CommUNITY Arts Festival - Ashlock
Based on a true story, Ashlock tells the tragic tale of a lead miner whose brutal nature was ultimately his own undoing. Although he single-handedly subdues a labor strike in the mine, he is emotionally crippled as a husband at home.
Interview with Director/Producer Elliott Geolat
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Growing up, I was told many tales about my great-great-grandparents, the Ashlocks. Like me, they were from The Old Lead Belt of Missouri, a region that once boomed over some of the largest lead deposits in the world. Josiah was a mining foreman with a brutal temper, known for having single-handedly defused a riot by marching into the mine with a shotgun. Mary was his repressed yet loyal wife, a lonely and whimsical soul. Grief-stricken by her untimely death, Josiah, despite his hard nature, wandered out into a snowstorm and died himself.
After ten years of filmmaking, it finally dawned on me that, together, they were the perfect characters for a dramatic narrative, one that could be told through either the medium of cinema or dance choreography. Why not both?
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It is my belief that this film will appeal to a broad audience. Touching on many universal themes, it tells a timeless story of a loving but troubled marriage. Furthermore, as a dance film, it is the embodiment of numerous art forms in collaboration and should thus appeal to those who love either cinema, dance and music, or all three.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
In Ashlock, there is an unhappy disconnection between the married couple, which is only exacerbated by Josiah’s abusive tendencies. Their marriage is one of tragic co-dependency. Conflicted by her love for Josiah and her reliance upon him as a provider, Mary feels trapped in her role as his wife. Josiah, incapable of expressing love or any emotion aside from anger, cannot cope with her death.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
There was never really a script for this film. Several stories about the Ashlocks came together naturally, and the filmmaking was structured much like my choreographic process. Ashlock is as much as a musical as it is visual, and the body language and dance are nearly indistinguishable – expression in phrases.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
There was a tremendous amount of positive feedback after the premiere. Many viewers, in their own words, expressed that the cinematic scenes and dance sequences married powerfully. Some, however, were unsettled by the feelings of empathy evoked by Josiah's death.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
By receiving coverage by this publication, I hope to broaden the audience for both Ashlock and dance films in general. They are a unique and relatively small subgenre, especially those that are narrative.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
In addition to garnering the attention of film festivals for Ashlock, I would like to further distinguish myself as a filmmaker. I do not intend to make only dance films. I am preparing to make my debut as a director of feature-length productions. Naturally, I would embrace the help of producers and the support of a studio.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Ashlock is a dual character study. While I had no intentions of exonerating Josiah, I did want to challenge audiences by humanizing him. People are almost never perfectly good or evil; humanity is on a very grey scale, something that intrigues me as an artist. It is my belief that we cannot transcend our innate flaws and moral shortcomings until we first accept them, even our evils. Only then can we begin to move forward as individuals and, ultimately, as a society.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
I would like audiences to question if the dynamics of romantic relationships have fundamentally changed for the better over time. Women’s liberation has improved the overall treatment of women, but abuse, in one form or another, persists. Maintaining a healthy relationship requires not only selflessness and mutual respect, but also self-preservation and self-respect. Is this balance more prevalent now, or have the old patterns just taken new forms?
Interview: July 2018
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Ashlock
Based on a true story, Ashlock tells the tragic tale of a lead miner whose brutal nature was ultimately his own undoing. Although he single-handedly subdues a labor strike in the mine, he is emotionally crippled as a husband at home.
Length: 15:24
Director: Elliott Geolat
Producers: Elliott Geolat & Audrey Honert
About the writer, director and producer:
ELLIOTT GEOLAT is a dancer with Saint Louis Ballet, a filmmaker and a choreographer. He has made six dance films that have all been screened in film festivals and art shows.
Key cast: Starring Milan Valko and Audrey Honert with supporting actor, Michael Monsey. Members of Saint Louis Ballet and The Big Muddy Dance Company
Looking for: film Festival Directors & Journalists
Facebook: facebook.com/ashlockfilm
Instagram: @elliottgeolat
Funders: Indiegogo
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? CommUNITY Arts Festival (St. Louis) on September, 8th