ATL @ Slamdance II: Snow on Tha Bluff

The first thing I did when I saw that the Slamdance line-up included the Atlanta-set film Snow On Tha Bluff was look-up the film's trailer.

Under the YouTube profile for the account "snowonthabluff" is this bio:

My name is Curtis Snow. This is my mutha fuckin movie! It's bout my goddam life, and all tha robbin, shootin, and wild ass shit that happens in my neighborhood, Tha Bluff. That stands for Better Leave You Fucking Fool. And in case y'all are thankin about it, yeah this shit is real! And no, I don't give a fuck about tha fuck ass Police or tha Feds!

Despite Mr. Snow's claims of reality, the film is competing in Dramatic Narrative line-up at Slamdance.

On the film's IMDB page, it is labelled Documentary.

In the press kit, director Damon Russell discusses the film's origin—and backs up Snow's claims:

Back in the summer of '08, I got a voicemail from a drunken Curtis Snow. He had hears I was a TV producer and has gotten my number from a friend of a friend. He was calling to ask for my help with some filming he was doing. A few days later, i ventured down into the BLUFF to meet with Curt. We immediately hit it off and started handing out together. Regularly. Curt introduced me to his crew and his way of life. A few weeks later, he showed me some of the footage he and his friends had shot. There were only a handful og tapes, but where was there blew my mind.

Curt wanted to film more and he wanted me to help him. Initially, I had reservations. But ultimately I decided to work with him,. We starred filming together everyday. Curt was determined that we capture all of the robberies, shootings, police chases and other random madness that happened in the neighborhood.

In the down time from my day job, I started going through all the footage and crafting the story. After a few months, I begin wotrking with an editor, and Snow On Tha Bluff was born.

Color me Intrigued.

Is this film real or is it fiction?

Are they setting up a Paranormal Activity-style hoax?

Is the ambiguity part of the experience, or are fictional elements peppered in to give the footage, and everyone associated with the project "plausible deniability."

In the festival's trademark "war story" notes, Damon's claim trumps all others:

"One of the biggest costs of this production was keeping the cast, especially Curtis, out of jail. There were at least five instances when I had to bail Curt out, including the one time when he and I got arrested together. Luckily that didn't hold us up too much...and as time went on, we got better at running away from the police

Before heading to the snowy heights of Park City, Damon—whose other credits include the acclaimed basketball doc The Cage, as well as television production credits for A&E's "The First 48" and "Flip This House," and MTV's "Made"—answered some questions about the film.

1. Discuss your background. Where do you live and work now. What are your connections to Atlanta?

I grew up in Atlanta and went to Georgia State University. After graduation I moved away to London and then New York City. I’ve shot a lot of Docu-reality TV and I’ve always done my own films on the side.

I don’t really live anywhere. I move around a lot for work.

But my family is in ATL so I am here as much as I can be.