A woman with an unusual malady–cobweb buildup in the throat–receives an even more unusual treatment in this adaptation of a surreal poem by North Carolina writer Virgil Renfroe.
(2023, 6:25)
Featuring Jessica L. Hudson, Jane Holding, Katja Hill
Based on the poem “The Voice in Wilhelm Fleiss’s Office” by Virgil Renfroe
Adapted & Directed by Jim Haverkamp
Director of Photography Alex Maness
Production Designer Derrick Ivey
Music Joyce Ventimiglia
Editor & 16mm photography Jim Haverkamp
Prosthetics Fiona Dawson
Prop Design and Fabrication Tom Dawson
Sound Recording Joyce Ventimiglia
Still photographer Maria Brubeck
“Visually compelling and uniquely original.” – Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival
“Engaging, disturbing, scary, and fun.” – Iowa Independent Film Festival
“Poetic body horror about the consequences of smoking, absent love, and generalized loneliness.” – ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival
“Experimental, Lynchian-reminiscent…unique and unsettling.” – Nevermore Film Festival
Review by David Finkelstein from Lake Ivan Film Journal
Review by Red Broadwell from Film Matters
Awards
Best Drama, Holly Weird Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA
Best Experimental Film, Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival, Chicago, IL
Best Experimental/Arthouse Short, Stranger Days Independent Film Festival, Charlotte, NC
Best Experimental Film, Madonie/Sicilian Film Festival, Palermo, Sicily
Best Film on Film, Denver Underground Film Festival, Denver, CO
Best International Short, Sudbury’s Tiny Underground Film Festival, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Best Professional Freestyle Award, Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, Cedar Rapids, IA
Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Film – Foothills Film Festival, Shelby, NC
Best Score Runner Up, Golden Hour Film Festival, Morganton, NC
Critic’s Choice Award, Iowa Independent Film Festival
Honorable Mention, Thomas Edison Film Festival Hoboken, NJ
Screenings
Asheville Fringe Arts Festival, Asheville, NC
Athens International Film & Video Festival, Athens, OH
Best Short Fest, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
BEYOND: The Cary Film Festival, Cary, NC
Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival, Chicago, IL
The B-Movie Underground & Trash Film Festival, Breda, The Netherlands
Buffalo International Film Festival, Buffalo, NY
Buried Alive Film Festival, Atlanta, GA
Cadence Video Poetry Festival, Seattle, WA
Capital City Film Festival, Lansing, MI
Carrboro Film Festival, Carrboro, NC
Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, Cedar Rapids, IA
Cosmic Rays Film Festival, Chapel Hill, NC
Cucalorus Film Festival, Wilmington, NC
DC Independent Film Festival, Washington, DC
Denver Underground Film Festival, Denver, CO
Defy Film Festival, Nashville, TN
Festival Fotogenia, Mexico City, Mexico
Foothills Film Festival, Shelby, NC
Golden Hour Film Festival, Morganton, NC
Green Bay Film Festival, Green Bay, WI
Holly Weird Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA
Imaginarium Convention, Louisville, KY
International Poetry Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA
Iowa Independent Film Festival, Mason City, IA
Knoxville Horror Festival, Knoxville, TN
lil’ spooky fest, Los Angeles, CA
Longleaf Film Festival, Raleigh, NC
Madonie/Sicilian Film Festival, Palermo, Sicily
Midwest Video Poetry Fest, Madison, WI
Moviate Underground Film Festival, Harrisburg, PA
Nevermore Film Festival, Durham, NC
Nooga Underground Film Festival, Chattanooga, TN
Ó Bhéal Poetry-Film competition, Cork, Ireland
Oneota Film Festival – Decorah, IA
Peephole Film Festival – Guadalajara, Mexico
Raleigh Film and Art Festival, Raleigh, NC
San Francisco Short Film Festival, San Francisco, CA
Snake Alley Festival of Film, Burlington, IA
Southside Film Festival, Bethlehem, PA
South Texas Underground Film Festival, Corpus Christi, TX
Sparrowland Short Film Festival, Brisbane, Australia
Stranger Days Independent Film Festival, Charlotte, NC
Sudbury’s Tiny Underground Film Festival, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Summer in the South Film Festival, Atlanta, GA
Thomas Edison Film Festival – national tour
Torino Underground Cinefest, Turin, Italy
We Make Movies International Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA
West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival – Morgantown, WV
ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival, Berlin, Germany