STORMS NAMED AFTER PEOPLE
11:25 min, HD video, pinhole video, 2018-2020
Jess is alone in Tarpon Springs, FL on Christmas Eve.
“Storms Named After People, directed by Sarah Ballard, is a poetic glimpse into the headspace and disaffection of a young woman skulking around a small tourist town avoiding her father. She tries to delay and defer — instead of returning her dad’s texts after she lands, she lies about a flight delay and then a cancellation. We don’t learn much about Jess other than she’s at odds with her surroundings and loved ones (one particularly striking image of disconnection finds Jess sitting alone in a kitschy, brightly lit bakery looking depressed). After ambling through town debating whether to respond to her dad, she instead meets up with a friend and continues her wanderings. Ballard’s wispy, free-floating narrative is mostly absent of backstory or dialogue, but locks into a mood and delivers rich feelings from its quiet vacation setting and gloomy youth."
— Kentucker Audley, NoBudge 2020
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Group Screenings/Exhibitions:
2021 - Incurable Caravan's Online Car Show (Online)
2021 - WMMIntl Film Fest (Hollywood, CA)
2021 - Short Film Factory (Online)
2021 - Lisbon Film Rendezvous
2020 - Film in Focus International Film Festival
2020 - New York Tri-State International Film Festival
2020 - Montreal Independent Film Festival
2020 - NoBudge.com and Nobudge2 (streaming)
Awards/Nominations:
2020 - Best Experimental Film - Film in Focus International Film Festival (Winner)
2021 - Best Director - WMMIntl Film Festival