Anywhere, U.S.A.

Anywhere, U.S.A. is a 2008 feature film directed by Chusy Haney-Jardine and starring mostly non-professional actors. The film is told in three parts: Penance, Loss, and Ignorance, with each story obliquely related to the next. Anywhere, U.S.A premiered in dramatic competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival where it won the "Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Independence".

Anywhere, U.S.A.
Directed by	Chusy Haney-Jardine
Written by	Chusy Haney-Jardine Jennifer Macdonald
Produced by	Jennifer Macdonald Andy O'Neil (co-prod.)
Starring	Perla Haney-Jardine Jeremiah Brennan Mike Ellis Mary Griffin Rafat Abu-Goush Molly Surrett Sheliah Ray Hipps Brian Fox Ralph Brierley Dianne Chapman Ellis Robinson
Cinematography	Patrick Rousseau
Edited by	Chusy Haney-Jardine
Music by	Arizona Holiday Childress Chusy Haney-Jardine Chris Rosser Jason Smith
Production company	Found Films
Distributed by	Cinevolve Studios
Release date	January 17, 2008 (2008-01-17) (Sundance Film Festival)
Running time	123 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

His first feature film, Chusy had originally envisioned his movie as twenty different stories. Of those twenty, four stories were shot in their entirety, and two stories were started but never finished. The fourth story, tentatively titled "Holes," was excluded from the final cut to avoid an extended runtime and to ensure by implication its chance to compete in the Sundance Film Festival.

Part 1:Penance

Penance, the opening story of the film, follows a woman who just discovered the Internet, her philandering boyfriend, and his jingoistic sidekick who happens to be a dwarf.

Part 2: Loss

Loss, originally titled Wanderlings, is the second story in the film. Perla Haney-Jardine stars as Pearl, an 8-year-old girl who faces an existential crisis during her pursuit of the tooth fairy.

Part 3: Ignorance

Ignorance, tentatively titled Black and White, is the third and final act of the film.

Production history

In September 2005, a week prior to the first scheduled day of production, Chusy contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Bedridden with debilitating headaches and sustained high fevers, the disease sent Chusy into a near-comatose state. Over the next few weeks, he slowly recovered, and feeling the pressures of time and money, Chusy made the executive decision to start production, shooting on the Panasonic Varicam. The first official shoot day was November 1, 2005, however, on Thanksgiving Day 2005, having not yet fully recovered and dissatisfied with the material he was getting, Chusy decided to halt production indefinitely.

In March 2006, Chusy flew in cinematographer and long-time friend, Patrick Rousseau, to perform camera tests on Panasonic's new P2 camcorder, the HVX200. The camera's relaxed workflow was a breakthrough for Chusy, and having had several months to recover, Chusy took advantage of Patrick's availability and resumed production on March 21, 2006. This also marked the first official shoot day for the story Loss, which appears as the second story in film. The last official shoot day for Loss was April 9, 2006. The crew began shooting Holes on April 5, 2006. While it does not appear in the final cut of the film, the last official shoot day for Holes was April 14, 2006. From April 15 to July 7, 2006, Chusy shot fifteen days pickups and reshoots for Loss and Holes in Patrick's absence.

July 20, 2006 marked the first official shoot day for Penance, which appears as the first story in the film. The last official shoot day for Penance was August 14, 2006. August 9, 2006 marked the first official shoot day for Ignorance, which appears as the third story in the film. The last official shoot day for "Ignorance" was August 20, 2006.

Patrick Rousseau flew back to Asheville, NC to shoot reshoots for the story Penance from February 13 to 18, 2007. The remaining voice over work was recorded in Chusy's home with Virato.

Festivals and awards

Festival	Award
2008
2008 Sundance Film Festival	Special Jury Prize (Dramatic, The Spirit of Independence)
Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival
Philadelphia Film Festival
Calgary International Film Festival
BFI London Film Festival
Stockholm International Film Festival
2009
Jacksonville Film Festival	Best USA Feature Film
Chicago Underground Film Festival	Opening Night Film
Boston Underground Film Festival	Director's Choice Award for Best Feature

External links

• Official website
• Anywhere, U.S.A. at IMDb