Low Down

In her memoir, Amy-Jo Albany describes what it was like growing up in the strangely sleepy environment of Hollywood's 1970s bohemian community with a father who was at once a respected jazz pianist and a longtime heroin addict. Inspired by her story, Jeff Preiss shot his feature debut, which generates a highly complex atmosphere mixing the dreamlike nature of far-off yet joyful memories of her father with the pain she felt at witnessing his self-destructive addiction. Through the character of Joe Albany, this melancholy drama about Amy-Jo's difficult transition to adulthood has a captivating musical flavor based on both precise craftsmanship and improvisation. Crew and cast played equally major roles in the resulting, strangely elusive form of the film: DOP Christopher Blauvelt, who worked on recent films by Sofia Coppola and Kelly Reichardt, production designer Elliott Hostetter (Spring Breakers), and above all Elle Fanning, John Hawkes, and Glenn Close, who turned in intense performances. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)