On this visit to the Film Lounge, six strangers find their lives unexplainable, entangled.

A central Iowa family shares their love for a specific car.

Three people find themselves playing a dangerous game.

We spotlight a northeast Iowa film festival.

Yet a complicated shot goes awry on a film set.

And a musician takes a magical trip through time.

No ticket necessary.

You're about to enter the film Fu nding for this program was provided by friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation, as well as generations of families and friends who feel passionate about the programs they watch on Iowa PBS.

The Film Lounge is produced in partnership with the Iowa Economic Development Authority Hi, I'm Auden Lincoln-Vogel and I' No Exit is the first live action film I made.

I was an animator before, and so I think the the animators sensibility is really apparent in this film in the way I was directing the actors and also thinking about the I actually started out by animating the whole thing with just kind of colored blocks that would move around in different characters and move around choreography of all the characters, which is fairly intricate, and to so that when I worked with the actors, it would be a lot more fluid and I would actually know how I could actually break it down to the more sensible way.

And so was filmed in the studios at the University of Iowa.

We built a set that was reused six times for the six different rooms that were slightly dressed, slightly different, four differently for each of rooms that are part of I also really wanted to create a viewing experience that wasn't like most films where you' but your imagination ca n kind of drift from one part to another.

Originally, I wasn't s a sort of a si to be like an installation that would l and then you could watch it multiple t Ultimately, I ended up going with the film, but I do like the idea that you can rewat and each time you can watch a different room and sort of notice the dramas that a We actually shot this in one day, all the different parts of it.

I think one of the things that I had a with going into live action filmmaking was the fear of sor of wasting other people's time on set.

When I was doing animation, it was just my time.

It was just me in a room, drawing fr and that was time consuming.

It could be frustrating, but it was just me But then when you're asking a bunch of p there's like a lot of pressure there.

And I think I would have told myself to just chill out a little bit and not worry so m People were glad to be there.

It took me a while to learn, (Unintelligible TV broadcast sou Get up, Knock you out.

No, no, no.

Uhhh.

Give me that thing!

Nooooooo.

Huh?

(choking sounds) Hey!

No no, turn around.

Ah ha ha ha!

ha ha ha.

Ha ha, huh huh huh huh Ha ha ha ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha (fighting noises) No, no, no, no!

Hiyah!

(fighting sounds) (hugging grunts) (fighting sounds) Whoa!

Oh, now, now, now, now.

oh, oh.

Hey, hey, he No!

Get out.

Hey, no!

Uh, AHHHHHH!

I said out!

Huh?

Ahhh... (fighting sounds) No!

No!

(Lunging grunts) Ha ha ha!

Wooooooow!

Mm hm.

So they run.

(Unintelligible TV broadcast sou Hello, my name is Bruce James Bales.

I live in Des Moines, Iowa, and editor of Parts & Pieces.

Parts & Pieces is a documentary short that focuses on a tradition of a local family here in Des Moin The McGuire family That tradition is find old British Triumph vehic and they fix them up together.

And actually, each member So it's this tradition that it really caught my my attention, because not and have something that so mean that also is just like cool and like rad and like the the patriarch of the family, Chuck, he basically told us a story about how he came to possess an d then he would fix them up and it just really caught my attention because I just feel like people don't really do that anymore.

It's like something something that I w sit in a garage with my parents and fix up a And it's not even just like the men, it's everyone in regardless of their gender, that really know these vehicles inside and out and once you see these vehicles, you really understand the appeal.

I think really what comes through in the fi latch onto and that they look for is just Chuck's personality.

I think his personality comes through the film.

He's a great storyteller.

I love the way he talks.

I love his I love his wife's little tidbits in the audio where she talks about some Like, there's alwa with cars beca #Mr. Triumph,# especially in the in t People know him as that.

So, you know I hope that Chuck' and I hope people can latch onto that.

And I mean, that's really that people really just identify with the personality and the character that is Chuck and, you know, feel the the the passion and the soul of the project through him.

(piano music and car engine) In the nineties when I retired in 93, I thought, well, I've got this one car and I got four kids.

That's not going to work very well.

So I decided, Well, wh build another one?

So there was an gu y in West Des Moines had a garage like this and he had two of these cars in there in pieces.

