Land and Flowers
by David Wayne Reed
Land and Flower is a short film by David Wayne Reed about tallgrass prairie remnants and the de-prairie-ization of the Great Plains.
This film is a eulogy to the prairie landscape that has been uprooted and lost to the till of settlers, westward expansion, and the relentless sprawl of development.
This land (all land) is both home and habitat; a narrative of balance, interdependence, and co-existence. These remnants root us in not only the layers of our history, but in our personal identity and connection to place, thus holding our pasts, our peoples, and our hopes for the future seeded in this fertile yet disappearing soil.
Adapted from a poem by Megan Kaminski, land and flower is an artful acknowledgment of the vibrant native prairie, an emergent benediction, and a call to conservation of this rare and endangered ecosystem.
The Kansas City-based strings duo, The Wires will compose the original film score.
Funding has been made possible by the Miami County Conservation District and the Puffin Foundation.
David Wayne Reed (he/him/his) is an actor, writer, director, and producer from Kansas City, Missouri.
Reed hosts and produces the popular ‘show and tell’ storytelling series, Shelf Life.
Reed is the 2019 Charlotte Street Generative Performing Arts Fellow. He has been awarded a Rocket Grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Charlotte Street Foundation, and Spencer Museum of Art, the Puffin Foundation, two Inspiration Grants from Arts KC, has won multiple Best of Awards from the Pitch Weekly, and has been Writer-In-Residence at Charlotte Street and Escape to Create.
In 2020, Reed received a mayoral appointment to the Municipal Art Commission of Kansas CIty, Missouri and serves on the Executive Committee of the 1% for Public Art program at the new Kansas City International Airport.
His debut film, Eternal Harvest premiered in 2018 and has played multiple film festivals including Middlebury New Filmmaker’s Festival, Kansas City International Film Festival, Out Here Now, Ojai Short Film Festival, McMinnville Short Film Festival, Buenos Aires International Film Festival, Blow-Up Arthouse Film Festival and Covellite International Film Festival.
His latest film, land and flower, premieres Spring 2022.
Reed is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. Works include: Goliath, Help Yourself, Jolly Rancher, Sequoia, and Peggy and Paul at the Post Office in Provincetown.
As an actor, he has appeared at the Provincetown Tennessee Williams International Theatre Festival, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, Fishtank Performance Studio, The Living Room, Late Night Theatre, Seaside Repertory Theatre as well as several commercials and music videos.
The 44th Street Project
by Stacey Rhymes
The 44th Street Project is a short documentary designed to describe the problem of dumping in the Kansas City, MO urban core. This film is intended to motivate residents and community leaders and alert them to the problem.
Stacey Rhymes started his radio career at KPRS Hot 103 Jamz and Gospel 1590 KPRT in 1999 in Kansas City and has assumed many roles to date. He's a production assistant, show and segment producer, station photographer, and movie critic.