Ashland-based Joma Films adds ‘Above the Trees’ to its growing list of well-received movies
By Lee Juillerat for Ashland.news
An independent crime drama filmed in Jackson County and featuring local actors, “Above the Trees,” is making its debut in select theaters throughout Oregon. The Ashland debut was Friday. Showings continue this week at the Varsity Theatre.
“Above the Trees” is an ensemble written and directed by Gary Lundgren and produced by Luis Rodriguez and Annie Lundgren. The film stars Danielle Kelly, Julian Remulla, Luis Rodriguez, Danforth Comins and Barret O’Brien.
“When a good man is assaulted and left in a serious coma, his best friend and local boxer is charged. The story follows a mosaic of people linked to the tragedy, while the criminal trial unfolds in Jackson County,” according to the film synopsis.
“The idea for this film was born during the pandemic,” Lundgren said. “I’ve always been fascinated and troubled by true crime stories — and was inspired to build a fictional story in Ashland where we could control the outcome.”
The movie was filmed chronologically across the Rogue Valley over many months as scheduling would allow.
“During the pandemic, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival stages went dark and most of us were out of work. So these characters were written specifically for some talented friends I know and love. What a gift to film chronologically with friends in familiar locations,” Lundgren said. “Often indies are filmed so quickly in a high stress environment. On this one, I wanted us to be nimble and more patient. The goal was to collaborate on art together — with a small footprint and without your typical deadlines and restrictions.”
Kelly portrays a DJ who’s in love with the victim and becomes a potential star witness. O’Brien plays Charles Johnson — a Lithia Park busking poet who finds himself inexplicably drawn into the investigation and trial. Danforth Comins plays a northwest drifter who’s struggling to pull his life together.
“This was an actor’s dream job,” Comins said. “To play a complicated character with a director you trust.”
The cast also includes stage and screen favorites Erica Sullivan, Chris Butler, Mark Schneider and Marlyn Mason.
Joma Films is an indie studio in Ashland. Credits include “Calvin Marshall,” starring Steve Zahn and Alex Frost; “Redwood Highway” starring Shirley Knight and Tom Skerritt; “Black Road, (starring Sam Daly, Michelle Lombardo and Simon Templeton; “Phoenix, Oregon,” starring James Le Gros, Jesse Borrego and Lisa Edelstein; and “Above the Trees.”
The film plays all week at the Varsity Theatre in Ashland Monday through Thursday, May 13 through 16, with shows starting at 4 and 7:30 p.m. It’s also playing in Klamath Falls and Grants Pass.
The filmmakers will be at the 7:30 p.m. shows May 15 in Eugene, May 17 in Salem, May 18 in Lincoln City and Florence, May 19 in Corvallis and May 22 in Portland and Fort Jones, California. Most showings include in-person question and answer periods with the filmmakers. For more information and reservations for those showings, click here.
Email freelance writer Lee Juillerat at 337lee337@charter.net.
