High Water/High Water--Behind The Scenes

Viewers get a wonderful introduction to independent filmmaking in this combination short film and behind-the-scenes look. The tape opens with the multiple award-winning 36-minute film High Water, based on the short story by Howard Frank Mosher. The deceptively simple story is set on a Vermont farm, circa 1959, where Waterman, a farm boy with dreams of racing stock cars, and Caledonia, his kid sister, decide to head for the races despite a torrential downpour and the disapproval of Pa. When Waterman and Caledonia get stuck on the first bridge before they're even off the property, Pa assumes his kids are going to return to the farm and to their senses. But he underestimates both his son's determination, and his daughter's deep belief in her brother. High Water is a beautiful, inspiring story about the persistence of dreams, and the can-do philosophy that doesn't opt for easy resignation in the face of adversity. Appended to the program is the 26-minute High Water: Behind the Scenes which offers viewers an inside look at how a small independent production gets made. Filmed in just seven days, director Jay Craven's High Water is examined from several angles, as interviews with the director, producer, and stars, are intercut with the problems the crew encountered filming the bridge scene and other key scenes. A wonderful family film, and an absorbing introduction to filmmaking, High Water/High Water: Behind the Scenes is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (See COMING TO TERMS for availability.)