A SAD FLOWER IN THE SAND Documentary Competition

A poetic rapture of energy and release, A SAD FLOWER IN THE SAND is the chronicle of writer John Fante. Often described as a writer’s writer, Fante influenced and spoke to several generations of authors, including screenwriter Robert Towne (CHINATOWN), who is interviewed in the documentary and Charles Bukowksi, who wrote the forward to Fante’s novel.

Fante’s lead character, Arturo Bandini, lives a life close to that of Fonte himself-penniless but passionate in a hotel room on Bunker Hill, determined to become famous. Through the narration using Fante’s direct and timeless words, we get a glimpse of the lost world of downtown LA and the ever-present world of drinking, writing and longing.

Fueled by Fante’s intoxicating words and the hypnotic cinematic poetry of past and present footage, A SAD FLOWER IN THE SAND is a visually stunning, haunting film about hope, despair and youth.