Crazy with the Heat

Simmons, best-known for her photographs of miniature rooms populated by dolls and of oversized objects—such as a house, birthday cake, and pistol—balanced on female legs, both human and fake, brings these characters to life in a three-act mini-musical. The film is inspired by three distinct periods of Simmons’s photographic work: vintage hand puppets, ventriloquist dummies and walking objects enact tales of ambition, disappointment, love, loss, and regret. Working with composer Michael Rohaytn ("Personal Velocity") and cameraman Ed Lachman ("The Virgin Suicides" and "Far From Heaven"), Simmons’s puppets come to life in miniature domestic scenes that echo real life.

Jack is the fastidious manager of a local supermarket. The harmless but disruptive actions of his customers frequently give him headaches, which he remedies by holding a can of frozen juice against his forehead. At home, however, Jack is consistently kind, loving, and patient with his wife and daughter. One day the child brings home a stray dog, and his life is turned upside down.

Ben is an art college student in London, whose imagination runs wild as he works the late-night shift at the local supermarket. What do he and his colleagues do to pass the long, endless hours of the night?

On Motunui, Maui tries to catch a fish with his magical fishhook, only to be comically foiled by the ocean.

Charley is invited to a high class party, where he feels ill at ease and has no idea how to act, yet he wants to impress his young lady.

An adventurous young boy discovers that puddles can be portals to a fantastical world, but struggles to get his sister's attention away from her phone to see the magic in the world around her.

Grim desperately needs one more soul to win his work competition, but his last scheduled collection at a rigorous bike race turns his world upside-down. At the finish line, he learns that life is not always about the trophy at the end of the race.

Jeff heads home to rest before cooking for an important person. When he is lured to a pool by an amorous mermaid, he has to choose between satisfying his libido or staying focused on the future.

Hezarfen is a historical Turkish character. The story takes place in 1632 in Istanbul, where he will attempt the first flight of the human being.

Two old tars, retired from service, live alone in a cottage by the sea. They sail along on an even keel, until a buxom and comely widow projects herself on the scene when one old tar breaks one of their unwritten laws and falls in love with her. The other old fellow objects strenuously.

Blind man and apple pie connoisseur Walter Cookeventures to his neighborhood corner store to buy milk and apples. When mafia thugs try to shake down the storeowner, Walter shows them what a blind martial artist is capable of!

Life takes a strange turn when a group of outsiders come to the small town of Cholame, the famed site of James Dean's fatal car crash. Cholame's only business, a diner owned by Max (John Mahoney), is overrun by this glamorous group while the diner's short order cook (Ian Gomez) and waitress (Virginia Madsen) get caught up into this new, exciting world. Unknown to the rest, a magazine reporter (Linda Emond) arrives in town to uncover a dark secret that Max has kept hidden for over forty years.