Jason LaRay Keener (born May 12, 1985) is an American filmmaker from Alabama. He is best known for his stream-of-conscious, non-linear shorts. He is related to serial killer

Nannie Doss Nannie Doss (born Nancy Hazel; November 4, 1905 – June 2, 1965) was an American serial killer responsible for the deaths of 11 people between some time in the 1920s and 1954. Doss was also referred to as the Giggling Granny, the Lonely Hearts ...

. In 2006, he founded the

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree, master's, educati ...

Film Society. In 2012, he married frequent collaborator Diane Rose (''Hallelujah! Gorilal Revival'', '' The Unreinable Compulsion'').

Reining Nails & ''Catfish with Falcon Wings''

In 2006, Keener founded his production company, Reining Nails. From 2006 to 2009, he directed several Southern Gothic-inspired surrealistic short films. His film ''Hallelujah! Gorilla Revival'' featured guest voice-overs from filmmakers

Cory McAbee Cory McAbee (born August 29, 1961, Santa Venetia, California, US) is an American writer, director, singer and songwriter. Biography Cory McAbee was born in Northern California as the youngest of three children. His father was an auto mechanic and ...

, Damon Packard,

Todd Rohal Todd Rohal is an American independent filmmaker. Career Rohal attended filmmaking classes at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Between 1997 and 2001 he directed four short films: ''Single Spaced'' (1997), ''Slug 660'' (1998), ''Knuckleface Jones ...

and Jamie Stewart of the bands Ten in the Swear Jar,

Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name co ...

and

Former Ghosts Former Ghosts is a project of Freddy Ruppert, former member of This Song Is a Mess But So Am I, with loose collaborations from multiple people including Xiu Xiu frontman Jamie Stewart (singer), Jamie Stewart, Zola Jesus originator Nika Roza Danilo ...

. The film won Best Experimental Short at the 2009

Nashville Film Festival The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm), held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is the oldest running film festival in the South and one of the oldest in the United States. In 2016, Nashville Film Festival received more than 6,700 submissions from ...

, as well as Best Alabama Short Film and the

Kathryn Tucker Windham Kathryn Tucker Windham (née Tucker, June 2, 1918 – June 12, 2011) was an American storyteller, author, photographer, folklorist, and journalist. She was born in Selma, Alabama, and grew up in nearby Thomasville. Tucker got her first writin ...

Storytelling Award at the 11th annual

Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival The Sidewalk Film Festival is an annual film festival taking place during the last weekend in August in the Theatre District of Birmingham, Alabama, since 1999. The festival typically screens at seven venues located within downtown Birmingham, fea ...

. In 2009, Keener released a DVD+R EP of his short films entitled ''Catfish with Falcon Wings''. Catfish with Falcon Wings has been remixed by

Brighter Death Now Brighter Death Now is the artist name under which Roger Karmanik (b. 1965 as Roger Karlsson), the founder of the Swedish record label Cold Meat Industry, releases death industrial, power electronics Power electronics is the application of e ...

as projection for live shows. In 2011, the short films of Catfish with Falcon Wings were curated alongside films by

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

Harmony Korine Harmony Korine (born January 4, 1973, some sources report September 1, 1974)
" Retrieved on 2009-10-26. is an Ame ...

, and

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

as part of a film series on problems in contemporary society. The series was programmed by the Pavilion Unicredit Art Gallery in

Bucharest, Romania Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. In 2010, Keener directed the music video for

's song, "House Sparrow," from the album ''

Dear God, I Hate Myself ''Dear God, I Hate Myself'' is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Xiu Xiu released on February 23, 2010. This is their first album since the departure of Caralee McElroy. The album features new member Angela Seo on piano, synthesi ...

''. The video stars Sandi Hanson ('' The Unreinable Compulsion'') and Lane Hughes (''

V/H/S ''V/H/S'' is a 2012 American found footage horror anthology film and the first installment in the ''V/H/S'' franchise created by Brad Miska and Bloody Disgusting and produced by Miska and Roxanne Benjamin. It features a series of found foota ...

