Here comes the Sun

How Jason Affolder conceived of and completed his debut feature is as interesting as the movie itself. Though the writer/director might object to that. The first ideas for Sun Dogs came to him while teaching in the New Orleans public school system. Then the money he earned in 2005 as a firefighter after Katrina financed the picture, and breaking his hand gave him the leave time he needed to actually shoot it. Affolder edited Sun Dogs at the various area fire houses he has been stationed in since, and he premiered the film with a screening at Canal Place Cinema last fall.

Set during a hot New Orleans summer, Sun Dogs is the character study of a 30-year-old public-school teacher and borderline alcoholic who splits time between his best friend—who also happens to be one of his teenage students—his favorite hole-in-the-wall karaoke bar, and the attractive artist who takes an interest in him. It is also an indie film to the core. Affolder’s camera relishes long establishing shots of rough-hewn Baton Rouge and New Orleans landscapes and lingers warmly over the offhand conversations about life, love and the modern condition these characters find themselves muddling through.

“All these folks are seeking external solutions to internal problems,” Affolder explains. “Each of them wants to depend on someone else to resolve these issues, which they can fix only by trying to be stronger on their own.”

Writing, directing and producing the film alone forced Affolder to adopt a hands-on approach to all aspects of the project. But when it came time to embody the film’s drifting lead character, Michael, actor Matt Palumbo instinctively knew where to go with it. “Not only have I been a teacher [like Michael], but I have also had relationships with girls that make no sense,” says Palumbo, who splits time between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. “I understood the character, so Jason only needed to give direction for the important scenes. He guided me through the delirium of plasmapheresis, enraged me to bang a hole in the wall, and made me nervous to kiss a girl.”

While still “assassinating infernos” with the New Orleans Fire Department, Affolder hopes his next project will have a larger budget and more than a four-man crew. “If I could find others willing to share the duties of producer, I think we could tighten the schedule and get another project in the can with much less wasted time and angst.”

In the meantime, Affolder has submitted Sun Dogs to several domestic and international film festivals. gargantuanthings.com