Cold Weather

Aaron Katz wrote and directed this mumblecore comedy drama in which a guy with more ideas than experience plays private eye. Doug (Cris Lankenau) has long had a passion for classic detective fiction and enrolled in a college in Chicago to study forensic science with an eye toward someday working with the police. But after a few months, Doug's ambition runs out of steam, and he leaves the Midwest to move back to his hometown of Portland. Doug ends up moving in with his older sister, Gail (Trieste Kelly Dunn), and taking a variety of odd jobs that won't tax his energy or intelligence. However, Doug unexpectedly gets another shot at becoming a detective when his former girlfriend disappears and he's asked to help track her down. Doug joins forces with his pal Carlos (Raúl Castillo) and starts smoking a pipe so he'll feel more like Sherlock Holmes, but as the search goes on the case becomes more complicated (and potentially dangerous) than expected. Cold Weather received its world premiere at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival.