This year’s Flyover Film Festival was packed with great films, from Cannes-qualifying shorts to intense documentaries. But, after the rush of the festival and the conversations that followed settled, we started thinking: It would be fun to revisit the films from last year’s festival.
So, join us on our journey. Below is a brief description of each film that showed at the 2022 Flyover Film Festival, and where you can currently watch them.
The Beat of the Heart (Short Film)
For decades, Louisville has been a first-class and experimental music city. The short, half-hour documentary “The Beat of the Heart” follows Louisville-based music therapist Brian Schreck, who has recorded the hearts of cancer patients and intends to incorporate them into compositions.
You can currently watch “The Beat of the Heart” via Vimeo.
The UFO Girl (Short Film)
In this short film from Louisville filmmaker Shane Devon, a UFO has been parked over the town of Stone’s Throw, Kentucky for three decades. But, it hasn’t moved or opened. A local high schooler — who leads tour guides about the town’s unique situation — struggles to ask her crush to senior prom and with being bullied, but fortune ends up finding her in the end.
You can currently watch “The UFO Girl” via Vimeo.
Flobic (Short Film)
In the workplace dark comedy “Flobic,” a middle-aged man endures being mistreated by his boss and co-workers, and goes on a psychological journey. It’s a unique, experimental take on the genre that feels remarkably fresh and intense.
You can currently watch “Flobic” via Vimeo.
The Silence Between (Short Film)
An experimental, sharp drama short that follows a couple at the downfall of their relationship, “The Silence Between” is an emotionally-driven look at challenging moments in life. You’ll walk away from this one feeling like you saw something completely original.
You can currently watch “The Silence Between” via Vimeo.
What We Do Next
After serving 16 years for killing her abusive father, a young woman’s story is untangled, chronicling how a New York City Councilwoman and a Corporate Attorney were involved in the original crime. A heavy portion of this full-length drama was shot in Louisville, even though the movie takes place in New York.
A release for What We Do Next is being planned for September, according to the film’s website.
Live Out Loud
This full-length documentary follows three people experiencing homelessness in Portland, Oregon, who are creating films in a grant-funded program as a way to heal from trauma. The goal of the program was to use the transformative power of film to uplift, and provide a creative outlet for, the film’s subjects. The film shows how their artistic journeys intersect with their rocky pasts and hopeful futures. Director Melissa Gregory Rue is a Kentucky native.
You can currently watch Live Out Loud via Vudu.
Statues: This Is What We Stand For?
The hour-long documentary Statues: This Is What We Stand For? examines statues and pieces of public art that are intertwined with racism, through the lens of Louisville and the John B. Castleman statue debate. Castleman, who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War, had a statue in Cherokee Triangle, but it was removed in 2020. The movie is an in-depth look at the social and political temperature of that year, and the years that followed.
You can currently watch Statues via KET.
Gurgle: Pulling Water
The documentary Gurgle: Pulling Water is a love letter to the sport of rowing and the people who have contributed great achievements to it. All cast members are members of the Louisville Boat Club, and the doc delves into the epic stories that they have, including Tori Murden McClure, the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic.
Distribution of Gurgle: Pulling Water to all 350+ PBS will begin on Aug. 19 and continue for three years.
Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids
Cabbage Patch Kids took collection culture by storm. One of the most popular mass-market children’s toys of the 1980s, the dolls were a mega-hit. Narrated by Neil Patrick Harris, the documentary Billion Dollar Babies provides a vivid look at a consumerism phenomenon that is a long and winding story that showed a changing America.
Abramorama recently bought the rights to Billion Dollar Babies, and is planning a theatrical release for this fall, according to an article in Variety.
