Obselidia is a 2010 American road drama film written and directed by Diane Bell in her directorial debut. It stars Michael Piccirilli, Gaynor Howe, and Frank Hoyt Taylor. It tells the story of a lonely librarian who believes love is obsolete until a road trip to Death Valley with a beguiling cinema projectionist teaches him otherwise.
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2010, where it was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Prize and the Excellence in Cinematography Award. It was then self-distributed, and received positive reviews from critics. At the 26th Independent Spirit Awards, it was nominated for Best First Screenplay (for Bell) and the John Cassavetes Award.
Plot On his quest to catalogue soon obsolete occupations, George (Piccirilli) a librarian joins forces with a silent film projectionist (Howe), and together they journey to Death Valley to interview a maverick scientist (Hoyt Taylor) who is predicting the imminent end of the world.
Cast Michael Piccirilli as George Gaynor Howe as Sophie Frank Hoyt Taylor as Lewis Chris Byrne as Mitch Kim Beuché as Jennifer Michael Blackman Beck as Paul Linda Walton as Linda Grant Mathis as Monk
Production Obselidia was loosely inspired by several films, with Diane Bell saying:
Principal photography took place in Death Valley Junction, Ballarat, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica, California.
Reception Critical response Todd McCarthy of Variety stated, "Gentle, intelligent, gorgeously made and utterly eccentric, Obselidia exists in its own little world entirely apart from any hitherto detected categories of American independent filmmaking." McCarthy also wrote, "Visually, the picture is a thing of great beauty." David D'Arcy of Screen Daily remarked, "Bell's ambitious script seeks a new and charmingly humorous perspective on consumerism and environmental decline, but leans on didactic aphorisms in the dialogue between George and Sophie."
Accolades Year Award / Festival Category Recipient(s) Result 2010 Sundance Film Festival Alfred P. Sloan Prize Obselidia Excellence in Cinematography Award: Dramatic Zak Mulligan Ashland Independent Film Festival Best Feature Diane Bell 2011 FEST Youth Video and Film Festival Best Fiction Independent Spirit Awards Best First Screenplay John Cassavetes Award Diane Bell, Chris Byrne, Matthew Medlin
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