Like Dandelion Dust

It's been busy around here, but I wanted to take a moment to mention a great movie, Like Dandelion Dust, that I saw last night at the San Diego Film Festival.

Here is a description from the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival website:

"What if you could disappear from a difficult situation as quickly as if you've blown the seeds from a dandelion puff? That's one couple's predicament in this moving adaptation of Karen Kingsbury's 2008 novel, 'Like Dandelion Dust.' Floridians Jack and Molly Campbell live peacefully with their adopted son, Joey, but their world is upended when Joey's biological father is released from prison. Rip Porter decides to get his life with estranged, long-suffering wife Wendy back on track. First, Rip seeks a visit with Joey, and then he seeks much more. The ensuing battle between disadvantaged birth parents and wealthier adoptive parents is an examination of the socioeconomic factors that shape families. Kingsbury's best-selling novel makes for equally volatile cinema. Like Dandelion Dust has been an emotional experience for audiences at this year's Vail, Sedona, and Sonoma Film Festivals. It simply and effectively taps into parents' most primal feelings of love and fear for their young."

There was a Q&A session following the screening with director/editor Jon Gunn, actors Max Cotton (Joey), Barry Pepper (Rip) and Kate Levering (Molly), as well as screenwriter Stephen J. Rivele. This session gave me a new appreciation for all that goes into creating a film, as this one was 2 1/2 years in the making, 8 months of that spent editing. The film faced other setbacks, as Kate Levering replaced another actress only 30 hours before filming was slated to begin. But fortunately her previous work with Cole Hauser (Jack), as well as her ability to adapt her own emotions about being amongst an unfamiliar group to those of her character, carried her role consistently throughout the film. Kudos to screenwriter Stephen Rivele for developing Rip into a character deserving of some sympathy and Barry Pepper for bringing this character to life.

It has not yet been released for mass distribution, but you might be able to catch it at select film festivals throughout the country. Check out the dates on the Like Dandelion Dust blog. You might want to bring some tissues; it's pretty powerful stuff.