Ballast
Ballast is a film directed by Lance Hammer about a family torn apart in the Mississippi Delta by one man's suicide. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
Fast Facts
- Written and directed by Lance Hammer
- Starring: Michal J. Smith Sr., JimMyron Ross, Tarra Riggs, and Johnny McPhail
- Nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival
- Won the directing award at Sundance 2008
- Distributed by IFC Films
- Film used non-professional actors during a two month rehearsal process
- Shot handheld with available light
About the Director
Lance Hammer studied architecture at the University of Southern California and worked for some time in the art department on movies. In 2002 Hammer shot a short about the Mississippi Delta called Issaquena and with it tried to appeal to investors to help fund the feature version. After open casting calls in the region for Ballast, Hammer decided to cast the film but not show them the script. Eventually after several intimate rehearsals, the improvised dialogue ultimately became the movie.
Reviews
"Though his name would be better suited to sign high-octane action movies, Hammer quickly establishes himself with the only film he's ever made as a humanist artist working confidently and quietly with the cinema's most basic and expressive tools." -Variety
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