The body was in two halves of the front half on the back half, and there was no metal.

But he had the doors and everything and the ot but it was really rusted o And so I offered him $3200.

Oh, no, no, no.

He says, #I'll take them to Cal That can get a lot more money there.

So a year later or two, I can't re Years later, I got a call from this boy's dad and he says, You still want So I said, yeah.

So I went picked t And so now, hey, I've got three cars.

I only need one more.

Someone found him and he called me one day, said, Hey, I got a guy that wants to sell his project.

So I said, Well, I'll look at it.

Okay.

You want a $900 So that got me the next one.

And then the next one was I had two project cars and then the last one was a guy who got a hold of me.

He says, #I have a car I'm trying to sell.# So I went and looked at it yeah, it had been in a barn out in a Stuart, Iowa, Just south of Stuart.

And we went out there, looked at.

This was in the middle of the winter when he called me.

He says, You can't see it right now.

I can't get the barn open.

So melt it out.

We went out and looked at he had drag it out into the field and it was pretty well rusted away, but it was all parts were there, but not all right.

There are a lot (quiet laugh) though.

Anyhow, I th he wanted.

$1,000.

That was the last one.

(piano music) (piano music and car sounds) Hi, I'm Kevin Shepherd.

I am from Newhall, Iow I'm Britney Benedict.

I live in Newhall, Iow Hi, I'm Michael Huntington.

I'm from Newhall, Iowa, and I'm the direct Shut the Box is a story about an individual who recently aged out of the foste And she's about to go into a house that and trying to start her new futur But there are some secrets in her past that she has to take care Ke vin brought Shut the Box to Michael and I, and this project is the first that we have made that we haven't written and a genre that we hadn't done yet.

And so I think just the story itself was really appealing to us and we were excited to hop on because Shut the Box is centered around a board game.

We also had to incorporate the rules of the g And so if people are able to follow al and learn the rules of the game and also absorb what the story is and be invested, I think that's a w So after we finished Shut the box, we got to work on the post- and it's really something with our group that once we finish a pr we really want to atta and we really wanted to try something differ And having music originally scored for the project, we reached out to Adam Slade, he goes by Celler Ghost, and he ended up scoring our project and creating a for the film that we never really had b because at that time we never had a composer work on a project for us.

Let's get this party started, huh?

The one thing that I take away from i focal point is the luck of the double meaning dialog.

So when you watch it the first time, the It helps carry the story.

And then when you're done watching it and then if you go back and knowing the ending, that dialog means something di And so we really lucked into that in the way that dialog, which is usually too much on the nose and, you know, throwaway lines and things like that, where it carried the story initially.

And it does have those deeper me (symphonic music) (Electronic soundscape and lightning) (organ music) (door opening) So is that the distinguished grandpa Fred?

It is.

So how old were you there?

I was nine.

We don't have to do this right now.

No, I've waited long enough.

It has to be t So you aged out of the system then, huh?

Last week.

Happy belated I remember when I got out.

At least you get this place.

So are we cleaning up or we clearing out or cleaning?

I'm not doing toilets or windows, so I'm up on breakfast.

Is that from a lake?

You I caught this seven foot Gar once?

Wow, What a record.

I wouldn't know.

I go So is this Bear Grylls over here?

Nick here lives off the grid.

Well, you know, spent my whole life in the system.

So you see, I've always been a bit of a doomsday prepper, You know, It's always But you, man, you got the Facebook card.

You make it sound like a disease, wasn't it a place where you can join and pretend t about your so-called family and friends?

Yeah, I.

My family's pretty nonexistent.

But I do have friends on there, though.

Oh, help your friends move stuff a Hey, I could've brought more people.

I just thought, you know.

Wait, wait, wait.

Is this.

Should I go?

No, I just didn't want to spend the whole day getting the look, you know, the whole O-M-G.

I'm sorry.

Your mom and then your grandpa when and you spent the entire second half with strangers who only cared about a monthly check.

Yeah.

Oh, that makes sense.

The three foster-tiers, th Oh, look at this.

Look.

Is that crazy how far technology has come?

Yeah.

From Low p and other me (unsettling music) Oh, guys, let's get this party started, hu We don't really have time for that man.

