Press Notes Blood Orange Pictures Presents: Silo: Edge of the Real World Synopsis SILO: EDGE OF THE REAL WORLD is a meditation on life in a small midwest farm town. When a grain entrapment shocks their small community, Adam Fox, a young farmer, and Clay Althoff, a senior in high school, both consider the risks and rewards of a corn farmer s life.
Screenings PUBLIC SCREENING SCHEDULE DATE TIME VENUE 1st Screening Saturday, 22 April 7:00pm Regal 11 2nd Screening Tuesday, 25 April 5:30 pm Regal 04 3rd Screening Wednesday, 26 April 5:45 pm Regal 03 4th Screening Saturday, 29 April 3:15 pm CIN 05 PRESS & INDUSTRY SCREENING DATE TIME VENUE Press Screening Sunday, 23 April 12:15pm CIN 05 Director s Statement Nearly four years ago, while driving home from set at 2am, I was listening to a short NPR segment telling the story of three boys who became victims of a grain entrapment in a small Illinois corn town. I sat in my apartment parking lot in shock after hearing the boys story. I texted my good friend and cinematographer, Dustin Lane, and told him we needed to put this story on film. Sometime later, I was introduced to producer Samuel Goldberg, now a good friend, and we set out to make a film inspired by the often untold stories of true courage and compassion in the Midwest's corn farm communities. Silo: Edge of the Real World began as a proof-of-concept film to help us raise financing for a scripted feature film, Silo. I was not a fan of shooting scenes from our feature screenplay without the appropriate production value, so I mentioned the idea of doing a documentary companion piece. The team all agreed that it felt right. We decided to travel to Rising Sun, Indiana and tell the story of a young farmer, Adam Fox, and his family friend, local high school senior, Clay Althoff. I met Adam the year prior while on a research trip for the Silo feature screenplay. He was a huge inspiration for the screenplay and he embodied the spirit and character of corn farming in the modern era. And our 2nd subject, Clay Althoff, perfectly represented the future of this small, hard-working community. This film would not exist without their honest and candid words. With Sam, Dustin, Adam, Clay and a large list of other contributors help, I aimed to create a tonally intriguing portrait of life in a midwest corn town and the dangers that unsuspectingly loom around the edges of these farms. 1
Creative Team Bios: Marshall Burnette (Director/Producer) Marshall Burnette was born in Miami, FL in 1986. The youngest child to a stay at home mother and airline pilot father. When he was 5 years old his family moved to Johnson City, TN, a small town nestled in Appalachian Mountain farmland. They traded palm trees and ocean air for grain silo s and cattle farms. As a child, Marshall s first foray into filmmaking was with his father s VHS camcorder making short action films in the woods behind their house. He would rappel from trees, jump bikes over the creek, and anything else that mimicked Indiana Jones or James Bond. He covertly watched movies like Apocalypse Now, Magnolia, Requiem For A Dream, and Deliverance when his parents weren t home. There was no filmmaking happening in a town like Johnson City, so he turned to used-bookstores to learn all he could about the medium. Marshall was fascinated with the world of film, though he never imagined it as a possible career path. He attended East Tennessee State University to pursue a degree in Park Management hoping he could build mountain bike trails for a career. He joined the mountain bike team and began making short videos about local riders, which led to his first paying job. Marshall would travel to different sporting events around the area and shoot segments for a local TV networks weekly program. After graduating ETSU, Marshall moved to Vancouver, BC and attended Vancouver Film School. While there, he directed 3 short films, tested top of his class in cinematography, and wrote numerous short screenplays. Marshall now resides in Nashville, TN where he has been for the past 6 years. Since there, he has directed more than 15 music videos, a 15 minute festival-selected short film, and numerous commercials for national companies. Marshall has been represented by two major production companies and has held two full-time post-production jobs. He also freelances as a 1st AD, a 1st AC, and an independent editor. 2
