A comedy by Bob Byington (7 Chinese Brothers, Infinity Baby)—the master of offbeat humor—chooses a small-town teacher from Nebraska as its protagonists. The eponymous Frances Ferguson leads a quiet, though rather dull life, takes care of her daughter and argues with her husband, who is more interested in watching porn on his phone than in his marital duties. To escape her stark reality, she begins an affair with an excessively handsome student. But she pays a heavy price for it. Perhaps a too heavy? France Ferguson is based on a series of articles in New York Post which described reported cases of abuse done by school teachers. Byington is however less interested the illegal relationships and more focused on the further lives of convicts. How do the deal with social stigma? And what are their chances for rehabilitation?
Sidewalk FF 2019 – Best Narrative Ficton
An American film director, screenwriter and an actor who lives in Texas. He debuted in 1996 with Shameless. His next works, Registered Sex Offender and Harmony and Me, are often considered a part of mumblecore movement, even though Byington has never felt like a part of it. In 2012 Somebody Up There Likes Me was awarded at Locarno Film Festival. His next movies were 7 Chinese Brothers (stars Jason Schwartzmann, presented at 6th AFF) and Infinity Baby (stars Kieran Culkin, presented at 8th AFF). His most recent movie, Frances Ferguson, debuted at South by Southwest Film Festival.
1996 Shameless
2008 Ktoś tam u góry mnie lubi / Registered Sex Offender
2009 Harmony i ja / Harmony and Me
2015 Siedmiu chińskich braci / 7 Chinese Brothers
2017 Dziecko przyszłości / Infinity Baby
2019 Frances Ferguson