Independent Film

CAGED NO MORE Starring Loretta Devine, Kevin Sorbo, Wins Best Feature At La Femme Film Festival

CAGED NO MORE took top honors at the La Femme Film Festival in Los Angeles winning the award for “Best Feature” out of 100 other entries. The La Femme Film Festival exists to promote the work of female producers, writers and directors. “This was an amazing put together film that not only entertains but educates the audience on an issue that is very time-sensitive. Creative, pertinent, and well done!” said Leslie LaPage, founder and director of the La Femme Film Festival. “We’ve achieved making a film that is not only thrilling and compelling, but calls audiences to be champions in the fight against human trafficking,” said Lisa Arnold, director, co-writer and producer of CAGED NO MORE. “We are grateful for the support of amazing film festivals like La Femme who recognize that movies can reach beyond the screen and inspire greatness!” CAGED NO MORE is a drama meant to engage and educate audiences on the realities of human trafficking. The film releases January 15, 2016 nationwide. The film was also the top award winner at the Kingdomwood film festival in October 2015. The award-winning film CAGED NO MORE is based on Molly Venzke’s novel by the same title, which was adapted for screen by co-producer Lisa Arnold and Venzke. Starring Emmy award-winner Loretta Devine (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Kevin Sorbo (GOD’S NOT DEAD, “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”), Alan Powell (THE SONG), Christian singer-songwriter Anthony Evans, and Cassidy Gifford (GOD’S NOT DEAD), the film features appearances by Gov. Bobby Jindal, pastor Chad Veach, Grammy Award-nominated Christian recording artist Natalie Grant, Gretchen Carlson and Kathie Lee Gifford. Inspired by real events, CAGED NO MORE is the story of Aggie Prejean (Devine), a grandmother on a desperate search to find her two granddaughters, Skye (Gifford) and Elle, who have been kidnapped by their sinister father (Sorbo). As the details behind the girls’ disappearance begin to unravel, it’s discovered that they have been taken overseas to be sold into the sex trade. Aggie enlists the help of the girls’ uncle, a well-respected local philanthropist, Richard DuLonde (also played by Sorbo), and his son, Wil (Powell), who is former Special Forces. A global hunt ensues, and the team will stop at nothing to see the girls safely returned home. CAGED NO MORE is produced by Check the Gate Productions’ Lisa Arnold (GOD’S NOT DEAD) and Red Entertainment Group’s Jarred Coates (GOD’S NOT DEAD) in association with GND Media Group and Film Incito. CAGED NO MORE was filmed on location in Baton Rouge, La., and Athens, Greece. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRo_pHxuLhE The winners of the 2015 La Femme Film Festival. Best Feature Writer “Come Simi” Jenica Bergere & Doc Pedrolie 2015 Best Documentary “Love Between The Covers” Laurie Kahn 2015 Best Screenplay “Delivery Girl” Jude Roth 2015 Best Music Video “Monster” Kate Freund 2015 Best Short “Bound” Lexi St. John 2015 Best Feature Director “Reign” Corey Misquita 2015 Best Feature Producer “The Morning After” Shanra J. Kehl 2015 Best Feature “Caged No More” Lisa Arnold 2015 Best Foreign Film “Interruption” Malou Reymann 2015 Best Animated Short “Misiek and Eve From Outer Space” Marianna Mankowska 2015 Best Foreign Documentary “Out Of A Jam” Shalini Harshwal 2015 Best Special Focused Documentary “Angel Azul” Marcelina Cravat 2015 Best Webisode “Manic Pixie Dream Wife” M. Elizabeth Eller 2015 Best TV Pilot Script “Vigilante Theorem” Meghan Fitzmartin 2015 Best Commercial “ 7UP: Feels Good To Be You “ Alle Hsu 2015 Best Student Short “ Leaves In Fall “ Laura Torenbeek 2015
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Industry Satire Film ACTOR FOR HIRE Slated for January 1st, 2016 VOD Premiere | TRAILER

Gravitas Ventures will release writer/director Marcus Mizelle’s industry satire feature film ACTOR FOR HIRE. The film, slated for a January 1st, 2016 VOD premiere, is currently enjoying its nationwide rollout with engagements in over 20 locations following its debut at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Actor For Hire is produced by Mizelle alongside independent film producer Jillian Longnecker for Forte Pictures, with Dustin Taylor as Executive Producer. The film stars Jesse O’Neill (Ted 2), Jandres Burgos (Reclaim), Jesse C. Boyd (The Walking Dead), Greg Perrow (Anger Management), Najee De-Tiege (Power Rangers Samurai), JT Alexander (10 Cent Pistol) and newcomers Hollie Shay, Cynthia Bravo and Joel Hogan. “Actor for Hire” tells the tale of Jesse, an aspiring out of work actor desperate to be seen, who thinks he’s not landing parts because he’s bald. After several failed auditions he decides to pawn his “craptop” for a cheap wig, and immediately books a small role on a TV pilot. As new opportunities are suddenly presented, keeping up his new wigged persona becomes a hairy business. “A laugh out loud comedy, a big part of “Actor For Hire” is about the various absurdities and clichés of LA and celebrity culture, which I find endlessly interesting,” commented Mizelle. “I have a fascination with Hollywood culture – status, hierarchy, and contrasts of all sorts have become themes I find a great deal of in my own work. I’m hoping audiences continue to find it as entertaining as I do,” he added. Mizelle is a multi-faceted LA based director, writer, producer and editor. He has directed music videos for Interscope recording artist Aloe Blacc, Atlantic artist Kevin Gates, Kreayshawn, Poet of the Black Eyed Peas, Dag Savage and more. He has directed over 30 short films, including award winning The Reliever, The Last Gift, & The Buck Johnson Story as well as the award-winning crime comedy feature film Half Empty. “Actor For Hire” has attracted much acclaim on the festival circuit – it was named ‘Staff Pick’ at the Virginia Film Festival and sold out its screening a month in advance, won Best Comedy at the Temecula Film Festival, won the Best Music Award (Jeremy Nathan Tisser) at the Laugh or Die Comedy Festival, and was Opening and Closing night film at several festivals. “Actor for Hire” had its international premiere at Europe’s biggest comedy festival, Comedy Cluj International in Romania. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVyN0WsUb3k
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Fox Searchlight to Remake MEET THE PATELS

