The Visalia Fox Theatre will be hosting a special double feature and Q&A event with writers / directors Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms, Tulare County natives, on April 19th at 6pm. The event will showcase the award-winning movie Lost on Purpose, which was filmed in Tulare County, and Small Town Crime, which received critical acclaim upon its release earlier this year. This special event marks the first time that Small Town Crime will be shown in Tulare County.
“We have so many great memories of not only growing up in Tulare County, but returning home to film some of our movies there. It’s an honor to show Lost on Purpose and Small Town Crime at the beautiful Visalia Fox Theatre and we hope that this is only the beginning to even more productions being filmed in Tulare,” said Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms.
Lost on Purpose was filmed in Tulare County where brothers Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms grew up and stars Jane Kaczmarek, C. Thomas Howell, James Lafferty, Aaron Hill, Dale Dickey and Octavia Spencer before she went on to win her Academy Award® for The Help. Upon its release in 2013, the film won several U.S. film festival awards including Best Film, Best Directors, and Best Actress. The Nelms Brothers made Lost on Purpose as a love letter to their hometown, and there’s no doubt local audience members will recognize some of the very same places on the big screen.
In the movie, fueled by gin and sheer determination, Ms. Liz operates her third-generation dairy farm outside the region’s domineering co-ops. To help keep the place afloat, she’s employed five renegade ranch hands. These boys have put a pin in responsibility and opted to stretch out the party as long as possible. Unfortunately, women, booze, and fisticuffs can only lead to one outcome: trouble. When the dust settles, we realize it’s not simply a story about winners and losers or finding your way. It’s about purpose: to find what you believe in, through change, through loss, even if it’s the small things. Then hold on to it and fight for it, because in the end that’s all you have.
View the trailer for the film at: www.nelmsbros.com/lostonpurpose
Small Town Crime stars an award-winning cast including John Hawkes, Academy Award® Winner Octavia Spencer, Anthony Anderson, Robert Forster and Clifton Collins, Jr. Spencer, a longtime friend and champion of the Nelms Brothers, also served as an Executive Producer on the film. SMALL TOWN CRIME received rave reviews from top critics at the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Hollywood Reporter among many others upon its nationwide release in January 2018. This special event marks the first time that SMALL TOWN CRIME will play on the big screen in Tulare County.
In Small Town Crime, ex-cop Mike Kendall (John Hawkes) discovers the body of a young woman and, in an act of self- redemption, becomes hell bent on finding the killer. While his un-couth and quirky detective style helps break open the case, his dogged determination unwittingly puts his sister (Octavia Spencer) and best friend (Anthony Anderson) in danger. Additional cast members include Robert Forster, Clifton Collins, Jr., Michael Vartan, James Lafferty, Daniel Sunjata, Caity Lotz, Jeremy Ratchford, Don Harvey, Stefanie Scott and Dale Dickey.
View the trailer for the film at: www.nelmsbros.com/smalltowncrime
Purchase tickets now for $5.00 at https://www.foxvisalia.org/, by phone 559.625.1369 or at the Visalia Fox Theatre box office at 308 W. Main St. in Downtown Visalia.