54

Lately.


I. “Convicted”

II. FIGHTER – Official Selection at World of Women Film Festival 2016

III. UTC’s Boulder Competition

IV. Wax Masterminds

V. Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

 

| “Convicted” |

Sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way you would expect it. When time is numbered, how can you attempt to piece it all together?

This was our team’s submission for the 54 Film Festival 2016- Middle Tennessee.

Genre: Medical/Political Drama // Action: Hiding // Prop: Clock // Line: “Make it stop.”

Our location was set at the Escape Experience: Chattanooga. Our friends there were kind enough to let us set up shop all night filming. Our story focuses on a man who is experiencing his final hours before his execution. We see glimpses of his sister’s interrogation. Whether or not our man committed any real crime, we wanted our audience to grasp the story through the details. We wanted to take the audience on this man’s journey as he clings on to life’s most precious moments. Now questioning the innocence of our character, we introduce the morality of the death penalty. Our film doesn’t attempt to lean one way or another. It’s merely there to ask the question and to provide a different perspective.

Winner: Best Direction | Best Score

Runner Up: Best Actor (Cory Holland) | Best Make Up (Laura Natalie Homer) | Best Cinematography (Jordan Powell) | Judge’s Choice

Nominations: Best Actress (Rachael Rodgers) | Best Editing | Best Wardrobe | Best Set Design | Best Sound Design | Best Picture

CHECK IT OUT HERE:

 

| “FIGHTER” |

WOW-2

That’s right. Official Selection for the World of Women’s Cinema Film Festival in Sydney Australia!!!!!! The festival experienced some delays. However, the festival is happening at the end of this month! Samantha, Kelsey and myself are incredibly excited to have our film played in yet another country! It feels surreal to have something you created playing in a country half way across the globe.

Many may be wondering when FIGHTER will be officially released for you to view. VERY SOON. We are still awaiting festival acceptance letters. So we shall know very soon! Thank you all for  your continued support. I can’t believe it’s almost been 2 years!

 

| “UTC’s Boulder Competition” |

In the works is a little promo video to show off the awesome things UTC’s Merrell Ambassador is doing for the outdoor program. Coming soon…

 

| “Wax Masterminds” |

I love getting able to reconnect with clients back in the ‘boro! Here is one such company-

 

| “Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary Documentary” |

Probably one of the coolest projects to date would be- Brushy. It’s a prison located in Petros, TN that closed its doors in 2009. It’s the same prison the hold the infamous James Early Ray. For those that don’t know, he assassinated MLK, Jr. Most know Brushy from the chaos that ensued when Ray escaped the walls with 6 other convicts.

The project has been underway for about a month now and will be my main project until June. The documentary will be approx. 15-20 minutes on the history of this maximum security prison. I have captured around 6 hours of interview footage filled with recollections and stories you can’t even imagine.

I have the enormous honor to put together such a rich piece of history. In the next couple of years, Brushy will be transformed into a whiskey and moonshine distillery, RV park, concert venue, restaurants, etc. The main prison itself will be conserved into a museum for travelers and tourists to walk through the halls and to get a glimpse into the life of Brushy’s inmates.

For now, here’s a little teaser into the playground I get to play in…

 

Exciting things are coming……..

 

-Kelly

2015 – 54 Film Festival Middle TN


This past Saturday, the Regal Hollywood 27 Theatre was filled with many talented filmmakers who competed in this years 54 Film Festival. Premieres like this are always so special to me because it puts what I do into perspective. Sometimes when you work on projects and you are isolated in dark rooms, you tend to feel like you’re the only crazy person out there. But when you get a chance to network and gather with those who “get it”, it inspires you to continue going at it! It inspires you to keep making beautiful things.

We had some wonderful accomplishments: Best Score (Austin Fray); Best Actor (Cory Holland); Best Actress (Marissa Grinestaff); and Best Use of Line.

We also were Runner-Up for: Best Directing, Best Writing, Best Make-Up, Best Editing, Best Film, and Judge’s Choice.

Overall, I was pleased with our final product in “Through Thick and Thin”. We as a team grew so much from last year’s film, “Apart”. We were able to tell a clear and defined story of one of the hardest questions in life. More than the product of a great film, my favorite part of this whole experience is the feeling of accomplishment. Not only did each of us work together to make something great, we had a great time doing it! I am incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful and uplifting people. I couldn’t be more proud.

Now…… check it out!

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/123148843 w=700&h=392]

“Through Thick and Thin” Teaser is here.


This year’s Murfreesboro 54 Film Festival went extremely well! The Back Road Films team chose the genre “historical fiction/ period piece”. Along with that, our prop was a ‘bottle’, our action was ‘biting’ and our line of dialogue was “You promised.” Quite an order to fill for only 54 hours of production time!

This year didn’t fail to be anything but a ton of fun! Our team works so well together that I couldn’t imagine doing these timed competitions with anyone else. We had a long night of writing Friday night and ended up completely re-writing our story at 6 AM on Saturday morning! We started shooting around noon on Saturday- a much later start time than initially expected. However, we were able to wrap shooting at 5 PM. Whattttt?

Easy? No. But those quick 5 hours were filled with a lot of professionalism and talent. We all went into it as a unit and pulled off what we needed to do. Then, it was passed off to editing! I spent just around 2.5 hours before I retired for a 12 hour nap! Ha! On Sunday, we had Risha and Scott on audio making it sound gooooood. And we had Austin at another location making that incredible music that you’ll get a glimpse of below.

Our Crew this year was (drum roll)……

Kelly Rozell – Director | Writer | Editor

Alex Hochstetler- Producer | Writer

Jeffrey Brant- Assistant Director | Writer

Jordan Powell- Director of Photography

Risha Chesterfield- Audio | Dialogue |Mixing

Scott Gregory- Audio | Mixing

Austin Fray- Music Composition

Spencer Holloway- Lighting | Assistant Camera | Gaffer | Writer

Derek Beistad- Behind the Scenes

Amber Powell- Behind the Scenes

And our starring roles: Cory Holland & Marissa Grinestaff

Here are some behind the scenes stills of the weekend:

IMG_5161 IMG_5166 IMG_5174 IMG_5202 IMG_5183 IMG_5191 IMG_5195 IMG_5207 IMG_5222 IMG_5209 IMG_5236 IMG_5242 IMG_5252 IMG_5248 IMG_5273 IMG_5260   IMG_5277 IMG_5281   IMG_5296 IMG_5298 IMG_5316 IMG_5321 IMG_5353

IMG_5363 IMG_5387 IMG_5402 IMG_5404

 

And here is a 54 second teaser trailer of “Through Thick and Thin” to whet your taste buds until the premiere March 21, 2015 at the Regal Hollywood 27 Theatre in Nashville, TN. The Murfreesboro screenings start at 2:45 PM. Award Ceremony is at 5 PM.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/121904052]

ALSO…….

Our film “FIGHTER” will also be showing at the 54 Film Festival on the same day, showing at 12 PM. So go and check it out too!

IMG_8832fighteryes