RIVER OF GRASS (1994), Kelly Reichardt’s darkly funny debut feature, brought the writer/director back to the setting of her adolescence, the suburban landscape of southern Florida, where she grew up with her detective father and narcotics agent mother. Shot on 16mm, the story follows the misadventures of disaffected house-wife "Cozy", played by Lisa Bowman, and the aimless layabout "Lee", played by up and comer Larry Fessenden, who also acted as a producer and the film's editor. Described by Reichardt as "a road movie without the road, a love story without the love, and a crime story without the crime," RIVER OF GRASS introduces viewers to a director already in command of her craft and defining her signature style.
This restoration was made possible by Oscilloscope Laboratories, Sundance Institute, UCLA Film and Television Archive, TIFF, and hundreds of Kickstarter backers.
Lisa Bowman - "Cozy"
Lisa Bowman is an actress and director, known for DEAD ABOVE GROUND (2002), RIVER OF GRASS (1994), and DESTINATION AMERICA (1987). She has been married to Chuck Bowman since August 31, 1979. They have one child.
Larry Fessenden - "Lee Ray Harold"
Larry Fessenden, winner of the 1997 Someone to Watch Spirit Award, and nominee for the 2010 Piaget Spirit Award for producing, is the writer, director, and editor of the award-winning art-horror trilogy HABIT (Nominated for 2 Spirit Awards), WENDIGO (Winner Best Film 2001 Woodstock Film Festival), and NO TELLING. His film, THE LAST WINTER (Nominated for a 2007 Gotham Award for best ensemble cast), premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival and was distributed through IFC. Fessenden directed SKIN AND BONES for NBC TV's horror anthology FEAR ITSELF and the feature film BENEATH for Chiller films. He wrote the screenplay with Guillermo del Toro of ORPHANAGE, an English language remake of the successful Spanish film EL ORFANATO. He is the writer, with Graham Reznick of the forthcoming Sony Playstation videogame UNTIL DAWN. Fessenden was awarded the 2007 Sitges Film Festival Maria Award for his work as a producer, actor and director in genre film, and he won the 2009 Golden Hammer Award for “being such an inspiring force in the industry.” In 2011, Fessenden was inducted into the "Fangoria Hall of Fame" and was honored by the UK’s Total Film as an Icon of Horror during the Frightfest Film Festival.
Dick Russell - "Ryder"
Russell is a native New Yorker now residing in South Florida. Dick fell into acting when he drove a neighbor to an agent’s office and was offered a part in a movie. Since then, Russell has appeared in numerous small parts in films, commercials, and on stage. Like the character of Ryder, Russell is also a former jazz drummer.
Stan Kaplan - "J.C."
Kaplan is a Miami-based actor and comedian who has appeared in over twenty stage plays, including FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, THE ODD COUPLE, and GUYS AND DOLLS.
Michael Buscemi - "Doug"
Michael Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is an actor and writer, known for INTERVIEW (2007), I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY (2007), and TREES LOUNGE (1996).
Kelly Reichardt - Director/Writer/Producer
American landscapes and narratives of the road are themes that run throughout Kelly Reichardt’s five feature films: RIVER OF GRASS (Strand Releasing, 1994), OLD JOY (Kino International, 2006), WENDY AND LUCY (Oscilloscope Pictures, 2008), MEEK’S CUTOFF (Oscilloscope Pictures, 2010), and NIGHT MOVES (Cinedigm, 2013); and the short narrative ODE (1999).
Grants: United States Artists Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, Anonymous Was a Woman Award, Renew Media Fellowship.
Screenings: Whitney Biennial (2012), Film Forum, Cannes Film Festival in “un certain regard,” Venice International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, BFI London Film Festival.
Retrospectives: Anthology Film Archives, Pacific Film Archive, Museum of the Moving Image, Walker Art Center, American Cinematheque Los Angeles.
She has taught at School of Visual Arts, Columbia University, New York University, and is currently an artist-in-residence at Bard College.
Larry Fessenden - Editor/Associate Producer
Larry Fessenden, winner of the 1997 Someone to Watch Spirit Award, and nominee for the 2010 Piaget Spirit Award for producing, is the writer, director, and editor of the award-winning art-horror trilogy HABIT (Nominated for 2 Spirit Awards), WENDIGO (Winner Best Film 2001 Woodstock Film Festival), and NO TELLING. His film, THE LAST WINTER (Nominated for a 2007 Gotham Award for best ensemble cast), premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival and was distributed through IFC. Fessenden directed SKIN AND BONES for NBC TV's horror anthology FEAR ITSELF and the feature film BENEATH for Chiller films. He wrote the screenplay with Guillermo del Toro of ORPHANAGE, an English language remake of the successful Spanish film EL ORFANATO. He is the writer, with Graham Reznick of the forthcoming Sony Playstation videogame UNTIL DAWN. Fessenden was awarded the 2007 Sitges Film Festival Maria Award for his work as a producer, actor and director in genre film, and he won the 2009 Golden Hammer Award for “being such an inspiring force in the industry.” In 2011, Fessenden was inducted into the "Fangoria Hall of Fame" and was honored by the UK’s Total Film as an Icon of Horror during the Frightfest Film Festival.