The Black Harvest Film Festival is running November 6 through November 15th at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center. I took up the opportunity to see Dreams in Nightmares. The film is audacious, wonderful, and funny. There is a diverse tone of spellbinding wonders.
Written and directed by Shatara Michelle Ford, there is friendship with a new dynamic of meaning in Dreams in Nightmares. It is like a voyage of wonders that provokes deep curiosity. The creative track runs and new adventures come around. Dreams in Nightmares is a genuine spectacle.
The film focuses on three best friends. All of them have a unique background. They are Z (played by Denee Benton), a writer and an adjunct professor at a university. Then there is Tasha (played by Sasha Compere), a corporate consultant. Finally, there is Lauren (played by Dezi Bing), a poet. They go on a trip around the Midwest. Their good friend Kel (played by Mars Storm Rucker) is missing. It is a
journey of humor between the friends with realizations along the way—the uniqueness of surprises in search of a missing element offers a bigger spectacle in Dreams in Nightmares.
The road trip is on the way to Iowa. I feel a connection for me,because my mom is from Iowa, and my family has driven there many times for many years. I know what the road trip is like on the way to Iowa, and I had a general sense of the types of thestops along the way. I will not provide spoilers. I will say though, that context provides the adventure to have connecting points. Also, a road for many adventures. Especially with the three friends.
There are mixed challenges, and a lot of curiosity between the three friends. As they are looking for their fourth missing friendthere is a transpiring of challenges and realizations of what connects to their human hearts. I will say the humor of the film has its moments where it tests boundaries and pushes the envelope. I do like that though, because it delivers a sense of a combat of friendship egos. It creates questions for the road trip. Are they mature enough for this trip? Are they happy in their own life? Has there been other turmoils along the way? Will they find their friend?
The Midwest is a place for new adventures, identity, and realizations. Especially with the many friends that come along the way. I feel the sense of connectiveness, forgotten elements of the past, and appreciation is why Dreams in Nightmares is perfect for The Black Harvest Film Festival. Cultural tides among careers and artistic notions continue to have correlating values. There are many of those that create curiosity and frustration. At the same time, it is a thrilling “frustration.” With a friend missing for a lot of the road trip, it feels like a game of Tetris, wondering if anyone is truly happy. Friendship goes a long way in Dreams in Nightmares.
