From KCRW in Santa Monica, this is The Treatment.

Welcome to The Treatment.

I'm Elvis Mitchell.

You can also hear the show at KCRW.com.

Low-key photorealism, well-chosen non-actors, and an achingly heartfelt drama played out

on the Mississippi Delta.

That's Ballas, the feature film directing debut of Lance Hammer, who's here to join me.

Lance, thanks so much for doing this.

Thank you.

It's a pleasure to be here.

One of the things that struck me about seeing the film at Sundance is that it's composed

almost as if it's a series of photographs, as it's got a kind of photo realism. And I wonder

that that was a motivating factor for you in the way you put the film together. Everything I do

really stems out of the visual first, and that's where my inspiration for narrative comes

from. Inevitably, something comes out of something that's purely visual,

and often that's me with a camera and taking photographs back

and just really studying them and letting them sink into myself.

Audio was a very important part of this.

You know, the sound of this place was very important as well.

I guess I should ask you to tell the audience what Ballast is about.

I honestly think it's about the Delta, the Mississippi Delta, and it's really a document

of a place.

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