w/ Derek Sieg and Lucas Haas
7pm, Paramount
Director: Derek Sieg
Writer: Derek Sieg
Cinematographer: Richard V. Lopez
Cast: Lucas Haas, January Jones, Lee Weaver, Chris Williams, Mary Mara, Tim De Zarn, Brianne Davis
Running Time: 97 min

“Fully loaded, with spot-on performances and remarkable direction, Swedish Auto weaves the kind of spell that can only come from a sure-handed storyteller,”Â? wrote Variety following the film’s premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival. UVA graduates Derek Sieg (Writer/Director) and Tyler Davidson (Producer) brought cast and crew to Charlottesville in the Fall of 2005, where the production received much support from the local community. Now, Swedish Auto will make its home-town debut at the Virginia Film Festival.

By day, Carter (Lukas Haas) repairs cars in a Charlottesville auto shop. He spends his nights outside the apartment of Ann Shelton, voyeuristically listening to her violin playing. Through Ann, he realizes an artistic dream that counters his mundane workday existence. That equilibrium is disrupted when he comes across an astronomy book outside his apartment and discovers that his routine is not solitary, that he is also being watched from the shadows. Slowly, Carter awakens to the world around him and discovers that the real love which had eluded him may be just around the corner.

The story expertly reveals relationships between these characters with an unhurried patience. Under Richard Lopez’s expert cinematography, our little burg stands in for small towns all across America. Like the Volvo referenced in the title, this naturalistic character piece isn’t build for speed. Consequently, despite the local nature of the characters and familiar Charlottesville settings, Swedish Auto feels at times like a European film.