The internationally award-nominated, Asheville-based indie noir Quiet River will screen in its hometown on Aug. 4 at the Fine Arts Theatre at 7:30PM.
Concerning a woman who returns to her North Carolina roots only to find her troubled brother is caught in a web of crime and deceit, the film was produced entirely in the mountains of Western North Carolina. When Claire’s brother Daniel, a brilliant recluse who may or may not suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome, is accused of being an eco-terrorist, she decides to seek out the truth for herself. The result is part Winter’s Bone, part Nancy Drew.
Produced with the director’s usual tiny budget, the film has played at international festivals, alongside movies with budgets that tower over it. “As always, the focus should be on the story,” says writer-director Paul Schattel. “If you’ve got a good story and great performances, it doesn’t matter how much your film cost – the essentials are already there.”
Using the dramatic locations of the Appalachian Mountains as a backdrop, Schattel and a skeleton crew concocted a rural noir about a brother and sister in which sibling rifts are exposed, accusations are hurled, and the police are circling ever closer, looking for enough evidence to throw Daniel into prison.
“I knew I had the right performers in Rebecca Morris and Willie Repoley,” Schattel explains. “With a right amount of preparation, and the right locations, we were able to create a story for a fraction of what it costs most filmmakers.” Schattel is a video and film professional, so he had most of the equipment already in hand; a few veteran collaborators, including Producer Shane Meador and Director of Photography Shane Peters, helped him to create a tale of crime in an isolated mountain town.
“If you choose your teammates well, you set yourself up for good things. Not only were the actors incredible, but so were the crew. Shane Meador has worked on practically every interesting film in Western North Carolina for the last ten years. You name it, he was there. And Shane Peters’ photography is getting international attention now.”
The film premiered at the 2015 Orlando Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Lead Performer (Rebecca Morris) and Best Supporting Performer (Willie Repoley). The film recently played the Madrid International Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Feature, Best Cinematography, and Best Actress.
