All Ajyal Youth Film Festival 2017 Films
Walking Out
Ajyal Competition - Ajyal Youth Film Festival 2017
Alex Smith, Andrew J. Smith / Feature Narrative / United States of America / 2017 / 95 min / Colour / DCP / In English / Arabic subtitles / MENA Premiere
Rated: Parental guidance is advised for viewers under the age of 13. Individuals under the age of 13 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or older.
Synopsis
Fourteen-year-old David and his estranged dad Cal are reunited for the first time in a year when David flies out to Montana for a visit. Clearly, there is a certain amount of friction between father and son – they communicate awkwardly, and there is more here than just adolescent sullenness on David’s part and grouchy-dad curtness on Cal’s. Still, as the ice breaks and they start to tell each other stories, things start to get to normal.
Cal has been tracking a moose, and his plan for this trip is for David to get his first big kill – following in Dad’s footsteps. At first, David is against the idea of killing such a regal animal, but eventually Cal talks him into it with the promise of meat and glory. Out in the wilderness, however, things don’t go quite to plan, and a life-or-death battle between these would-be hunters and Mother Nature is set in motion.
With sparse dialogue that nicely reflects both the silence of the hunt and the distance between David and Cal, relative newcomer Josh Wiggins and the more established Matt Bomer carry this two-hander with convincing ease against a backdrop – the glorious Montana wilderness – that is a cinematographer’s dream.
About the Director
Alex and Andrew J. Smith are a twin brother writer/director duo hailing from Montana. The Smith Brothers have written scripts for HBO, Warner Bros, Disney, Sony, and FX. They adapted the graphic novel 'Son of the Gun' by legendary cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky for Fox Searchlight. They recently wrote, directed and produced 'Winter in the Blood', a feature film based on the classic James Welch novel, which had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
Alex and Andrew J. Smith are a twin brother writer/director duo hailing from Montana. The Smith Brothers have written scripts for HBO, Warner Bros, Disney, Sony, and FX. They adapted the graphic novel 'Son of the Gun' by legendary cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky for Fox Searchlight. They recently wrote, directed and produced 'Winter in the Blood', a feature film based on the classic James Welch novel, which had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
Credits
- Director
- Alex Smith, Andrew J. Smith
- Screenwriter
- Alex Smith, Andrew J. Smith
- Producer
- Brunson Green, Laura Ivey
- Editor
- Michael Taylor
- Production Designer
- David Storm
- Executive Producer
- Jim Burba, Bob Hayes, Katherine Ann McGregor, Carole Meiselman, Marc Simon, Charlsey Adkins, Rodrigo Garcia, Julie Lynn, Bonnie Curtis
- Co-Producer
- Alex Smith, Andrew J. Smith, Allison Whitmer
- Music
- Ernst Reijseger
- Cinematographer
- Todd McMullen
- Production Company
- Harbinger Pictures, Co-op Entertainment Production
- Cast
- Matt Bomer, Josh Wiggins, Bill Pullman, Lily Gladstone, Alex Neustaedter, Ken White, Scott McMillion