Ballast (DVD)

Lance Hammer writes and directs this pared-down realist drama set in the Mississippi Delta. After her ex-husband's suicide, impoverished single mother Marlee (Tara Riggs) is struggling to deal with the wayward behaviour of her teenage son, James (JimMyron Ross). Meanwhile, Marlee's ex-brother-in-law, convenience store owner Lawrence (Micheal J. Smith Sr), is thrown into a paralysis of grief and despair by his brother's suicide. As tension builds between the bereaved trio, they must find a way to deal with their pain and move towards some kind of reconciliation.