When a shy girl, secretly in love with her rocker-grrl housemate, meets an unbalanced heiress on the run, anything could (and does) happen in BRUSHFIRES, the latest production from Chicago-based film group Split Pillow. As the three women negotiate the dangerous relationships among them, the seven women directors weave a sensual tale of suspense. Drawing inspiration from the poem by Jessica Wilbur and the surrealist parlour game, The Exquisite Corpse, each director selected a word or phrase on which to base her segment, and the seven chapters of the film bear their individual marks. This impressive experiment in filmmaking emerges as a sensitive tale of young desire, loss, and love's confusion.

Brushfires

For some, the lives we have are not always the lives we wanted. For Joe, a small time guy from the small time town of Sandwich, Illinois, his has not even come close - until now. Faced with death and having recently met the girl of his dreams, Claire, Joe has to find a way to live the life of passion he'd always wanted, and he has to do it fast. Journey with Joe towards the great beyond, not half as imaginative as the path he's finally forged here on Earth. Ride with him as he's forced to figure out the meaning of life that he won't have time to live. With the help of his best friend, Frank, and his brilliant, if not terrified mother, Sarah, Joe will finally learn to live, love, and explore beyond his wildest dreams. And we'll get to watch one man's journey unfold, from the first day of the rest of his life on.

Counting Backwards

Away from the microphone, David is soft spoken, shy and unsure of himself. However, as his on-air alias ‘Danger Dave,’ the host of “Gay Talk,” he’s poised, witty, and every listener’s best friend. His sister, Kate, a thrice divorced banker has a yen for Schumann and cats. Though successful, the siblings suffer from a secret, yet vast, sense of inadequacy. Kate decides to adopt and asks David to be a father figure. David gawkily romances his coworker. Past and present intertwine to tell the story of a man learning to love and accept himself.