Bass Ackwards (2010)

Director and actor Linas Phillips takes his audience on a strange but fascinating cross-country journey in this independent comedy. Linas isn't sure what to do with himself when his girlfriend (who is already married) breaks up with him, his friend tells him he's no longer welcome to sleep on the sofa and he has no idea of where to turn. Stuck in Seattle, Linas wishes he could get out of town, and when he finds "Shorty," a battered 1976 Volkswagen bus that's been customized to significantly reduce its length, he buys the vehicle, hops in and starts heading East, with a vague notion to going to Brooklyn. Over the next ten days, Linas drifts from one side of the country to another, and as he encounters a variety of colorful strangers en route, he begins to embrace the possibilities that come with each turn of the road and begins to believe being on his own isn't as awful as expected. Combining scripted material with improvisation and interactions with random strangers, Bass Ackwards received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.