- Jared Huizenga
TCFF Spotlight: American Tender
Over the course of the 2018 Twin Cities Film Fest, we'll chat with some of the filmmakers behind the 125+ films that will showing during this year's festival.
Film:
American Tender
Showtimes:
Thursday, Oct. 18 - 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 24 - 2:45 p.m.
Q: Tell us about 'American Tender.'
A first date turns into a small time robbery, but Penny's plan of pinning the crime on her date backfires when the robbery goes sideways. Now her date is the only person she can trust as she tries to pick up the pieces of their botched theft.
Q: The film is part of the Minnesota Connected programming at TCFF. What is the Minnesota connection(s)?
This one is MN made from the root to the fruit. All our cast and crew are Minnesotans, and our real-time story plays out on the streets of Hopkins.
Q: Where did the idea for the project come from?
The current 20-something generation is faced with unprecedented political and ecological weight, but there's an almost biological youthful need to be playful that butts up against that. So we have this generation who are masters of playing absurdly detached from outside stressors; I wanted to jump into that, and then explore what actually breaks that thick shell.
C.J. Renner
Director
Q: Who from the film will be attending the screening?
Nelle June Anderson – Lead
Frank Foster-Bolton – Co-lead
Sasha Rayl – Producer
C.J. Renner – Writer/Director
Tomas Aksamit – Director of Photography
Nick Christopulos – Sound/Score
Tyson Lietz – Actor
Jeremy Frandrup – Actor
Q: If someone is only going to see one film at the Twin Cities Film Fest, why should 'American Tender' be the one?
There are oodles of great films at TCFF this year; I'll be there most nights as a fan myself... so take a chance on a bunch of them. But I will say that if you're into the acrobatics of filmmaking, you'll see performances (by both the actors and crew) in our film that will bowl you over. I'll humbly say American Tender is what you'd get if Paul Thomas Anderson had just $5k to make a film.