Man from Reno

Filmmaker Dave Boyle (Someone to Watch Award, 35th CIFF) returns to Cleveland with MAN FROM RENO, a neo-noir thriller set in and around San Francisco. The film opens as sheriff Paul Del Moral drives through dense fog at night. He can barely see anything until an abandoned car comes into view. Del Moral searches the area for its owner but to no avail. When he radios dispatch and drives away, a body suddenly slams into his windshield. Del Moral takes the unconscious man to the hospital. Yet before the sheriff can conduct a proper investigation, the unidentified man mysteriously disappears. Meanwhile, Aki, a disillusioned crime writer, flees to San Francisco to take respite from her adoring fans in Tokyo. In her hotel, she meets handsome traveler Akira. The two hit it off, but then Akira also inexplicably vanishes, leaving only his clothes and a head of lettuce behind. As Del Moral and Aki respectively search for clues about these missing men, their paths soon cross and a chilling plot unfolds. (In English and Japanese with subtitles) – E.B.