One of the out of competition titles presented during this year’s Thessaloniki International Film Festival is
Johan Carlsen’s drama
Headlock, his debut feature, released in 2011. The story, penned by the director together with
Micah Magee (here also acting as a producer), follows the misfortunes of a modern-day farmer from Illinois, a young man called Kurt (played by
Zack Mulligan), who ends up jobless and struggles to provide for his family of two sons and a caring wife (
Katie Folger). Kurt shows himself as a proud, stubborn and hopeless man from the very start. Everyone around him, including his family and friends, seems worried and more or less genuinely willing to help. Nevertheless, Kurt is overwhelmed by his sense of responsibility and refuses any kind of support.
Day Five), and, under the slasher s mask, Sam Eidson (
Zero Charisma,
68 Kill). “This indie ‘let’s get together and make something special’ spirit is why I got into film in the first place.” – Ryan Spindell
Why are they there? Spindell admits, it s because he got his budget wrong. He crowdfunded the original short, and shot the main story in Los Angeles Heritage Square, an open-air architecture museum in historic Montecito Heights. However, when it came time to shoot the movie inside the movie, he realized that he d spent nearly all his budget on the rest of the short. I went, Well, there s no way I can make a fake 1970s slasher movie in Los Angeles for two thousand bucks.