The Catastrophe (film)

The Catastrophe is a 2011 short film directed by Chicago-based independent filmmaker and film studies instructor Michael Glover Smith, loosely based on the short story Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The film had its world premiere at the Illinois International Film Festival on Saturday, November 19, 2011, where it won the award for Best Dramatic Short.[1]

For the 1977 film, see Catastrophe (film).
The Catastrophe
Directed byMichael Glover Smith
Written byMichael Glover Smith
Produced byMichael Glover Smith
Clayton Monical
StarringPeyton Myrick
Hector Reyes
Marla Seidell
George Christopher Tronsrue
Suzy Brack
Mia Park
Duane Sharp
Marshall Bean
Ed Schultz
D.J. Collins
Mouzam Makkar
CinematographyJustin Cameron
Edited byRyan Taylor
Music byShane Kliebenstein
Release date
  • November 19, 2011 (2011-11-19) (Illinois International Film Festival)
Running time
15 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

The Catastrophe is a surreal drama/mystery short film that uses dreamlike imagery, a Bob Dylan song and a poem by Forough Farrokhzad to paint a portrait of Dominicus Pike, the quintessential modern man. The movie follows Dominicus as he traverses the American midwest, plying his trade as a cigar salesman, and his dawning realization that he may have sold his soul to a multinational corporation.

The main story of The Catastrophe is interwoven with narrative threads involving the collapse of Dominicus’ relationship with his girlfriend, Carlie, and his discovery of what may be a murder plot involving one of his clients, Mohammad “Double Apple” Akbari. Only life on the road alone makes it hard for Dominicus to distinguish where reality ends and dreams begin.

History

The Catastrophe was shot on high definition digital video in 4 days in the late summer of 2011. Shooting locations included Chicago, Villa Park and Des Plaines, Illinois. Aside from lead actor Peyton Myrick, a North Carolina-based theatrical actor, most of the rest of the cast are well known in the worlds of Chicago music, theater, television and independent film; the cast includes noted thespians Mia Park (host of television's Chic-a-Go-Go), Marla Seidell, Suzy Brack, and Duane Sharp (star of Zen Noir). The Catastrophe is dedicated to imprisoned Iranian filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Jafar Panahi.

References
  1. Illinois International Film Festival 2011 Award Winners Archived 2013-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
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