Come on, Roll the dice, we got time.

You know how to play?

Look, I spent a summer with a family fro It's all they played fine, How do you play?

all right, so check it out You roll the dice, right?

So choose which tiles to turn down.

One six, two, five.

So on.

So equals zero, you keep roll unti Whatever's left.

You add up for your score.

So what's the point?

Well, the point is to get the lowe or return down all the tiles and ultimately shut the box.

That#s it?

Not today!

Today we add u Take that many drinks.

I'm going to be honest with you.

That's pretty lame.

It's up to you guys.

Come on.

You go first.

I'm going to pass.

(sharp music sting) (heavy wind, menacing music) (door slam) The hell?

di No, Well, aren't you a sight to see?

Who are you?

That is not important.

What is important is what you do next.

Shut this box is what I do.

It's not that easy.

You have to play or you will stay in this eternal darkness.

Play?

If you win, you go free.

No, no, I'm going free right now.

Hello again What's going on?

If we lose?

when you lose your exile and it takes the souls of two for your return.

Your time handsome.

You can#t be serious.

You have to play.

So we're just going to play because some gypsy s It's sad to see your society still diminishes an entire race of people to one ignorant turn.

Pick your tiles.

No, I'm not playing.

I opted out.

You just left t All right.

There's This is stupid.

You gotta do the math.

Do you have a better play?

You got to consider the odds.

He's not wrong.

The whole thing is odd.

He's not wrong.

He's not wrong.

Now what?

It#s over What do you me Your turns over.

21.

Looks like your headed to my realm.

Like hell I am.

He hasn't lost yet.

21 is a pretty high score.

Just saying When#s it your turn?

This isn't my game?

No, you know why?

Because she's got us pl So what do we do?

What can we do?

What happens if we shut the box?

Then I shall return home.

What are you doing?

Playing the game This isn't a game for three of us.

You do the math.

A little help, Jen, Stop.

Two for one.

That's why we're here.

Eighteen Sorry, man.

Where#d he go?

Into the box with the Now that my tiles are under six.

Switching to one die.

So I roll a three, you're gone, right?

While you two would return home and be rid of me, I don't think she'd apprecia Damn it!

looks like someone's excited for her turn.

Would you let me play?

How did you happen to come here?

Just won't quit, will you?

Okay.

Ok We tie it starts over, right?

She'll have to roll to find out.

You have to be clear with t Chivalry isn't dead in this world.

It's my life for hers, All right?

No question Your life was never for hers.

What?

Looks like she's not being clear with the rules.

Just shut the damn box.

Two souls have entered the box.

If this stays up, I'll roam free.

And your world again Collecting sou At least you go What you came for Or for you, one round head-to-head.

A chance to put me back in the box and save them all?

I'll quit while I'm ahead.

Fine.

Two souls for I'm sure I'll see you again.

It was fun while it lasted.

No?

I knew you'd come!

I'm sorry it took so long.

It's okay.

I got a one with Roma out, baby.

Now I have a chance of getting your mo Come on.

(notification sound) (intense music) The Oneota Film Festival is a festiva It actually started with two guys, Walter Ordway and Carol Henderson, who both graduated from Luther College.

Walter had bicycled around the world and he met a woman named Arlene Burns, who was the director of the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado.

And so he, Carol, came back to Decorah and said Luther College should have an independent film festival where filmmakers come and talk with their audiences.

Oneota is the term that w who've lived here when white settlers came in, which means #the old ones.# #So what we have here are two of our egg mobiles.

We have a great responsive audience and they want to hear from the filmmaker directly.

They don't want to sit in an audience of 500.

They want to be in a small audience with a filmmaker.

This is sort of out of biographical anyway, because I really did start making establish when I was like eight or nine years ol My film is Stopped Motion, the story of Gul and I'm from Iowa City.

I think the draw for any filmmakers to to Oenota is just it's a really great community here.

I've met loads of great people at festivals across Iowa, including this one and will see a great variety of work and meet a lot of cool people and it'll be great.

We have practically doubled our attendance.

We also know that people come and stay for the whole weekend, so they stay in the hotels, they eat in the restaurants.

They have a lot of things going on and it's a beautiful place I' m Mike Miersen.

