Event

SLIFF - Go South for Animal Index: A Fable of Los Alamos

Go South for Animal Index: A Fable of Los Alamos
Chris King, U.S., 2013, 89 min.
Sunday, Nov. 24, 6:30 p.m., KDHX
Based on a poem by Stefene Russell an editor for St. Louis Magazine and a veteran indie-film actress the St. Louis-made "Go South for Animal Index" follows four related storylines: the development of the nuclear bomb on a secret military base; the nuclear-waste-related illness of a tribal girl living nearby; the travels of the widow and daughter of a nuclear scientist who dies on the base; and the drafting into military service of a vendor of stuffed animals. The quartet of stories intersects dramatically in the context of the first successful test of the atomic bomb. Setting Russell's poem to an exceptional rock-music score and eschewing spoken dialogue, "Go South for Animal Index" freely mixes zombies, experimental elements, and silent-film tropes in a bold genre mash-up. The large ensemble cast includes many well-known St. Louisans: poet Russell; former fire chief Sherman George; international burlesque stars Lola van Ella and Kyla Webb; African-dance impresario Mama Lisa Gage; architectural historian and preservationist Michael R. Allen; and the late George Malich in his final screen performance. With director King, poet Russell, and cast members.