Driftless Film Festival

media release: Actor David Strathairn, who earned an Oscar nomination with his spot-on portrayal of journalist Edward R. Murrow in the 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck, will take part in a special Q&A panel to open the 14th annual Driftless Film Festival at the Mineral Point Opera House.

Strathairn will appear alongside writer and director Terry Green after the opening night screening of No God, No Master. The film, which opened the 2013 Driftless Film Festival, is being screened at this year’s DFF as a special 10th anniversary screening of the film.

Festival passes are on sale now at driftlessfilmfestival.com/tickets, and can be purchased through Eventbrite. Cost for the festival pass is $65, and it guarantees admission to all screenings, as well as both opening and closing night parties. Tickets for single screenings will go on sale on Monday, Oct. 2.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have David and Terry on the stage together to kick off this year’s DFF,” festival director Bill Webb said. “Since Terry became involved, he has enthusiastically jumped in to help craft this year’s version of the festival. He was crucial in getting David here for opening night, and I can’t wait for that night to get here.”

When a series of package bombs detonate on the doorsteps of prominent politicians and businessmen in summer 1919, U.S. Bureau of Investigation Agent William Flynn (Strathairn) is assigned the task of finding those responsible. He becomes immersed in an investigation that uncovers an anarchist plot to destroy democracy.

Green, a resident of Mineral Point who wrote, produced, and directed No God, No Master, remains proud of his vision a decade after it screened.

“I attempted to make a movie about a journey into the culture of anarchism and the overreach of government,” Green said. “No God, No Master is a timely drama with resounding parallels to today’s politics and many of the divisive issues we face as Americans. Who’s pulling the strings and what price are we willing to pay for freedom? What happens when the discontented begin to organize and take action? Is violence ever justifiable? These are a few of the questions the film asks.”

Once a year, the Driftless Film Festival brings together the best of new independent cinema with the landscape, artistic energy, and local atmosphere of the Driftless Area of Southwest Wisconsin. Founded in 2009 by filmmakers Darren Burrows and Nicholas Langholff, DFF was born of a love for independent films, an appreciation of the unusual region, and the joy of spending a weekend immersed in the charm of Mineral Point’s galleries, shops, restaurants, and bars. It is this delightful marriage of place and cinematic story that is the core of the DFF vision today.

DFF screens each of its films in the Mineral Point Opera House. Beautifully restored in 2009, the theatre retains the atmosphere of its origins as a 1915 vaudeville house. Brought to life by film screenings and live performances year round, the Opera House is both an elegant testament to Mineral Point’s passion for preservation and a showcase space for some of the best entertainment in the region.