NWA Film Cycle Film 'Angle of Attack' Works Its Way Around Film Festival Circuit

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Angle of Attack Poster

The short film Angle of Attack is making its way around the national film festival circuit. The film — written by John Walch, associate professor of theatre, directed by Russell Sharman, a former faculty member of the Department of Communication, with cinematography by Adam Hogan, assistant professor of art — was last seen at the Columbia Film Festival in Maryland and premiered at the 20th annual Oxford Film Festival in Mississippi, where it received honorable mention in the comedy short category.

Angle of Attack will have its Arkansas festival premiere at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, in Little Rock as a part of Filmland, Arkansas Cinema Society's 6-year-old festival featuring films made in Arkansas or by Arkansans. The film will then screen at the Fayetteville Film Festival at the Global Campus Theatre on the Fayetteville Square at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12.

The story follows a group of friends attending a poetry night and discussing the meaning of artistic expression, from poetry to tattoos, and was filmed on the Fayetteville Square.

The film was produced by the NWA Film Cycle, an innovative program given seed funding by the Chancellor's Fund for the Humanities and Performing Arts. Angle of Attack was shot in May of 2022 and is the first offering from the NWA Film Cycle project. The NWA Film Cycle is designed to offer students the opportunity to work with veteran film professionals in key crew positions, with a long-term goal of laying the foundation for both credit and non-credit programs in film production and writing at the university.

Featuring multiple U of A alumni, the film's cast includes Theatre Department acting alumni Na'Tosha De'Von, Edwin Green, Ana Miramontes, Trey Smith and Jordan Williams. The design team additionally includes Theatre Department design alumni Ripley DeCaluwe, Morgan McInnis, Brandon Roye and Braedon Ulrich. School of Art students Arden Carlson, Jordan Eldridge, Keaton Grimmett, Vita Long and Madeline Young worked on camera and grip as part of the electric crew.

The NWA Film Cycle creative team wrapped its second short film, Carving, in May of 2023, also using a full student crew and designers. The new film is in post-production, and the creative team plans to submit it to festivals in the coming year.

For more information and how to obtain tickets, go to:

• Tickets for Filmland
• Tickets to Fayetteville Film Fest