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On this episode of Cinematalk, Mike King welcomes filmmaker and film teacher Brandon Colvin, whose first two features screened at UW - Madison's annual Wisconsin Film Festival. \n\nA Dim Valley is the writer/director's first foray into comedy. Mystical, sexy, and funny, this dreamlike indie casts you under its spell. Deep in the Appalachian wilderness, a pair of ecology grad students are collecting flora and fauna samples and getting high\u2014anything to avoid spending more time in the cramped cabin with their grouchy, hard-drinking advisor. Out in the forest, they encounter a trio of nymph-like backpackers looking to \u201cfulfill their purpose\u201d who lure the men into a trance-like state of magical awakening and desire, with a pansexual charge between seemingly every character. The sextet\u2019s enigmatic bond is deepened over a late night that encompasses teary tarot readings and half-assed Scrabble games. Drawing inspiration from Twin Peaks and Hayao Miyazaki, UW PhD Brandon Colvin\u2019s third feature cultivates a surreal, sylvan atmosphere that still makes room for perfectly timed gags.