Way back in September, I heard Lance Hammer speak at the Vancouver Film Festival on his experiences self distributing his film Ballast. As an aspiring indie filmmaker, I found the story surrounding the release enormously inspiring. Ballast won best director and cinematography at Sundance, but Hammer turned down deals in order to self distribute – still maintaining creative control. I’ve been wanting to watch it ever since – and on Thursday, I finally got my chance.
What strikes me the most about the film is how strongly the images have stayed with me since I saw it. That opening shot of the boy heading towards the birds (taking off towards the sky). The way white light streams through windows. The dried bloodstain on the wall that seems to take forever before it’s finally scrubbed off. How aware you are of the texture of the earth when the characters walk along the field and the camera bounces along with them, never apart.
All in all, it quietly sneaks in – never judging and always affecting, location sound and untrained actors adding to the beauty and the majesty. See it.
