Sponsored by Marin French Cheese Company

Directed by Allison Anders, Kurt Voss

Starring: Flannery Lunsford, Dante White-Aliano, Craig Stark, Terry Graham, Luanna Anders, Sara Ashley

FOCUS: ROCK‘N’SOUL • Indie film heroes Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging, Mi vida loca) and Kurt Voss mark the final entry in a loose trilogy that includes Border Radio and Sugar Town with a triumphant return to rock ’n’ roll form. This black-and-white tale of heartbreak and redemption follows scruffy, freshly dumped Los Angeles punk rocker Brett (likeable newcomer Flannery Lunsford), whose sadness spirals into agony when he finds out his ex-girlfriend is dating his man-crush, uber-cool record store owner and fellow musician Damon (Dante Ailano White). Pain begets strip-club fistfights, philosophical conversations at the guitar store, emotional moments behind the mic and a budding new romance. More a series of connected vignettes than a straightforward narrative (with a long interlude to enfold a Gram Parsons–inspired Joshua Tree road trip), Strutter has charisma to burn, helped along by J Mascis’ (Dinosaur Jr.) standout score, funded—like the film itself—via Kickstarter.

Film Note Writer: Cheryl Eddy