Watch Pioneer

The most epic bedtime story since "1,001 Nights," David Lowery's PIONEER is both a magnificent odyssey and a powerful metaphor for the meaning of family and fatherhood. Singer/songwriter/actor Will Oldham is the blue-collar dad who, in a hushed storybook voice, recounts the story of how he met his young son's mother and became his father. It is a tale that spans centuries of violent American history, yet it is a tender, intimate film bathed in a warm pool of golden light in the dark of the night. In its way, it explores the power of stories as allegory and emotional truth. "It represents a step forward for me as a filmmaker," acknowledges Lowery, "and it's also directly personal, which is the reason I dedicated it to my dad." PIONEER premiered at Sundance 2011 and went on to win "Best Short" at SXSW. On the strength of this confident film (which Lowery sent out with his screenplay for AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS), Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck signed on to his second feature. - Sean Axmaker