My Effortless Brilliance

Director: Lynn Shelton
Cast: Sean Nelson, Basil Harris, Calvin Reeder, Jeanette Maus
Format: HDCam   Runtime: 79 minutes
More Info

screening in: Narrative Competition
plays with: The Temerity of Zim

Screening Times

11:00 AM, Sunday March 9th - Alamo Ritz 1
Add this to my SXSW Calendar

11:00 AM, Tuesday March 11th - Alamo Ritz 1
Add this to my SXSW Calendar

1:30 PM, Thursday March 13th - Alamo Ritz 1
Add this to my SXSW Calendar

everything subject to change

 Watch Film Trailer:
Quicktime (640x480)    MPEG-4 (320x240)  
help

Download:
Quicktime
MPEG4

Synopsis:
Successful, self-involved novelist Eric Lambert Jones (Sean Nelson) has been unceremoniously dumped by his life long buddy Dylan (Basil Harris). In an attempt to piece together the fractured friendship, Eric takes a side trip from his latest book tour to drop in on Dylan, newly settled in the picturesque backwoods of Washington state. Eric and Dylan gingerly navigate their way through the wreckage of their relationship but tension brims to the surface with the addition of Dylan's enigmatic new friend, Jim (Calvin Reeder). An awkward weekend ensues as the three men chop wood, match wits and ultimately embark on a late-night, booze-soaked cougar hunt.MY EFFORTLESS BRILLIANCE is a subtle and naturalistic portrait of a type seldom seen on film. The deftly improvised and highly nuanced performances shine a keen and humorous light on the unspoken intricacies of male friendship.

Director's Bio:
After a dozen years spent acting for the stage, and a decade more learning the ins and outs of cinema as an experimental and documentary filmmaker ("The Clouds That Touch Us Out of Clear Skies", "The Fruits of Our Labors") and as an editor ("Outpatient", "Hedda Gabler", "Measure"), Shelton wrote and directed her first narrative feature upon invitation from The Film Company, a nonprofit film studio. The result, "We Go Way Back", premiered at the SLAMDANCE Film Festival in 2006 where it picked up the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Kodak Vision Award for Best Cinematography. It won awards in those same categories at the Polish Torun Film Festival TOFFI, where it was also granted the Award for Best Director. Shelton also enjoys making music videos and has done so for Laura Veirs, Harvey Danger, The Lights and The Lonely H.