Surviving Cliffside
| Surviving Cliffside | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Jon Matthews |
| Written by | Jon Matthews |
| Starring | E.J. Huffman Brandy Smith Makala Smith |
| Cinematography | Jon Matthews |
| Edited by | Jon Matthews Jennifer Ruff |
| Music by | Lillard Anthony |
Production company | Parting Shots Media |
| Distributed by | Inception Media |
Release date |
|
Running time | 66 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Surviving Cliffside is a 2014 documentary film and the directorial debut of Jon Matthews.[1][2] The film premiered at the 2014 South by Southwest Film Festival[3] and follows a family that lives in a Cliffside, a trailer park in Alum Creek, West Virginia, known for its crime and drugs.[4][5] During production, Jon Matthews was mentored by filmmaker Debra Granik (Winter's Bone, Down to the Bone) and filmmaker Spike Lee, who also awarded him a grant to complete the film.[6]
Synopsis[edit]
The film follows Matthews's cousin E.J. Huffman, who lives in Cliffside with his fiance Brandy and his two daughters Josey and Makala. The seven-year-old Makala has leukemia and has decided to compete in the Little Miss West Virginia pageant. The documentary approaches the family's everyday life and the emotional and financial challenges they must deal with, as well as their attempts to survive Makala's leukemia and their own difficult situations.
Cast[edit]
- E.J. Huffman
- Brandy Smith
- Makala Smith
- Josey Smith
- R.J. Hughes
- Justin Gravely
- Brooklyn Gravely
- Cierra Gravely
- Jon Matthews
Reception[edit]
The Hollywood Reporter criticized the film for not being "as enlightening as some similar docs", comparing it negatively to Sean Dunne's Oxyana.[7] PBS shared this sentiment and wrote "I’m not the only one who’s expressed concern about the wisdom of these subjects exposing their lives this much to uninformed viewer voyeurism. While I found much honesty and truth in this story of daily life in a region that has become a national sacrifice area, and am outraged at the way in which casual media stereotyping of the poor seems to justify continued neglect, I don’t know that this film will launch a useful conversation."[8] Conversely, Film Pulse was more positive in their review and wrote that it was "a film that can be sad, frustrating, and uplifting all at once and a great debut from Jon Matthews."[9]
References[edit]
- ^ MUDEDE, CHARLES. "Surviving Cliffside: N-E-X D-O-C Presents a Film About Life in the Rural Hood". The Stranger. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ Lynch, Bill (7 May 2014). "Surviving Cliffside: 'It's weird to have your life out there'". WV Gazette. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ "SXSW ’14 Interview: Jon Matthews on the Wild Ride of “Surviving Cliffside” Archived 2016-09-19 at the Wayback Machine. Movable Feast, March 24, 2014. Stephen Saito
- ^ "Surviving Cliffside". SXSW. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ Harold, Zach. "Film festival focuses on WV water crisis". Charleston Daily Mail. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ Aufderheide, Pat (17 March 2014). "SXSW Documentaries: Invisible, Underwater, on Trapezes and Trees". Documentary.org. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ DeFore, John (9 March 2014). "Surviving Cliffside: SXSW Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ Aufderheide, Patricia (18 March 2014). "SXSW Docs Fall Short in Showcasing Diversity". PBS. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ Patterson, Adam (15 March 2014). "SXSW 2014: SURVIVING CLIFFSIDE REVIEW". Film Pulse. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
