Hell's Highway: The True Story of Highway Safety Films

Bret Wood's fascinating documentary about classic highway safety films, many of them made in Mansfield, Ohio, plus Yellow Springs filmmaker Steve Bognar's latest short. Using interviews with key participants and dozen of vintage clips, the documentary Hell's Highway tells the fascinating story of the highway safety filmÛlurid, graphic, and often shocking productions used to discourage drivers ed students from reckless behavior on the road.

Many of these films were produced by the Highway Safety Foundation, based in Mansfield, Ohio. The pioneering advocacy group gained fame in the 1950s and 60s for such "scare" films as Wheels of Tragedy, Mechanized Death, and Signal 30. Hell's Highway places these innovative productions (now cult items for film aficionados) within the larger context of America's educational film movement, whose "scared straight" approach to teenage behavior is still pervasive. (2003; 90 mins.)

Introducing each screening is Gravel, a new short film by Yellow Springs filmmaker Steve Bognar. An ambiguous tale about a single mother who visits an ex-convict with her skateboarding daughter in tow, the film premiered this year at Sundance. (2002; 15 mins.)