Directing
A man proposes to his boyfriend. The offer of marriage is accepted, and then quickly rejected -- all in the days leading up to Christmas.
Reclusive farmer Willie has been depressed since the death of his wife Jana ten years ago. His only friend is a neighbor named Arlene who also likes to wallow in misery. Willie's life changes when a stranger from another world named Neila shows up on his farm. Over the course of a week, Neila has a profound impact on Willie -- and the entire community of Southern Illinois.
An anthology film and friendship tale that takes place in St. Louis in the late 1980s during the height of the AIDS crisis. The story follows a man who has just found out one of his friends is HIV positive — a death sentence that, back then, usually meant the person had about twelve months to live. The main character goes on a game show in order to raise money for a car to drive his friend to Mexico where he can receive a popular, but later proven ineffective, treatment for the virus.
Ella (Jackie Manker) returns to her mom's summer cottage in Centralia, Illinois and connects with a younger jazz musician Tyler (Cody Heuer) at her stepfather's wake. On a date, she runs into an ex-boyfriend (played by baseball great Adam Wainwright). To round out the love triangle, her mother Naomi (Sandy Sparks) has another man in mind -- age-appropriate Dr. Gordon (Bill Finkbiner).
