Puppet Story Wins Film Award
By William George Arnold
When a local film is selected as a finalist for the Great Plains Film Festival, people begin to notice, said Neal Obermeyer, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln broadcasting graduate assistant.
The Great Plains Film Festival is a biennial contest showcasing films from around the region. The festival started in 1993 and has caught on slowly, bringing in films from Canada to Texas, said Dan Ladely, director of the film festival.
Obermeyer, 25, submitted his short narrative film, "felt," which he completed for a final project in an advanced cinematography class.
A native of Auburn, Obermeyer came up with the idea for the film while he was sleeping.
"The idea for the movie came to me in a dream. I wanted to illustrate the idea that when one question is answered, several different questions arise," he said.
The film revolves around Ruben, the main character, who questions life after he realizes that his friends and co-workers are all puppets. Disturbed by his realization, Ruben seeks the advice from a friend, only to discover that he is also a puppet.
"The idea of a puppet questioning why a hand is up its posterior seemed to be the best way to get my message across," Obermeyer said.
Obermeyer, sent a copy of "felt" to the festival, but then the whole thing slipped his mind. Two months passed without a word - until Ladely called.
"I got this call out of the blue from Dan Ladely," Obermeyer said. "He told me that my film was a finalist, and I freaked out."
Out of approximately 100 films, half were chosen as finalists for the festival, Ladely said. The film festival awards nine prizes for different categories, including a grand prize of $3,000.
Obermeyer's film was selected as a finalist for its solid story line, Ladely said.
Since the festival, Obermeyer has noticed recognition he didn't expect.
"Before the film, I was the Daily Nebraskan cartoonist guy, but now I'm the guy who made the puppet movie," he said.
Obermeyer continues to draw political cartoons for the San Diego Reader, a weekly arts and entertainment magazine. He still lives in Lincoln, so he sends his cartoons to his boss via e-mail, he said.
"While I'm trying to figure out my film career, I am getting paid to do what I love," Obermeyer said.
He plans to continue working as a cartoonist to pay the bills, but he isn't concerned if his movie career doesn't take off immediately, Obermeyer said.
"Drawing cartoons and directing movies are two important parts of my life, but they're not dueling passions," he said.