Samuel Goldberg (Producer) is a New York-based film, tv and theatre producer, specializing in the development of literary adaptations and original content. Alongside his producing partner Ilan Ulmer, Sam is currently co-developing a film with Robert Zemeckis and ImageMovers based on the best-selling novel THE EXECUTION OF NOA P. SINGLETON as well as the adaptation of Men s Vogue article LIQUID SMOKE alongside The Weinstein Company. Their vast library of literary adaptations also includes best-sellers MY YEAR WITH ELEANOR, by Noelle Hancock and CITY OF SCOUNDRELS, by Gary Krist. Sam began his career in entertainment as a child actor. Growing up and auditioning in New York City, he was featured in multiple commercials and radio voice-overs, before landing a role in Edward Norton's directorial debut film, KEEPING THE FAITH. While attending the University of Pennsylvania Sam continued following his passion for storytelling, but did so behind the scenes. He spent his summers working for entrepreneur Russell Simmons, legendary producer Jerry Weintraub, and in ICM s talent department. After graduating college Sam worked at Righteous Pictures, where he co-produced 2 award-winning documentaries, THE LAST SURVIVOR and WEB, while simultaneously producing music videos, documentaries and commercial work-for-hire. More recently Sam has been involved in other prestigious independent film endeavors, including THE HEART MACHINE admitted to the 2014 SXSW Film Festival and MILDRED AND THE DYING PARLOR, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2016. 3
Cast Bios: Adam Fox is a 5th generation corn farmer in southern Indiana. He holds a degree in Agriculture from the University of Perdue. Together, he, his father and brother manage a large operation harvesting corn and soy for livestock feed and ethanol purposes. He is married to the daughter of the town s pastor and has a young son, Adler. Clay Althoff is an 18-year-old high school senior and son of a farmer. Clay has worked on livestock, tobacco, and corn farms since he was a young boy. He is an aspiring welder. He has a steady girlfriend and hopes to settle down soon. 4
A Note From the Producer An Earnest Start Silo: Edge of the Real World started off as nothing more than an idea from an ambitious director the same way most brilliant cinematic endeavors begin. Originally, the short film was meant to attract investors and production companies to the feature script our team had developed entitled, Silo, an idea hatched long before Edge of the Real World was even a thought in someone s head. Yet, upon touching down in Rising Sun, Indiana with our entire crew it became clear that the tableau of a small American farm town was much more than a proof of concept. It s the very concept in and of itself. And our crew was an incredible amalgamation of personalities from the very towns we felt Rising Sun was an emblem of: a group of rebels who left home, shirked their family s farm businesses and chose to create art. 5
Together, we spent 5 days staying 3-to-a-room at an Indian Casino situated across the street from our location, Fox Farm. Without enough money to afford lighting we only shot at magic hour, and spent 2 hour lunch breaks desperately seeking sleep. The adventurous run-and-gun nature of the shoot, coupled with the embrace we received from the local town, made it worth all the physical pain we endured as a team. Silo, the feature film, is meant to depict anywhere America through the lens of 7 characters dealing with a harrowing accident - a grain entrapment - that sends a tragic ripple through a small farm town. The script is fantastic and our production team cannot wait to collaborate once again this summer. 6
To that end, our experience on set of the short validated our desire to produce a feature on the subject of grain entrapment in the first place. Adam Fox and Clay Althoff are mirrors of the fictional characters they ve helped inspire in our feature film. Art imitates life. And life imitates art. The result of which is a film that we ve always hoped can depict a way of life that s at risk of disappearing. So the unlikely journey of creating this short documentary brought us to the Tribeca Film Festival with the hopes of entertaining and educating audiences, while also providing momentum for the scripted feature film that inspired the idea s inception in the first place. Edge of the Real World : that tagline encapsulates the glorious process of filmmaking. We hope those words - spoken by our 18-year-old lead, Clay - resonate as much with audiences as they do with us. 7
Directed By Blood Orange Pictures Presents: Silo: Edge of the Real World MARSHALL BURNETTE Produced By SAMUEL GOLDBERG BEN SKIPWORTH MARSHALL BURNETTE Executive Produced By WILLIAM CARL RADKE ILAN ULMER Co-Executive Producer JENNA REEDY Featuring ADAM FOX CLAY ALTHOFF Cinematography Edited by Production Design by Original Score 1st AC Film Loader Steadicam Operator Swing Grip Art Assistant Production & Post Audio Visual FX by Color Correction DUSTIN LANE DILLON HAYES JERRETT STAAF CHRIS ZIDEK DANIEL TEICHER JAMES TENINTY HAYDEN MASON DREW ALLEN WEAVER DILLON HAYES ELIJAH BOWLING JAMES CRABTREE MATT ROLAND JEREMIAH NAVE NATHAN MERRICK DAVE ALTIZER JIMMY CADENAS @ FILMWORKERS NASHVILLE 8