Ballast

Set in the poor surroundings of a rural community in the Mississippi Delta, Ballast is the minimalist, mood-driven debut feature of director Lance Hammer. The narrative oscillates between the grief-stricken, middle-aged Lawrence, and Marla, a single mother living with her 12-year old son James. It’s spring break and James wanders around, drifting alone over the plains under a steel grey sky, occasionally teaming up with a drug-selling teenage gang. He gains acceptance in the crew, doing drug runs on a motorcycle. One day, he decides to take a ride to Lawrence’s house. In the spiral of violence that follows, unexpected ties of kinship and loss are exposed.

Using no artificial lighting, the cinematography of Lol Crawley makes the most of the rugged delta landscape, while creating intimacy and a dark, low-key atmosphere surrounding the characters. With inspiration drawn from the actor-model methods of Robert Bresson, local non-professional actors were cast in the roles. To guarantee a raw and honest performance, they were only occasionally allowed access to the script.

Face2Face
With Lance Hammer, director. Moderator: Christopher NatzenRead more

Premiere Status
Swedish Premiere: Cast
Jean Paul Guillory, Jimez Alexander, Johnny McPhail, Micheal J. Smith Sr. Jim Myron Ross, Marcus Alexander: Producer
Nina Parikh, Lance Hammer: Script
Lance Hammer: Cinematography
Lol Crawley: Spoken language
English