Slamdance Film Festival 2012

Synopsis:
A unique story of friendship, race, and self-discovery, WELCOME TO PINE HILL was born out of a chance encounter between filmmaker Keith Miller and star Shannon Harper, who found themselves arguing over a lost dog one night in Brooklyn. Straddling the worlds of fact and fiction, documentary and narrative, WELCOME TO PINE HILL follows Shannon, a recently reformed drug dealer, now working as a claims adjuster by day and bouncer by night. When Shannon receives earth-shattering news, he is compelled to make peace with his past and search for freedom beyond the concrete jungle of New York City. Featuring an extraordinarily intimate performance by Harper playing himself, he is supported by an eclectic cast of both emerging talent and real people. Traveling from the backyards of Brooklyn crack houses to the lush Catskill Mountains, the film is a meditative journey about how we choose to live our lives. In collaboration with the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, of which director Keith Miller is a part, WELCOME TO PINE HILL is Miller's debut feature.

Programmer Notes:
With an assured director's hand and photo journalist's eye, Keith Miller has crafted a beautifully nuanced portrait of a wounded man struggling to cast light where there has only been shadow. Carrying a lifetime of pain in his penetrating gaze is newcomer Shannon Harper, whose delicate performance is like quiet thunder in the distance, creeping up slowly until it seems the world will shatter. Some films make you think, while others make you feel. This is a film you will feel long after you've finished watching.
- Josh Mandel, Programmer