I'm from Iowa City.

I'm the director.

We tried a long shot.

And I'm Jacob Meade.

I was the DP on.

And I'm from West Des Moines, Iowa.

Ooh, we tried a long shot is about people trying a #We tried a long shot# It is filmed in a long shot.

It is one continuous take.

It is a meta commentary about making film and it's literally making a film.

I've worked with Mike for many, many years and he always seems to have some sort of a script that we can work on, make some sort of a comedy, short, short film, things of th Over the last couple decades, in my day to day, I work in video I get to try and pull off a ten minute one sho And so the challenge of it, along with the comedic payoff th it was great, great fun to put together.

And also, you're going to spin around.

We filmed it in Iowa City in my actual house We did it in one day.

It was about nine takes.

I believe it was a long day, b We rehearsed the same day.

We all shot it in one go, so the very first take that we did wa Yeah, actually, I was th because we were just ki So I'm going around the camera trying what our framing is going to be for this entire one shot.

And I was the one who made just a really And I'm like, Hey, it's ou And then like 5 hours later, we finally had it in the can.

You can't discount growing up here like You have a lot of time on your hands, but you space, a lot of varied places to sort of like experiment and figure things out.

You have like you can go shoot some or in the middle of a fi And I think it was like a huge advantage to growing up here and making stuff here.

Hey, Hey.

Looking good.

Looking good.

Ev You guys excited, huh?

First shoot of the project.

I'm just a little nervous, I guess.

Oh, that's all right.

No, hey, don't You know, I know this but that's why we're doing it first.

Okay?

It'll be a piece of cake.

Yeah, So let me show you.

So we're pretty much just going to do that we've already gone th but we're going to be do shot, right?

So we won' and we'll So you start out coming through here and you're angr You spend all last night discovering you've been lied to.

You know, it's real, it's gritty, you know, and you're going to go o and you're goi you're going to confront her about al How could you do this?

What Blah, blah, blah, blah.

Heat We're going to go back and forth and then, Micah, you're going to ge and Alice you're going to follow her over here.

And then Alice you're going to spin around heated exchange.

And when things are most tense, Jack's cha that's when you come down the stairs.

And you sure surprised.

I mean, you can't believe that you're seeing Alice#s you know, An and we'r and then we're g We're going to come back to the table just like that.

Perfect.

Cool.

So still nervous?

Just a little bit.

Not any more than normal.

You know, when I'm normall I'm not it's not my first time in front of a camera.

Is it your first time in front Okay.

Ye We're not trying to beat Hitc So let's just have some fun with it, all rig Okay.

Places, everybody.

Let's go from th Action.

You... You met with Dan the night he was murdere What?

Oh, no.

Cut, Cut!

Oh, Micah.

Ha.

That's that.

That was great.

But let's was trying to lo Oh, I did.

Yeah.

Yeah, But, h Let's just tak Let's go from the top plac People.

Action.

You... You met with Danny the night he was murdered.

What?

What are you talking about?

You know damn well I put Turns out you were Danny's connection, not him.

I thought we were partners.

How could you lie to me?

Oh, Kay... look, it's not what you think.

Cut!

Micah!

So all this.

All of this should be going to Alice, all r You shouldn't be giving any of this to us, okay?

Right.

Of course it's my fault.

I'm sorry.

I got confused.

Just please don't look into the camera I'm sorry.

Should I be sweaty, maybe?

No, I just had this fight.

Right.

And then, I'd be exhausted Yeah.

No.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Good idea.

Hey, can I get a Hey, Chief.

Yeah, yeah, ju Alice is already a ghost in the scene, right?

No.

So it's Micah?

No, no, no, no, no.

No one here is a ghost, So the ghost There isn't.

You know what?

Let's talk about this la Okay.

Action.

You... Cut!

What?

What happened?

We talked about this.

I'm supposed to be sweating.

Beads of sweat.

Beads of sweat.

Not Have you ever seen someone sweat before?

You know what?

Never mind.

Never mi Let's get a towel on.

Alice, pleas Who sweats like that?

Who?

Have you ever met An action star t John McClane.

Now see, That's Bruc That's all natural.

You.

You ever met him?

No.

Soaked.

