my hometown, Ken Wood. Throughout the month-long trip, he watched a 75-year-old man, who had open heart surgery twice, drill 3-4 wells a day in grueling heat, through swarms of killer bees, all on a diet of canned tuna and Dunkin coffee that’d he’d packed from the Denton, MD Walmart. Rob left the trip craving the opportunity to pay tribute to Ken’s generosity and dedication.
CFF Award for Best Narrative Short
Pooch Sitter (15 minutes) Watch Now
The protagonist of Pooch Sitter, Claire Wingham, floats through life with a chameleon-like creativity and unperturbed naivete, finding her dog-sitting clients from a park bench.
Director Monda Raquel Webb tackles topics that challenge the status quo, like homelessness in Pooch Sitter, raising the rug under which many secrets are held. Monda also is a visual archaeologist dedicated to telling little known stories hidden in the crevices of history’s pages. Her multi award-winning short film Zoo (Volkerschau), about the last known human zoo at the 1958 World Fair in Brussels, Belgium, also was an official selection of the 2021 CFF Virtual Festival.
Second most-popular film in CFF 2021 Virtual Festival
True North: Sailing to Salvation (19:35 minutes) Watch Now
This documentary short features distressed war veterans who, feeling alienated from society upon their return from duty, find healing, connection, and a sense of belonging on the Chesapeake Bay.
Director Suzie Galler is a distinguished documentary filmmaker, producing films for the major TV networks, Disney Studios, Lifetime TV, and USAID. After living in many different cities, Suzie finally landed in a small, welcoming community on the Chesapeake Bay where she felt fulfilled in her environment and creative life. When she realized she had found her True North, she began to explore what that concept might mean for others.
