Red Dirt is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Tag Purvis and starring Dan Montgomery, Jr., Aleksa Palladino, Walton Goggins, and Karen Black.
A stranger stumbles into his home and only sharpens the young man's intent to travel and discover.
[2] Griffith (Dan Montgomery, Jr.) has lived all his life in the fictional town of Pine Apple, Mississippi.
He spends most of his time barefoot on the red dirt and has a hobby of tracing the epitaphs on headstones.
He was orphaned as a child when his parents drowned inside their car in the river under mysterious circumstances.
Summer is mentally unstable and agoraphobic, apparently a result of the death of Griffith's parents.
She and her only other living sister, Lynn Thomas (Peg O'Keef), have avoided each other for years for unknown reasons.
Charlie (who died of cancer when Griffith was 14) once regularly sent Summer off to a mental asylum, being unable to deal with her eccentric behavior.
She resumed living in the house after Charlie's death, cared for by Griffith and the family matriarch, Lily Mae.
The film is set shortly after the death of Lily Mae, when Griffith becomes solely responsible for caring for his aunt.
A day after he hangs the 'For Rent' sign, a stranger from Louisiana arrives and inquires about the cottage.
Griffith agrees to let Lee stay in the cottage for free in return for helping him finish painting it, despite the objections of both Summer and Emily.
They paint a barn roof with Emily's name and phone number and they start building a giant replica of a pincushion in memory of Lily Mae.
Driving out on country roads, they chance upon Lee and Griffith, who have just finished building the replica of Lily Mae's pincushion in the middle of a field.
The sight of it finally triggers closure on Summer's part, setting her on the path to recovery.
He and Lee read a poem inscribed on Lily Mae's headstone to each other and part with the implication of keeping in touch.
Tag Purvis won Best Director in the Beverly Hills International Film Festival.