Doc Sunback Film Festival to screen 25 short films this weekend, many of which have a Kansas connection
Here's a review roundup of seven shorts filmed in the Sunflower State or made by Kansas filmmakers.
Established in 2015, the Doc Sunback Film Festival carries the name of a Mulvane veterinarian who was born in the late 1800s. Since its inception, the festival has screened films from all over the world in all genres, with a special focus on work filmed in Kansas or made by Kansas filmmakers. This year the festival will screen 25 short films over two days, kicking off at 7 p.m. tonight and continuing all day tomorrow. The event will close with a tribute to Brett Jones, a young Kansas filmmaker who died earlier this year. All screenings will take place at the Pix Community Center, 101 E. Main St. in Mulvane, Kansas.
Below, you'll find capsule reviews of seven Doc Sunback short film selections. You can find the full schedule on the festival website. Please note all times are approximate.
Admission to the Doc Sunback Festival is free, but donations are encouraged.
Stills from "The Strongest Man in Kansas." Courtesy images
“The Strongest Man in Kansas”
11 minutes
Part of the Documentary Films program, which begins at approximately 8 p.m. Friday, June 19. “The Strongest Man in Kansas” screens at approximately 9:05 p.m.
Stuart Keltner is the titular “strongest man in Kansas,” having earned that distinction at a statewide strongman competition in 2023. The Johnson County athlete adopted the sport later in life, and he’s driven by his continued improvement, the camaraderie he enjoys in training, and the energy of competition.
“I always say competition’s kind of like an old friend,” Keltner says in an interview. “I remember being a fourth-grade kid wanting to win the one-mile run in PE class. It’s honestly, in some ways, paying homage to that little kid … gosh, I’m getting emotional. You don’t have as many of those opportunities as you get older.”
Kelter’s voice breaks during the scene; he’s slightly embarrassed and utterly sincere. Watching director Kevin Rabas’ film, I was reminded of “100 Foot Wave,” the HBO series about big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara and his tussles with competition, fear, and his own aging body. Like Keltner, he’s not ready to go quietly into old age — not without a fight. You don’t have to lift logs or surf enormous swells to relate. — Emily Christensen
“Electra Wasp”
6 minutes
Screening in the Animated Shorts program, which begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 20
Director Wasan Hayajneh used materials from the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison, Kansas, for her animated meditation on the pioneering aviator, who died on a voyage across the Pacific Ocean. The archival materials Hayajneh borrows lend her work authenticity and visual texture, but the film is more a dreamy evocation of Earhart’s spirit than a historically accurate treatment of her life.
For one thing, “Electra Wasp” — the title a reference to Earhart’s airplane engine — entertains a scenario in which the aviator survives a crash landing on a remote Pacific Island. From there, the film shifts between history and reverie, using multiple visual techniques and an effective score (Michael Benedict), and a confident voiceover performance (Teri Parker-Brown) to convey Earhart’s joy in flying. The film contains Easter eggs for Earhart-philes and signals for newbies, such as a reference to Neta Snook, the woman who taught Earhart how to fly in the 1920.
One of the standout films on the Doc Sunback schedule, "Electra Wasp" introduces Hayajneh as an animator to watch. — Emily Christensen
“Stranger”
11 minutes
Screening as part of the Few Words program, which begins at approximately 11 a.m. Saturday, June 20. “Stranger” screens at approximately 11:08 a.m.
Filmed in hazy black-and-white in a minimalist setting, Nathaniel Thomas’s “Stranger,” features Katarina Fitzpatrick as an isolated dancer who seems doomed to endlessly practice and repeat combinations of dance steps without a partner.
Loneliness hangs in the air as she stretches and leaps, rolls and rises. The wordless nature of this film emphasizes the dancer’s solo existence in her monochromatic world, even when surrounded by people.
When she is suddenly drawn to an unknown figure she cannot resist pursuing, what does it mean for her solitary practice? — Teri Mott
“The Chronocular Device”
16 minutes
Screening as part of the Few Words program, which begins at approximately 11 a.m. Saturday, June 20. “The Chronocular Device” screens at approximately 11:30 a.m.
