By Scott Miley
Maybe 17-year-old Stormi Myers will be the next director of a film like “Juno” or “Little Miss Sunshine,” two quirky movies that had big influences on teens across America.
But for right now, she’s pleased to be her own independent self.
She made a 13-minute film about suicide, “Farewell,” that is to be shown Saturday at the Phantoscope Indiana High School Film Festival at the Richmond Art Museum.
“I’m really excited. It’s like a dream come true. By no means is this as far as I want to go but it’s a step,” said Myers, who lives on the northside and attends Anderson High School.
The film, which she made off a handheld Samsung - not much more than a point-and-shoot camera - is a silent black-and-white effort showing the impact of a man’s suicide on those who loved him.
She edited the film using Moviemaker on her home computer.
The idea came as she and friend Clorissa Brown sat home watching films and TV in 2007. Among them was “Clerks” a offbeat film about a day in the life of two convenience store cashiers made by Myers’ favorite director, Kevin Smith.
“We had some time over the summer to kill. We wanted to do something for fun. That’s when I realized I wanted to do this for a living.”
The two decided to do something out of the ordinary.
Myers filmed Brown walking up to a funeral home (although it was really a church) and then, piece-by-piece, a story about suicide developed. Myers had her five-year-old sister, Ellie, portray a grieving youngster and her uncle, Jason, as the suicide victim though only his feet are showing.
And in 13 minutes, there’s a complete tale told of death, pregnancy, drug addiction and neglect.
“It’s actually kind of sad, honestly. Everybody who watches it has cried,” she said.
As they started filming, Myers’ mother Stachia, suggested they find a message in the medium. She thought it would suit her daughter’s tastes.
“She likes the oddball movies,” said her mother. “Kevin Smith is her favorite director and he makes some real vulgar oddball films.”
Both mom and daughter like horror movies and the comedy “Little Miss Sunshine,” the indpendent film that was nominated for Best Picture Academy Award in 2007. Stormi is the daughter of Todd and Stachia Myers.
She has already started work on a second film.
She said, “I’ve got 70 pages written. I plan on making a lot of them.”
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Phantascope was set in motion in Richmond
The Phantascope Film Festival draws its name from the projector invented by C. Francis Jenkins, who was raised in Richmond. His machine projected moving images onto a screen. He also charged 25 cents to view the images.
In 2007, the festival had its debut year at the Richmond Art Museum. Then, it drew contestants from the region. This year, entries were open to any high school student in Indiana. Twenty-two sent in entries and the festival is screening 12 of those at 7 p.m. Saturday following a panel discussion at 5:30 p.m. The event is at the museum, 350 Hub Etchison Parkway in Richmond.
The overall winner will receive $500. The top five will be shown at the Indianapolis International Film Festival on April 26.
The festival was created by Museum Director Shaun Dingwerth, who wanted to “push the boundaries of the medium,” said Stephanie Strait, educational director at the Richmond Art Museum.
The festival also showcases the museum as a Works Progress Administration-era building with a 500-seat auditorium. The building had lost some of its public events after the construction of a new high school theater.
“As far as we know only this is the festival like it for high school students in the state,” said Strait.
