A look ahead at Atlanta FF: Godspeed
CAST:
Joseph McKelheer - Charlie Shepard
Cory Knauf - Luke Roberts
Courtney Halverson - Sarah Roberts
Ed Lauter - Mitch
Jessie Ward - Rebecca Shepard
Hallock Beals - Tim
Lynn Adrianna Freedman - Belle
Ed Lauter - Mitch
Ben Loosli - James
FILMMAKERS:
Director: Robert Saitzyk
Screenplay by: Cory Knauf & Robert Saitzyk
Edited By: Robert Saitzyk
Director of Photography: Michael Hardwick
Music by: Jeremy Grody & Justin Melland
Produced by: Houston King & John Flanagan
Screens at Atlanta Film Festival: Thursday, April 22 7 p.m.
Godspeed surprises you at every turn with character expectations never panning out to be what you imagine. From the faith healer that revels in booze and women to the guilty murderers of his child and wife, it is impossible to guess the next step in this independent drama.
With breathtaking imagery of Alaska, director Robert Saitzyk takes us into the wilds of Alaska, a serene place and God’s country but ravaged by the tormented grief of two families.
Charlie Shepard (Joseph McKelheer, THE HAMILTONS) is a modern-day faith healer, a man who claims that if you let go and believe, then his power to heal is very real indeed. Living hand-to-mouth with his young son and wife Rebecca (Jessie Ward, REST STOP: DON’T LOOK BACK), Charlie ekes out a meager living from his “healing” sessions in a small Alaskan town. With his marriage failing, and an old drinking habit coming back to haunt him, his family is brutally murdered by unknown assailants for seemingly no reason whatsoever.
Sarah (Courtney Halverson), a strange woman enters Charlie’s world months after the loss, hoping to seek help for her father. Charlie had failed to heal Sarah’s mother, riddled with cancer and the father is lost, she claims. He travels with her to her family farm only to come across her brother Luke (Cory Knauf) who appears a man of faith, converting those who have decided to follow him.
Without giving away the second and third act, the truth is slowly unveiled to Charlie, although we become aware of what is happening as soon as Charlie enters the farm. The relationship between Luke and Sarah provides for some of the most intense and disturbing scenes in the story.
The consequences for all the characters are brutal and harsh but poetic, much like the land they stand on. Shot on the Red camera, the cinematic quality of this film makes it as much worth seeing on the big screen as the entangled and violent story.