Lawrence, Kansas, native Edward Loupe demonstrates a knack for world-building, tone-setting and special effects in “The Chronocular Device,” a film he made while a graduate film student at Ohio University.
In an apparently abandoned home, a man discovers a pair of DIY steampunk-style goggles that transport him back to a previous relationship that had its tender moments, despite his failure to hold up his side of the partnership.
This brief, nearly dialogue-free film is a bit hard to follow — I may or may not be summarizing it correctly — but that doesn’t really matter. You get the gist, and Loupe, who designed the set and special effects as well as directed and edited the film, manages to create something close to magic.
The only spoken words in this film are “I’m sorry,” a choice that hints at the lengths we must travel to understand where we’ve gone wrong. — Emily Christensen
“Event Virus”
19 minutes
This is the only film screening as part of the Dystopian Future program, which begins at approximately 11:50 a.m. Saturday, July 20.
In a future world, one blighted by environmental disaster, an implanted device helps humans navigate their lives. It includes a “hologuide,” a hologram assistant that resembles an embodied Alexa or Siri. In a bizarre coincidence, Damien’s prankster older brother accidentally disables his implant moments before an ecoterrorist group hacks into the global network, killing everyone whose implants are “online” — i.e., most of the population, including Damien’s brother Adam, who survives only as a hologram version of himself.
There are short films that yield to and thrive within the limitations of their budget and timespan, and those that push against these constraints. “Event Virus” is the latter. The film, which was filmed in Coffeyville, Kansas (listed as “Coffeeville” in the credits) can’t possibly live up to its ambitions, most apparently in the fight scene at the end, which strains the against the limits of the special-effects budget and film crew.
Ultimately, “Event Virus” is about grief and how we move on despite it. Yet, thanks to the sibling dynamic at the center of the narrative, the film avoids sinking into sentimentality. — Emily Christensen
“Hiraeth”
20 minutes
Screening as part of the Family Through Good Times and Bad program block, which begins at roughly 1:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20. “Hiraeth” screens at approximately 3 p.m.
Writer, producer, director Maddie Main was inspired by her friend Lo who defied a recurrent cancer diagnosis. When placed in hospice for what she thought would be a week, Lo continued to thrive for more than a year.
Main’s thoughtful film “Hiraeth” is a meditation on what life looks like when we become fully conscious that everything is temporary. Jo, played by the filmmaker’s sister, Chloe Main, struggles to accept the loss of her mother to a similar cancer, manages her own complicated heath, and attempts to live a life like other people her age. She returns to college, builds friendships, and enjoys lake swims and dinner parties and intimate conversation.
The beauty of “Hiraeth” is in the dichotomy: woe and confidence, delight and pain. Though her film, Main says, she hopes we can “witness the beauty and grace intertwined with life's complexities, particularly in the face of grief.” — Teri Mott
“Death in Lavender”
9 minutes
Screening as part of the Crimes of Passion program, which begins at approximately 3:25 p.m. Saturday, July 20. “Death in Lavender” screens at approximately 3:40 p.m.
A doggone solid noir murderette, “Death in Lavender,” directed by Tyler W. Moore, benefits from an informed and consistent style that overpowers its few shortcomings.
The snappy script by Fritz Robinson and Roy Nugen is peppered with hard-boiled lingo. Costumes effectively convey the familiar period and give us insight into who exactly we are dealing with. Shot in black and white by Naythan Smith, the cinematography nails the vibe of the oppressive Victorian mansion that serves as the location for this brief-but-complete mystery.
We see a variety of skill levels among the actors here, but everyone’s invested, and this team effort pays off. — Teri Mott
Emily Christensen is a freelance journalist and news entrepreneur based in Wichita, Kansas. She is a co-founder of the SHOUT.
Teri Mott is a writer and actor in Wichita, Kansas, where she has covered the performing and visual arts as a critic and feature writer and worked in communications and development at nonprofit arts organizations for 40 years. She is a co-founder of the SHOUT.
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