He's a damp, damp man.

All right.

Places, people.

Let's go from Action.

You... you met with Danny the night he was m What?

What are you talking about?

You know damn well I put the squeeze on Blain Turns out you were Danny's connection, not him.

I thought we were partners.

How could you lie to me?

It' think.

It sure looks like From where I'm standing, I was blackmailed.

If I didn't help Danny, they would have killed my mothe No more lies.

Do you know how much it killed me to lie After all we've been through, we are friends.

We are partners.

You one hell of a way of showing it.

Your friendship... Don't you get it?

I love you, Ooooh Wee!

A ghost!

Cut!

Are we not doing ad lib?

Alice isn't playing a ghost.

And when I saw her die in the He thinks that he saw her die.

So he only thinks she's a ghost.

Don't say ghost Listen to me, you say ghost on Got it.

And be qu I can't listen to it again from the beginning.

People, places, please.

(echoing footsteps) Action.

You... you met with Danny the night he was murdered.

What are you talking about?

You know damn well I put the squeeze on Blaine Turns out you were Danny's connection, not him.

I thought we were partners.

How could you lie to me?

It's not what you think.

It sure looks like it is what I think From where I'm standing, I was blackmailed.

If I didn't help Danny, they would have gone after my mother and killed her.

No more lies.

Do you know how much it wrecke After everything we've been through, we are partners and friends.

Oh, you have one hell of a way of showing it.

Your friendship.

You get it?

I love you.

Oh, my God.

I don't believe you're alive.

This is amazing but how, I saw you die?

A crate full of grenades on the I'll tell you later all the hell that matter Is that we can still fight!

we're going to take the fight to them.

(crew groaning) But how do we do that?

Cut!

(pla Hi, my name is Christine Mode.

My pronouns are they/them?

And I live in Nichols and filmmaker.

I got the idea when I was finishing the vocals for the track Google University, and the chorus talks about going to the moon.

And so we set the music video in 1969, and I really decided to use the music video to dig deeper into what my lyrics mean.

And it really messes with reality and who knows what is going on.

But it's up for the viewer to dec First of all, the Surf Ballroom is absolutely stunning.

And I grew up near Clear lake.

You know, once the Surf Ballroom was nai I'm genderqueer.

And so that is alw that just by nature of me creating art is in there.

And so just nothing is ever quite what it seems and never to make an assumption.

And so really the way that we ended this film is up to the viewer to decide what is reality.

I could tell you my interpretation of it, but I would rather just let the viewer decide.

With all of my music videos, I've always hired like a film maker to help me make them come to life.

I definitely have a lot of ideas with the story and ideas for shots, but like any of the li that is definitely not my wheelhouse.

And with this film, I worked with Fred Ebong of FE he ended up hiring a crew.

So it was the first music vi I ever filmed that had a crew of like three cam which really made it like flow a lot better.

But there's just so much that I learned t with Fred about film that I had no idea and the final product of the music video goe just the beauty of that.

And so, yeah, th changed how I work going forward on my creative projects, Oh, how I long for, human connection.

But I#m stuck here battling perfection.

Not quite sure what#s the best m It#s absurd, have you heard?

Humans spent many years trying to figure out How to make it to the moon we did it without a doubt.

Now the internet makes it so clear to see The buffoons who graduated Google University.

Looking out my window with excruciating existential dread Am I the only one who is right in the head?

I form my own thoughts and don#t pretend to know Because I don#t.

And that's okay.

Humans spent many years trying to figure out How to make it to the moon we did it without a doubt.

Now the internet makes it so clear to see The buffoons who graduated Google University.

It#s not okay to make assumption That aren#t based on facts You look like an ...

I'm not sorry that this is crass.

Humans spent many years trying to figure out How to make it to the moon we did it without a doubt.

Now the internet makes it so clear to see The buffoons who graduated Google University.

I#m sorry that you cannot see The truth that is reality Humans spent many years trying to figure out How to make it to the moon we did it without a doubt.

Now the internet makes it so clear to see The buffoons who graduated Google University.

funding for this program was provided by friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation, as well as generations of families, friends who feel passionate about the programs they watch on Iowa.

PBS.

The Film Lounge is produced in partnership with