Documentary on Southeast Iowa City Residents One of Many Films at this Week's Landlocked Film Festival

University of Iowa doctoral candidate Robert Gutsche is hoping that a documentary being shown at the Landlocked Film Festival this weekend will serve as a catalyst for a larger community conversation.

Gutsche, a founding member of Crossingborders.us, a website intended to provide a voice for the life and culture of those who live in Iowa City's Southeast Side, is helping to organize a discussion following the showing of "Black American Gothic," a documentary on Iowa City and its handling of race.

The film will be shown at 4 p.m. at the Englert Theatre, and will be followed by small group discussions. Gutsche said the hope is to cut through theory and to express views from people all over the community.

"Our community has been changing for such a long time and in such great ways, but we haven't found a way to really talk about it," Gutsche said. "We're hoping that these small groups, with the help of this film, will give us some practice for how to talk about these issues."

Gutsche said these discussions are especially important in light of such racially charged incidencts as the  and the upcoming trial of some of the people who allegedly were involved.

For those who can't make the discussion, Crossborders.us will be hosting a lightly moderated online discussion via a blog where people can submit their opinions.

Gutsche said in two years of studying the media narratives surrounding racial tension in Iowa City he has learned how complex a situation it is. He said the views express in Black American Gothic and on the Crossingborders website are only the beginning of a much larger picture, which goes beyond the common assumptions of why new people with different backgrounds are coming to Iowa City, and where they are coming from.

In other words, these people are not just poor criminals fleeing big cities for government handouts.

"There isn't a right or a wrong or a truth or an untruth, it's just a lot more complicated than we think it is. It's certainly more complicated than what I thought it was," Gutsche said.

You can watch a trailer of Black American Gothic here.

Here is the full schedule for the Landlocked Film Festival.

Some Other Landlocked Highlights from the event's website:

New feature film White Knight

Meet writer-director Jesse Baget at the movie on Saturday night at Landlocked. And don't miss his panel earlier in the day, Adventures in Indie Filmmaking.
Saturday at 7:00 pmAugust 27, 2011 Englert Theatre


Dan Gable at Landlocked

Freestyle: The Victories of Dan Gable is a documentary about the life and career of Dan Gable, with a personal appearance by the man himself, along with director Kevin Kelly and producer David Gould.
Sunday at 6:00 pm
August 28, 2011 Englert Theatre

The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue

The landlords are morons, the tenants are moving out, and there's a monster in the basement. Wiseacre directors and stars John LaFlamboy and Mike Bradecich are scheduled to appear. Plus they're going to drive the Zombie Army bus from Chicago to Landlocked.
Friday at 9:15 pm
August 26, 2011 Englert Theatre