The Highway 61 Film Festival comes to
Pine Technical College this weekend, Oct. 14 and 15. The festival will feature 39 short and feature-length films. Doors open at the PTC auditorium (room 20) at 6 p.m. Friday for the first session of films. The price for each session of films is only $5.
FULL SCHEDULEFRIDAY EVENING 6:30 pm @ Pine Technical College Auditorium
What If? Director: Noah Schwell • Comedy • 6 min
A boy discovers what it's like to have all his wishes suddenly answered.
Boundary Waters Director: Lee Houghtaling • Drama • 36 min
A gruff loner who lives in a remote cabin faces financial pressures and the encroachment of outsiders that threaten his way of life.
Five Bucks Til Friday Director: Zach Hamill • Comedy • 28 min
Goofy slacker Scott wakes up Monday morning with five dollars to his name... and has to make it last for five frustratingly eventful days.
Stories Next DoorDirector: Jeff Weihe • Documentary • 28 min
A close-up look at innovative programs that connect youth and seniors to record and celebrate local history as part of the Minnesota Historical Society's statewide Sharing Community Stories initiative.
Lumber JillDirector: Tucker Lucas • Comedy • 29 min
Jill LeBlah, an urban misfit, decides to finally seek her birth parents. Her journey leads her to Cloquet, an old logging town in northern Minnesota, where she, in the midst of magical lumberjacks and talking taxidermy discovers … a home?
Songs to Enemies and DesertsDirectors: David Martinez and Shane Bauer • Documentary • 35 min
In Darfur, an area of Sudan controlled by two factions of armed rebels, farmers and herders go about with their daily lives as they interact with the rebels. It’s been said that 95 percent of a war is waiting, and this film is about that part: when the conflict comes to a standstill, and the men with guns become part of everyday existence. Life is hard in Darfur, but it continues on nonetheless.
FRIDAY LATE NIGHT 10pm @ Danny C's BeachRocks Resort
RecreationDirector: James Vogel • Documentary • 8 min
An observational documentary about drug use, and how it relates to our social activities.
All Over the WallsDirectors: Ryan Anderson, Greg Paape, Joe Galegher, Jake Johnson, and Alex Grangaard • Documentary • 77 min
This documentary follows eccentric and charismatic mixed media artist and body painter Jacob as he pursues his dream of building an art gallery that doubles as an underground party space in downtown Minneapolis. Experience the many difficulties and meet the collection of characters Jacob encounters.
The True Story of Peter PanDirector: James Vogel • Comedy • 13 min
A mocumentary about what might happen if Peter Pan existed in the real world.
Night SurfDirector: Brittany Gustafson • Drama • 16 min
In an alternate reality where the Nazis won WWII and are now creating human-animal hybrids, the lives of five people intersect at a top secret medical facility.
CocainineDirector: Jack Deflorin • Action/Horror • 20 min
A villainous plan to sell moondust as a drug brings chaos and murder to the city, and a detective is forced to get up earlier than he wanted to.
Your Mother's a HuntDirector: John Karsko • Comedy • 14 min
Meeting her boyfriend's mom for the first time, a young woman goes toe to toe with her when the discover each is hiding a supernatural secret.
Hunting BuddiesDirector: Bill Cooper • Action/Horror • 77 min
Old friends gather for a weekend of fun and hunting. But when one of them goes missing, dark secrets emerge.
SATURDAY 11:30 am • Family-Friendly @ Pine Technical College Auditorium
Rhythm Sticks Director: Kristin Seuntjens • Animation (Not for competition) • 28 min
The whole family will love visiting the wonderful world of Rhythm Sticks, where learning about music is always fun!
Spaceman from Space Director: Jack Deflorin • Comedy • 3 min
When a young space cadet crash-lands on an unknown planet he is forced to survive without a bunch of stuff, and in his search for stuff he finds himself in a battle of wits with the local inhabitants.
Whistle Director: Mike Gainor • Comedy • 8 min
An unhappy boy looks for a cure for his sadness, and finds it... at the Pine County Fair!
Underwater Ocean VisitDirector: Bonnie Menigo • Documentary • 23 min
Join scuba divers as they discover underwater creatures in a world few people get to see.
Welcome to America: 50 states in 50 days Director: Rodney Johnson • Documentary • 90 min
Roger Johnson and his travel partner Haley Chamberlain began a journey to all 50 United States in only 50 days. Starting in New York City, the two drove over 15,000 miles ending their journey in Honolulu, Hawaii on the 4th of July.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON 2:30pm @ Pine Technical College Auditorium
Ink Blots Director: Sara Maki • Documentary (Not for competition) • 5 min
A trailer version of a documentary exploring the meanings and reasons for people's tattoo choices.
