Ballast
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Lance Hammer
Tarra Riggs
Sam Dobbins
Ventress Bonner
Dr. Sanjib Shrestha
Lance Anderson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In the cold, winter light of the rural Mississippi Delta, Marlee, a single African-American mother, struggles to scratch a living for herself and her 12-year-old son, James, who has begun to stumble under drug and violence pressures. So when the opportunity to seek safe harbor at a new home arises, she grabs it, even though the property is shared by Lawrence, a man with whom she has a long and bitter past. With circumstances thrusting them into proximity, a subtle interdependence and common purpose emerge for Marlee and Lawrence, as they tend to old wounds, test new waters, and tentatively move forward.
Director
Lance Hammer
Cast
Tarra Riggs
Sam Dobbins
Ventress Bonner
Dr. Sanjib Shrestha
Lance Anderson
Willie Nason
Valeace Bright
Jeremy Jordan
Lawrence Jackson
Steve Cabell
Carol Clark
Hurstine Watts
Neil Pettigrew
Zachary Coleman
Edward Whitehaed
Jimez Alexander
Lee G Beck
Michael Johnston
Darla Johnson Lloyd
Albert Jay Levy
Donald Johnson
Micheal J Smith
Rafe D Simpson
Patricia Lee
Cassandra Campbell
Marcus Alexander
Jimmyron Ross
Jean Paul Guillory
Earl Ray
Fredrick Harris
Marquice Alexander
Johnny Mcphail
Crew
Andrew Adamson
Lol Crawley
Caroline Eselin
John J Hammer
Lance Hammer
Lance Hammer
Lance Hammer
Clora T Handy
Mark Johnson
Jerel Levanway
Juan Mazara
Ann Nichols
Nina F Parikh
Aimee Shieh
Julia Shirar
Kent Sparling
Kent Sparling
Francine Thomas
Sam Watson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Nominated for six 2008 Spirit Awards including Best Feature, Best Director, Best First Screenplay, Best Female Lead (Tarra Riggs), Best Supporting Male (JimMyron Ross) and Best Cinematography by Film Independent (FIND).
Winner of the 2008 award for Best First Feature by the Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA).
Winner of the FIPRESCI at the 2008 San Francisco International Film Festival.
Winner of two awards including the Dramatic Directing Award and the Excellence in Dramatic Cinematography Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
Winner of two awards including the Prix du Jury award and the Prix du Jury de la Fondation Cartier award at the 2008 Deauville Festival of American Cinema.
Released in United States 2008
Released in United States Fall October 1, 2008
Released in United States February 2008
Released in United States January 2008
Released in United States November 7, 2008
Released in United States October 2008
Released in United States September 2008
Shown at Berlin International Film Festival (Competition) February 7-17, 2008.
Shown at Chicago International Film Festival (Black Perspectives, New Directors) October 16-29, 2008.
Shown at Deauville Festival of American Cinema (Competition) September 5-14, 2008.
Shown at London Film Festival (Film on the Square) October 15-30, 2008.
Shown at New Directors/New Films Series at the Film Society of Lincoln Center March 26-April 6, 2008.
Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival (New Directors) April 24-May 8, 2008.
Shown at Seattle International Film Festival (Contemporary World Cinema) May 22-June 15, 2008.
Shown at Sundance Film Festival (Dramatic Competition) January 17-27, 2008.
Shown at Urbanworld Film Festival (Spotlights) September 10-14, 2008.
Shown at Vancouver International Film Festival (Cinema of Our Time) September 25-October 10, 2008.
Feature directorial debut for Lance Hammer.
Released in United States 2008 (Shown at New Directors/New Films Series at the Film Society of Lincoln Center March 26-April 6, 2008.)
Released in United States 2008 (Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival (New Directors) April 24-May 8, 2008.)
Released in United States 2008 (Shown at Seattle International Film Festival (Contemporary World Cinema) May 22-June 15, 2008.)
Released in United States October 2008 (Shown at London Film Festival (Film on the Square) October 15-30, 2008.)
Released in United States Fall October 1, 2008 (NY)
Released in United States September 2008 (Shown at Deauville Festival of American Cinema (Competition) September 5-14, 2008.)
Released in United States February 2008 (Shown at Berlin International Film Festival (Competition) February 7-17, 2008.)
Released in United States 2008 (Shown at Vancouver International Film Festival (Cinema of Our Time) September 25-October 10, 2008.)
Released in United States October 2008 (Shown at Chicago International Film Festival (Black Perspectives, New Directors) October 16-29, 2008.)
Released in United States November 7, 2008 (Los Angeles)
Released in United States January 2008 (Shown at Sundance Film Festival (Dramatic Competition) January 17-27, 2008.)
Released in United States September 2008 (Shown at Urbanworld Film Festival (Spotlights) September 10-14, 2008.)
