What starts as a quiet Iowa farm quickly turns into something far more sinister in “Ciller Corn,” a locally made film set to premiere to a sold-out crowd May 9 in Iowa City.
Iowa filmmakers Lars Jean Easy, Rich Brown and Stefan Crowl founded their film production company, Heretic Pictures, after they met through writer’s groups in Iowa City, or movie groups co-opted into writer’s groups by Jean Easy, the director of “Ciller Corn.”
“He basically abducted me,” said Crowl.
Prior to the “abduction,” Jean Easy had been making films since he was a kid and continued into college, where he found the opportunity to film in the Czech Republic.
Brown, a Kirkwood Community College student, manages Heretic and executive-produced “Ciller Corn,” which was produced by Crowl, a former Kirkwood student and current Kirkwood instructor.
“I was really excited about writing with the idea, that a screenplay that I did could come alive,” Brown stated.
Heretic Pictures classifies itself as the Ford assembly line of outlaw cinema.
Its goal is to create films through the power of a great screenplay, as opposed to a reliance on modern-day strategies, such as casting high-profile actors or wowing the audience with special effects.
“Ciller Corn” follows Carson (Cody Jenison), a young man who grew up on his family’s farm with aspirations to live in the city with his girlfriend.
Before Carson can make his leave, a poison plagues their crops. Eventually, the poison spreads into Carson, setting off a horrific transformation.
The film was written by Jean Easy and Crowl, who were determined to put it to screen. It had to be a tight script; it had to be doable.
“I wanted to come up with something that was very Iowa-centric, so corn was the obvious direction to go,” Jean Easy said.
Though filmed entirely on Iowa farmland, its heritage is most prevalent within the subtext, which reflects Iowa’s fast-rising cancer rates due to high pesticide usage on farmland.
For the visual style, they aimed to punch above their weight class, and they’re confident in their efforts. Jean Easy asserted that their film is “very pretty,” which he attributed to Seth Switzer, the cinematographer.
Harkening back to the aesthetics of ’70s exploitation films, the film features rapid zoom-in shots and has a grime to it. “The good, bad and the ugly,” Brown said, describing the film’s aesthetics.
There were 10 days to shoot the film, each said to be hotter than the other.
During filming, the entire production crew lived together in a house located in North English, Iowa.
Jean Easy reflected on his role as a process of keeping everyone fed, energized and happy. “It was pure chaos,” Crowl said.
He added that Jean Easy was the rock that kept the production together. “I see it as my job as the director to be the constant driving force,” Jean Easy stated.
“Ciller Corn” will premiere May 9 to a sold-out theater at FilmScene in Iowa City.
Categories: Art & Life
