His Fate Is in Ron Howard's Hands

First-time Dallas director wins movie lottery with debut short film

Some filmmakers toil away for years and years before their work gets noticed by someone with any kind of influence in the industry. For Rowlett native Ronnie Allman, all it took was a couple of months and a desire to push his creative limits.

Allman's first-ever short film, Filter, is one of 20 finalists in Canon’s Project Imaginat10n contest, which aims to discover talent among amateur filmmakers. Those 20 films will be whittled down to five by none other than director Ron Howard and his daughter, actress/director Bryce Dallas Howard.

The five remaining films, which will be revealed on September 19, will be showcased along with five films directed by celebrities at Canon’s Project Imaginat10n Film Festival in October. We talked with Allman, who now lives in San Francisco, about his filmmaking background, his semi-dystopian film, and his reaction to being chosen for the contest.

CultureMap Dallas: What kind of film experience did you have prior to this contest?

Ronnie Allman: My film background isn’t very extensive at all. I bought my first video camera a year and a half ago and just started filming my life. After doing a year of that, I said, "I should challenge myself more and try to actually be a director and work with actors."

I’m an art director at an ad agency. I’m in a creative atmosphere, so I kind of know a little bit about forming a story and things like that. I just used what I knew in my profession to try to make the best of it.

CM: Your film is set in a world where people can’t use tap water or go outdoors without wearing gas masks. What was the inspiration for that?

RA: It was one of the pictures we got to choose from in the contest. There were 91 different photos, and there was a picture of a small child wearing a gas mask, and you could see a neighborhood and houses behind him. That’s the spark for the entire story.

In my head, I was like, “What if we lived in a world where kids could still go out and play, but they had to wear gas masks?” I was just thinking, “How would this world be transformed and not be like all these other post-apocalyptic videos where it’s so detached from the world that’s in the present that it’s not familiar to anybody?”

I wanted to make something eerie, like this could happen tomorrow, and we just don’t know it. You still have to go to work, and you still have to go through your daily struggles, but things are just a little bit different.

CM: That's exactly what I thought; aside from the water and air restrictions, life seems to be pretty normal in the film’s world. Could you imagine living your life like that?

RA: It’s funny – I put on the gas mask while I was writing this for like 30-45 minutes at a time and tried to really get in the mood of what it would be like to wear these things. It was really uncomfortable; it was very confined. Your breathing habits are different. But if I had to, yeah, I could do it. It’s just a little bit sweaty. It’s really a unique experience.

CM: The film conveys a lot of emotion without a single line of spoken dialogue. What was your thought process behind that decision?

RA: I wanted this really rich story, but I don’t have access to people who’ve acted before, so I didn’t want the story to suffer because of that. Not having dialogue I think helped out the film because it wasn’t a distraction. The acting could’ve been bad if they weren’t comfortable in front of the camera, and I wanted the story to shine.

CM: How excited were you when you found out your film was one of 20 that will be seen by Ron and Bryce Dallas Howard?

I was shocked I was a finalist, because I had never done anything like this before. I was able to look at some of the other films after I submitted mine, and I was like, “Wow, these are really talented people that I’m up against. If I make top 20, I would be super happy.” I’m definitely up against some great, imaginative people.

It’s crazy, because Ron Howard will see this film that I’ve created using just two small cameras and a couple of great friends who were willing to help out. Now he’s the person who gets to watch it and hopefully likes it.

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To see the films of all 20 finalists in the Project Imaginat10n contest, go to longliveimagination.com.

First-time filmmaker Ronnie Allman, a Rowlett native, is already getting attention thanks to Canon's Project Imaginat10n contest.

Photo courtesy of Ronnie Allman

First-time filmmaker Ronnie Allman, a Rowlett native, is already getting attention thanks to Canon's Project Imaginat10n contest.

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Movie Review

New movie Being Heumann spotlights rousing fight for disability rights

Photo courtesy of Apple TV

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The presence of building ramps, curb ramps, wheelchair-accessible stalls, accessible parking spaces, and more accommodations for people with disabilities is now so ubiquitous in the United States that it’s hard to remember a time without them. But as the new film Being Heumann ably demonstrates, the fight to get those things was as difficult as any civil rights battle.

The film focuses on a specific period of time in 1977 when disability rights activist Judy Heumann (Ruth Madeley) led a movement to try to get U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) Joseph Califano (Mark Ruffalo) to sign Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. After years of no progress under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter, Heumann and her group of other disabled people and allies decide to stage a sit-in at the HEW offices in San Francisco.

What begins as a temporary event turns into a prolonged ordeal, with Califano initially unmoved and the protesters unwilling to leave the building. The strong-willed Heumann, helped by fellow leaders like Kitty Cone (Madeline Delp) and TV reporter Evan White (Dylan O’Brien), not only puts pressure on Califano and other HEW staffers, but also members of her own group, some of whom are unable or unwilling to stay as long as she wants.

Directed by Sian Heder (CODA) and written by Heder and Rebekah Taussig, the film features a rousing story made all the more effective by the presence of actual disabled people. In addition to people in wheelchairs like Madeley and Delp, the cast features people who are blind, deaf, are short-statured, and more. Some of the cast members are professional actors, some aren’t, but they all bring a realism that enhances the story.

Heder and her team underscore the importance of the story by taking their time telling it. That doesn’t just mean giving Madeley and others extra scenes to demonstrate their skills, although the 127-minute film provides plenty of time for that. More pointedly, Heder allows the disabled people to take however long they need to do something, like trying to navigate inaccessible stairways or using a pointer to spell out words. The respect this approach shows the actors brings extra heft to the story they’re trying to tell.

There are multiple moments in the film where audience members may scoff at what’s happening to the disabled people, most notably when they are met with derision by government officials and even regular passers-by. Heder occasionally overplays her hand by either showing Califano as being overly callous or White being supremely helpful, but she mostly plays things straight, allowing the difficulties the protestors face speak for themselves.

Madeley, a veteran actor with over 30 credits to her name, puts in an award-worthy performance. While the reality of her disabled body plays a part in her role, it’s mostly the fieriness and determination that she shows that make it stellar. Others like Delp, Antwan Tolliver, Rio Finnegan, and more prove crucial in supporting roles. Known actors like Ruffalo, O’Brien, and Rob Delaney are fine, but secondary to the main group.

Being Heumann is a great way to honor the legacy of Heumann, who passed away in 2023. There is still work to be done to ensure disabled people are given access and respect in the U.S., but the events in the film show that people like Heumann and the groups they lead have power when they choose to fight.

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Being Heumann is now playing in select theaters and streaming on Apple TV.

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