DATE: Thursday, April 8
TIME: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
LOCATION: Emory University, Rita Anne Rollins Building Room 102
PRICE: Free
In partnership with the Center for Ethics in the Arts at Emory University, the Atlanta Film Society presents a free screening of GRAMPY'S RED ROCK RABBIT RANCH and BUSTER'S ONION followed by a Q&A with Director Laura Asherman (Grampy's Red Rock Rabbit Ranch) and Director Giovanni Tortorici (Buster's Onion). This screening is a part of Emory University's ongoing Ethics At The Movies series. This event is free and open to the public; Ticket reservation is required.
GRAMPY'S RED ROCK RABBIT RANCH
FILM SYNOPSIS
When Martin invites his filmmaker friend to his family farm, she encounters an idyllic homestead shared with his partner, Stephanie, and his 87-year-old grandfather, “Grampy.” Together, they begin a film centered on Grampy’s curmudgeonly spirit in his twilight years, set against the quiet beauty of Martin and Stephanie’s life as homesteaders.
But as filming unfolds, tensions between Martin, Stephanie, and Grampy rise to the surface. While Martin, pragmatic and brusque, takes on the monumental task of decluttering the barn to turn it into studios for an artist residency, Stephanie, Grampy’s doting caretaker, favors a free-spirited approach, abiding to the rhythms of the land rather than forcing change. Grampy would prefer nobody touch his things—especially his beloved stoves.
As the documentary filmmaker becomes entangled in the trio’s struggles, she questions how long she can remain an observer. When the fragile balance of the farm finally unravels, the camera becomes both a witness and participant in an intimate exploration of love, coexistence, and the act of filmmaking.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Laura Asherman is a Southeast Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, stop-motion animator, and educator based in Atlanta. Blending documentary and fiction, her recent films use hybrid storytelling techniques to explore interpersonal relationships and the Anthropocene with a sense of humor. She earned her MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts from Duke University in 2023 and now serves as Director of Ethics and the Arts and instructor of film at Emory University. Laura’s films have screened at New Orleans, Riverrun, Cucalorus, Sidewalk, Maryland, Phoenix, and the Atlanta Jewish Film Festivals. Her most recent short, Border Dweller Love, received an Honorable Mention in the animation category at the New Orleans Film Festival.
BUSTER'S ONION
FILM SYNOPSIS
A surreal docufiction, centering an elderly couple between routine and anticipation, short film Buster’s Onion explores the absurdity of navigating our own bodies while Van and Anne contend with 50 years of marriage – and what it has come to. Directed by Giovanni Tortorici, and starring his own grandparents, the film follows the final countdown as Van’s mysterious surgery draws near, while he and his wife suspend their disbelief to overcome the strange affliction he has been dealt.
Inspired by time spent living with his grandparents – slotting into their daily rituals of pudding before the news, the news before bed, and sleepytime tea – Tortorici found their lives cushioned in routine, then disrupted by his grandfather’s health scare. Recognizing the deep sense of care they showed for each other, Buster’s Onion grew out of his contemplations about the strength of aged love, and the fabric that held them together in difficult times.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Giovanni Tortorici is a narrative, doc, and anything in between filmmaker and based in Brooklyn. He explores themes of identity and memory through magical realism, engaging with stories that blend documentary and fiction together.