‘A Standing Still’ Among BIFF Selections

One the Big Island Film Festival’s 50 selections will be “A Standing Still” by writer, director, producer, and cinematographer Scott Ballard.

Ballard will be in attendance at the Fairmont Orchid for the film’s showing on Friday, May 22.

The 2 p.m. show features a young recluse, Allision, played by Sara Robbin who struggles with the future in the midst of loss and displacement. When a family emergency calls her away from her job as a fire lookout in the Willamette National Forest, she is forced to face her present and the past that has led her there.

“A Standing Still” won Best Feature and Best Cinematography at the 2014 Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, Audience Choice Best Feature at the 2014 Columbia Gorge Film Festival, Best Feature Film at the 2014 Mt. Hood Independent Film Festival, and Best Cinematography at the 2014 Arizona International Film Festival and the 2014 Williamsburg International Film Festival. In addition to the awards, a variety of nominations have been garnered, including Best Original Screen Play, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor at the 2014 Madrid International Film Festival. The film has also screened as an Official Selection at the 2014 Ohio Independent, 2014 Eugene International, 2014 Landlocked, 2014 Louisville International, 2015 Cinema on the Bayou, and the 2015 Riverside International Film Festivals.

Filming took place throughout the Northwest United States, including Bellingham, Wash., Portland, Ore., and at a variety of locations in the Willamette National Forest and the Oregon coast.

“A Standing Still” is the second feature film created by Ballard. He is a Portland-based director, producer, and director of photography with over 12 years of experience filming narrative features, shorts, documentaries, and music videos.

BiBallard graduated from Boston University with an MFA in Film Production. Currently, he is the co-owner of Portland Film Works and a member of the Great Notion Filmmakers Collective.