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Documentary ‘Fairfield Vignettes’ explores the town’s creative side
Producer and Director Quentin Wood hopes film will be first part of a series
Andy Hallman
May. 5, 2025 2:24 pm
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FAIRFIELD – A documentary filmmaker is about to debut his latest work that compiles interviews of 15 Fairfield residents.
The 45-minute documentary is titled “Fairfield Vignettes,” and will be shown twice in the next couple of weeks, first at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 10 at The Lab (408 W. Lowe Ave.), and again at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 17 at Noble House Kava Bar (115 N. Main St.). Both events are free.
Director and producer Quentin Wood of Mani Stone Productions said he wanted to capture the “fun, quirky, and strange experience which is the Fairfield community of today.” Wood moved to Fairfield as a teenager and lived here for 14 years. He was an ambitious entrepreneur as a young man, running five businesses shortly after graduating from Fairfield High School. That included the lucrative Happy Landings, a business he formed to sell his invention of a portafoam cushion to use during yogic flying.
Wood left town 35 years ago, and has held a variety of careers from real estate developer to antique trader to documentary filmmaker to Hollywood screenwriter. After a few decades away from Fairfield, Wood came back to visit his friends three years ago. He said he had the most wonderful time, and felt that “Fairfield is the best it’s ever been, with so many interesting things going on.” He told a friend, Jeff “Chuckee” Aylen, that he’d like to make a documentary about Fairfield. Aylen thought it was a great idea, and agreed to be Wood’s sound engineer.
Wood did all his filming in a frantic, seven-day span.
“I scheduled interviews day and night, working every second to get great material,” he said. “What we made is pretty stunning.”
According to the poster advertising the film, the Fairfield residents who will appear in it include: Alaris Todar, Chris Johnson, Poona Kalra, Cheyanne Holliday, Brian Nickol, Devoute Lev-El, Alex Stanley, Jesse M. James III, Nik Sorak, Stephen Cardinal, Susan Misuraca, Tammy Haessler, Tray Cal-El, Tom Lassota and Eric Shaffer.
Wood said he chose Fairfield residents to profile who were doing interesting and eclectic things, especially the town’s young people undertaking projects of their own.
“There is great stuff going on in this,” Wood said. “I went to all the places and did all the things a tourist would do. I found out about Blue Rose, which is going to be the finest studio in the world when it’s complete. I picked out half a dozen artists and young creators, because Fairfield needs young blood. All those empty shops downtown break my heart.”
Wood said he was blown away by what he learned from these interviews, getting acquainted with people who are “throwing parties in a cornfield” like Jesse James, or great musicians like Nik Sorak who is “tattooed from head to toe.” Chris Johnson, Alex Stanley and Stephen Cardinal are all involved in remodeling the former armory on Broadway Avenue into the Blue Rose Ballroom, and Wood also devotes time to Eric Shaffer’s The Lab, and Tammy Haessler and her soup kitchen at Golden Magnolia Sanctuary.
“Fairfield Vignettes” does not simply flip from one talking head to another. Wood said that style is too boring to hold a viewer’s attention. That’s why his documentary is fast-paced and lively, with a narrative that jumps around.
“It goes all over the place, forward and back, but it’s quite coherent,” Wood said. “We’re professionals, and you can follow the logic of the narrative.”
Wood hopes his documentary attracts new residents to town who are drawn to what they see on the screen.
“Fairfield has an alternative bent, and a lot of people came to Fairfield to make a new life for themselves,” Wood said. “Our message is, ‘Hey folks, if you want to live the best you can, try Fairfield out and look at all the stuff going on here.’”
Residents have two chances to catch “Fairfield Vignettes,” though Wood said he wants them to understand that there will be much more room at the first showing May 10 at The Lab, which he said can fit about 500 people, compared to the showing at Noble House the following week, which can fit closer to 50 people.
Wood said he hopes that “Fairfield Vignettes” will become the first installment of a three-part mini-series. For the next productions, however, Wood wants to move away from a week of nonstop shooting to using paid cameramen and a professional crew.
“We want to make something that’s of service to others, and not only do film festivals but take it to major studios who might buy it,” he said.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com