Papaw Land
Film Screening & Ticket Information
When & Where to See this Film!
In Person Date, Time & Location:
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH • 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
KAS Zukor • 35th St. • Long Island City, NY 11106
SCREENING BLOCK:
Coming of Age: Three films about coming into yourself.
Films:
Synopsis
Papaw Land is a coming-of-age drama set in rural Arkansas. 17-year-old Matthew is slipping into a cycle of alcohol and drugs that looks all too familiar to his single mother, Christy. In a desperate bid to break the cycle, she sends him away for a summer of sobriety and honest work at his grandfather’s place in the Ozarks. Against the hum of cicadas, Matthew comes to know the generational abuse that has happened there— secrets that change how he looks at those closest to him, and at himself. Justin Blake Crum’s debut feature film is a patient and affecting case-study in how toxic masculinity and inherited trauma shape this underrepresented slice of America.
Credits
Justin Blake Crum, Director, Bell Ringer (PBS documentary)
Jessica Crum, Producer, First-Time Producer & Founder of Silverlake Design Studio
Brandon Vedder, Producer, Strange Negotiations, In Pursuit of Silence, La Source
Cameron Vaughan, Producer, Festival Director of Kaleidoscope LGBTQ+ Film Festival
John Stiritz, Key Cast, “Papaw”, My Dog Skip
Carson Mitchell, Key Cast, “Matthew”, First-Time Actor
Spring Hunter, Key Cast, “Christy”, First-Time Actor
Tyler Winn, Key Cast, “Robbie”, First-Time Actor
Larissa Ware, Key Cast, “Emily, “First-Time Actor
Heather Steadham, Key Cast, “Paula”First-Time Actor
Justin Blake Crum, Writer, Bell Ringer (PBS documentary)
Nate Klein, Cinematography, Bushwick Bill: Geto Boy
Michael Turner, Editing, The Way We Talk, Monument
Nathan Ruyle, Sound Design, United Skates, The Place of No Words, Searching, All About Nina
Brooks Tipton, Composer, Plays in the band Manchester Orchestra
Molly Devine, First Assistant Director, True Detective, Fear The Walking Dead
Anita Grote, Co-Producer, Blueberry’s Clubhouse, Music In Arkansas
Kate Carnaha, nCo-Producer, First-Time Co-Producer & Founder Of The Studio Downtown
Robert Crosby, Color Grading, Black Is King, The Mars Generation
Donna Benton, Production Design, First-Time Production Designer & Founder of Waterhouse Market
Tina Falkner, Costume Design, First-Time Costumer Designer & Founder of America Jane Vintage
Director Statement
I grew up with a hero. Both me and my brother adored a man named Junior Mitchell. He won a medal in World War II, built things with his bare hands, and was funny as hell. He would take us fishing, and tell us stories on the riverbank for hours, just to make us laugh. That’s how we knew him, as a loving grandfather. Later in life, my mother told me about a different kind of man, the one Junior Mitchell used to be. You see, when my grandfather was a younger man he was an abuser, or a “tormentor” as my mother called him. Verbally, physically, sexually, everything. He was the worst offender. My hero.
“I don’t want you to think badly of him,” my mother would say. The truth is, it never crossed my mind. My grandfather had already proven to me who he was, through years of visits, phone calls, and letters. I didn’t question who he was in his old age, but I did question how such a good man could do such bad things. And if it was possible for him, was it possible for me? Could I do something like this to someone I love?
This film was born out of the realization that I’m capable of doing all the things my grandfather did. My faith tells me that evil rests in the heart, in the soul, in the mind. If you think it, you’re capable of carrying it out. I could abuse, I could rape, I could murder. It’s all possible, it’s all in me. If I continue in ignorance, I’ll inflict pain just like my fathers before me.
For me, Papaw Land is about a character who realizes what he’s capable of, and finally asks the question- what have I done that has caused others pain? Am I the old Papaw, who didn’t care about anyone but himself, or am I the new Papaw, who loves even when it’s hard? We have a chance to prevent the abuse my mother and many others have suffered, by living a life critical of our own words and actions.
Director Biography
Justin Blake Crum is an award winning filmmaker, who previously directed, edited, and produced the concussion documentary Bell Ringer, which aired nationally on PBS and the World Channel in 2017. It won a 2017 Mid-America Emmy for Best Directing, and was nominated for Best Documentary and Best Editing. In 2020, he was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship by the Arkansas Arts Council for his original screenplay, Sons & Daughters. In 2021, his debut narrative feature film, Papaw Land, premiered at the St. Louis International Film Festival and continues playing at film festivals around the country. Born and raised in Northern Virginia, Crum is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach, and currently resides in Conway, Arkansas.
