Chattanooga Film Festival 2017: Dayveon

Once again, I was able to return to the Chattanooga Film Festival with Mass Listeria!  I love cinema in all of its forms, so the Chattanooga Film Festival is one of my favorite times of year because I spend four days being surrounded by movies and fellow film lovers!  To get a sense of why I love the Chattanooga Film Festival so much, read my post from the start of my coverage of the 2016 Chattanooga Film Festival (found here)...every word of it still holds true!

We already did an overview episode on Mass Listeria (found at masslisteriapodcast.com), but for the next several episodes of The Gargyle Podcast, I'll be providing reviews of each of the films that I saw individually.  Up next in my coverage of the 2017 Chattanooga Film Festival is:  Dayveon

I'll be providing the description of the films provided in the Chattanooga Film Festival program and trailers via YouTube, when available.  The descriptions and trailers of the movies might let you know what they are about, but if you want to know what I thought of them...well, you are just going to have to give the podcast a listen.

The CFF program description for Dayveon was:

After his older brother's death, 13-year-old Dayveon spends sweltering summer days roaming his rural Arkansas town.  When he falls in with a local gang, he becomes drawn to the camaraderie and violence of their world.  Amman Abbasi's first feature-length film - which he wrote, directed, edited, produced and composed music for - was a long time in the making.  His earlier career prepared him for such a multifaceted role: by his early 20s, Abbasi had already become an internationally acclaimed musician, opened a restaurant, and worked extensively in the film world.  Dayveon can be traced back to Abbasi's time in high school, where he met the Renaud brothers, Brent and Craig, award-winning documentarians who would later enlist Abbasi's help for a film project that followed Chicago gangs.  During this experience, Abbai, who was increasingly interested in exploring gang affiliation from the angle of personal narratives, conceived Dayveon.  "I wanted to focus on affiliation, friendship, and the many layers of the humans within gangs," Abbasi says.

One of the aspects that I loved about Dayveon was that it was shot in 4:3 aspect ratio.  Amman Abbasi discusses his decision to use this format in an interview on nofilmschool.com, found here.




I saw 21 feature films, short films, partial films, or live shows during the Chattanooga Film Festival!  So, be sure to check back soon for more of my CFF coverage!  And if you enjoy movies, conventions, comics, games, cartoons, Star Wars, horror, or just about anything geeky...be sure to keep coming back for all things geekery!!  In the meantime, follow me here, on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and be sure to subscribe to my podcast on iTunes and/or Google Play for more geek coverage!

music for The Gargyle Podcast by Bensound