'', ''

You're Next ''You're Next'' is a 2011 American slasher film directed and edited by Adam Wingard, written by Simon Barrett and starring Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, A. J. Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Barbara Crampton and Rob Moran. The plot concern ...

'').

''The Unreinable Compulsion''

'' The Unreinable Compulsion'', described as a psychological drama about an irrational murder, is Keener's first feature-length film. The film stars Jarrod Cuthrell and features actor/dentist Dr.

George Hardy George Hardy may refer to: * George Hardy (actor) (born 1954), American dentist and star of cult film ''Troll 2'' * George Hardy (labor leader) (1911–1990), Canadian-American labor leader * George Hardy (artist) (1822–1909), British genre pain ...

(''

Troll 2 ''Troll 2'' is a 1990 horror film directed by Claudio Fragasso (under the pseudonym Drake Floyd) and starring Michael Stephenson, George Hardy, Connie McFarland, and Jason Wright. Although produced under the title ''Goblins'', the American ...

'', ''

Best Worst Movie ''Best Worst Movie'' is a 2009 American documentary film about the making of the infamous 1990 horror film ''Troll 2'' and its subsequent resurgence as a cult film. Directed by Michael Stephenson, the child star of ''Troll 2'', the film was dis ...

'') as himself. '' Keener cites

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, Ellipsis (narrative device), ellipses, and s ...

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

, ''

Unsolved Mysteries ''Unsolved Mysteries'' is an American mystery documentary television show, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Karl ...

'',

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern writer who often ...

, and

Edward Hopper Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker. While he is widely known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching. Hopper created subdued drama ...

as the primary influences for the style and tone of the film, in which a young man in a small town gives in to his irrational desire to recreationally murder a stranger.

Synopsis

After loner Dewayne Sykes (Jarrod Cuthrell) decides to give in to his irrational desire to recreationally murder a stranger, he begins his search for a random victim and finds one in “Miss Fit” (Jen Stedham), a young jogger he spies at a park. After briefly familiarizing himself with her neighborhood and schedule, he puts his plan into action and commits a murder that will haunt him in ways he could not anticipate.

''Collinsville Trade Day, 1988''

Collinsville Trade Day, 1988 is an upcoming short documentary co-directed and edited by Jason LaRay Keener. It's a found-footage collaboration with his grandfather, Charles Keener, based on footage Charles shot in 1988 of a popular outdoor market in the Northeast Alabama town of Collinsville. The film will debut at the 2015

in Nashville, Tennessee.

Synopsis

In 1988, Charles Keener took a video camera to Collinsville, AL to document the town's outdoor market for his young grandson. 26 years later, this newly discovered footage has been edited by the grandson into a short documentary.

Filmography

Feature films

*
The Unreinable Compulsion
' (2013)

Short films

*
Collinsville Trade Day, 1988
' (2014) * ''Hollow Porcelain Fish Chamber'' (2009) * ''Hallelujah! Gorilla Revival'' (2008) * ''Hail Cracking Cobra Eggs'' (2007) * ''The Man with Apple-Shaped Boxing Gloves'' (2006)

Music videos

* "House Sparrow"

- (2010)

As actor

* ''Laura Panic'' (2007) * ''The Man with Apple-Shaped Boxing Gloves'' (2006)

As score composer

* ''Hollow Porcelain Fish Chamber'' (2009) * ''Hallelujah! Gorilla Revival'' (2008) * ''1000 Year Sleep'' (2007) * ''Hail Cracking Cobra Eggs'' (2007) * ''The Man with Apple-Shaped Boxing Gloves'' (2006)

References

External links

Official site''The Unreinable Compulsion'' trailer''Collinsville Trade Day, 1988'' Official page
*
Anniston Star: Filmmaker Keener happy where he isAnniston Star: Local filmmaker to premier DVD in Birmingham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keener, Jason Laray 1985 births People from Cherokee County, Alabama American experimental filmmakers Living people