Out of Character Director: Barbara P. Flees • Drama • 21 min
The world inside the mind of author Zander – once a heavy drinker and womanizer. He cleaned up his act and is ready to move on by killing his main character, Zeke, who represents Zander's unpleasant past. As he considers his options, Zeke tries to dissuade Zander from ending his book series.
Games Men Play Director: Norm Barnhart • Comedy • 3 min
A news report on the destructive and addicting game that is sweeping the nation.
CentoDirector: Michael Thompson • Animation • 5 min
A strange and mysterious exploration of art and meaning.
Sun Gods Director: Nial Hopkins • Drama • 16 min
When a stranger rolls into town with only a map to his name, he enlists two brothers to guide him on his journey.
Masquerade Director: Jennifer Prettyman • Drama • 27 min
Two lost souls are brought together through an evening of drinks and conversation at a local bar.
Payback Time Director: Mark Kopischke • Comedy • 7 min
An inventor uses his time-travel machine to wreak revenge on enemies and former girlfriends.
Harold Crumb Director: Christopher Jopp • Drama • 24 min
Poor Harold. Too many fortune cookies to fill, and that yellow rabbit always out of reach...
The Suit Director: Adam Chown • Comedy • 7 min
After receiving their tax refund, two friends purchase new suits with the sole intention of destroying them.
Lambent Fuse Director: Matt Cici • Drama • 99 min
The choices of a depressive man, a kleptomaniac, two amateur thieves, a mysterious chef, and a corrupt cop cause their intertwining lives and dynamic outcomes.
SATURDAY EVENING 6:30pm @ Pine Technical College Auditorium
Love Notes Director: Canyon Lalama • Action/Horror • 11 min
Lovelorn Victor is rejected by his beloved Henrietta. He is in the process of killing himself when he finds a magical accordion on the train tracks. He uses the accordion's magic to try and seduce Henrietta, but it backfires when she is stabbed by a fork. Victor must defeat the evil accordion and come to terms with the rejection.
Stitches Director: Mason Makram • Action/Horror • 13 min
Jolene is wanted for the murder of a state trooper. Bullet wound in her stomach, she must do whatever it takes to get a passport to the border to Canada.
Bloodshed Love Director: Mason Makram • Action/Horror • 17 min
1927: Handyman Daniel Coyle is called to yet another job at the house of the beautiful Becky Darling. As love buds, his boss takes him to a speakeasy where he finds Becky in the lap of her procurer, McLintock, whom Coyle discovers is her procurer. Coyle convinces her to stand up for herself, but McLintock will have the final say. Instead of taking her to a new life, Coyle finds ...
Roadside Assistance Director: Mark Kopischke • Comedy • 8 min
Stranded in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire, an unhappy couple's journey to find a jack turns into a bizarre adventure as they meet some interesting characters along the way.
Dope SickDirector: Elijah Woodcock • Action/Horror • 18 min
Todd Parker finds himself lost in a maze of a rundown hotel. Lovely Terra Crowe guides him through the twists and turns of his own mind in an attempt to escape his doomed fate.
Birthmarked for DeathDirector: Matt Olson • Comedy • 8 min
A reluctant hitman and an inept informant bond over substitute teaching on the way to an execution.
Ghost from the Machine Director: Matt Osterman • Action/Horror • 86 min
A young man, raising his even younger brother after the death of their parents, plunges himself into the murky science of the supernatural and invents a machine intended to be a conduit to the other side. He reaches an unintended level of success that not only threatens his safety, but also those around him.
SATURDAY LATE NIGHT 10pm @ Danny C's BeachRocks Resort • Adult content
The Missing Frame Director: Elijah Woodcock • Action/Horror • 12 min
After finding his wife's dead body in their motel room, Johnny Keys goes on a hunt to find the man responsible. His only clue a car with a busted out back window he sees fleeing the scene.
Attack of the Moon Zombies Director: Christopher R. Mihm • Action/Horror • 99 min
On Jackson Lunar Base, scientists stumble upon a seemingly impossible discovery: alien plant life on the surface of the moon! Unfortunately, exposure to the spores of this otherworldly flora cause instant death. Too bad those killed by them don't stay dead, and want nothing more than to replicate!
Some Fangs Directors: Mark L. Nielson and Destiny Soria • Action/Horror • 9 min
A girl gets revenge on her human ex-boyfriend after a mysterious vampire turns her into one of the undead.
Potpourri Director: Brandon Van Vliet • Action/Horror • 90 min
A group of students are faced with expulsion if their final philosophy papers are not satisfactory. As a result, the inept group of friends decides to experiment with a series of illicit drugs to help them understand some of the mind-bending concepts of the course – but the students begin to realize how severely they've underestimated the effects of the drugs...
Photo: Kristin Seuntjens introduces her film "Rhythm Sticks" Sat. morning at the festival. (Photo added Oct. 17)