Fox Searchlight will remake MEET THE PATELS, the documentary that won the Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival, reports Deadline. The remake will be written and co-directed by the original brother and sister team of Geeta V. Patel and Ravi V. Patel.
MEET THE PATELS is a laugh-out-loud real life romantic comedy about Ravi Patel, an almost-30-year-old Indian-American who enters a love triangle between the woman of his dreams … and his parents. Filmed by Ravi’s sister in what started as a family vacation video, this hilarious and heartbreaking film reveals how love is a family affair.

Fresh out of a breakup with his secret white girlfriend, who his parents knew nothing about, and freaked out that he’s almost 30 and single, Ravi goes on a family vacation to India with his head and heart spinning.

Ravi is willing to do whatever it takes to find love—but there’s one tricky detail to consider: In his family, everyone has the last name Patel. Patels marry other Patels. It’s not incest, it means they are from the same 50-square mile radius in India. Struck with how overwhelmingly happy the marriages are of his Patel family and friends, Ravi enters a fool-proof Patel matchmaking system and embarks on a worldwide search for another American Patel just like him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7litSYXbpRs
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HOT SUGAR’S COLD WORLD Sets Release Date of November 6 | TRAILER

Hot Sugar’s Cold World, a fly-on-the-wall look into the life of a modern-day Mozart, Nick Koenig (Hot Sugar) as he creates one-of-a-kind music made entirely out of sounds from the world around him, will open November 6, 2015 in theaters and iTunes with special live performances to follow across the US and Canada. Nick lives every young musician’s dream, but when his internet- famous girlfriend, (rapper Kitty) goes on tour and they split, he flies to Paris where he grew up, to move on with his life, while hunting for increasingly unique and exotic sounds to sample and turn into beats. Through his journey, Hot Sugar goes on some crazy adventures, meets some fascinating people and learns what it takes to survive as an artist. With appearances by former members of Das Racist, legendary filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers, Only Lovers Left Alive), the world’s most renowned Astrophysicist, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson (“Cosmos” on FOX) and comedian Martin Starr (HBO’s “Silicon Valley”) among a host of other musicians and personalities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V5CJaa5zLE Hot Sugar’s Cold World, an official selections of 2015 SXSW Film Festival and 2015 Hot Docs Film Festival, is directed by Adam Bhala Lough, Executive Produced by David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jody Hill, and features Nick Koenig, Martin Starr, Kool AD, Heems, Dapwell, Kitty, Rachel Trachtenburg, Jim Jarmusch, Dr. Neil deGrasse, Tyson, Shelby Fero.
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Toni Collette, Tracy Letts, Sam Trammell Join Daniel Radcliffe In Daniel Ragussis’s Upcoming Thriller IMPERIUM

Academy-Award Nominee Toni Collette (pictured above) (The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine, United States of Tara), Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tracy Letts (Homeland) and Sam Trammell (True Blood) join Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter franchise, Horns) in director/co-writer Daniel Ragussis ‘s upcoming feature film IMPERIUM, to be distributed by Lionsgate Premiere, the Company’s newly-launched specialty film label utilizing a mix of traditional and multiplatform release strategies. Daniel Radcliffe stars as the title character, Nate Foster, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he specializes in domestic terrorism and covert operations. Toni Collette joins as a veteran battle-hardened colleague FBI Agent Angela Zampino, with Tracy Letts joining as Dallas Wolf, a modern-day leader of the white supremacy movement and Sam Trammell plays Jerry Conrad a seemingly normal suburban Dad who is also the local Ayran youth recruiter. Based on true events, IMPERIUM focuses on the FBI agent as he goes undercover and joins a white supremacist group in order to expose a sizable terrorist plot to create a dirty bomb. The bright up-and-coming analyst must confront the challenge of sticking to a new identity while maintaining his real principles as he navigates the dangerous underworld of white supremacy. The script was co-written by former FBI agent Mike German whose counterterrorism activities during his 16-year tenure inspire the plot of the film. IMPERIUM commences production this month in Hopewell, Virginia and is executive produced by Andrew Mann, Jeff Elliott, Chad Moore, Barry Brooker and Stan Wertlieb in addition to Eric Gold and Warren Goz of Sculptor Media. The film is produced by Atomic Features and Tycor International Film Company producers, TY Walker, Dennis Lee and Simon Taufique. Green-Light International is handling foreign sales and brokered the domestic Lionsgate deal. IMPERIUM will be released by Lionsgate Premiere.
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FilmBuff to Release SXSW Comedy Hit A WONDERFUL CLOUD

FilmBuff announced today that it will release A Wonderful Cloud, a feature-length improv comedy written, directed, and starring Eugene Kotlyarenko, with Kate Lyn Sheil (House of Cards, Queen of Earth) in the US. The film, which is inspired by the real life relationship between Kotlyarenko and Sheil, debuted at SXSW, and will open in select theaters nationwide and will be available on all major On Demand platforms starting Friday, October 23rd, 2015. When Katelyn travels to Los Angeles in hopes of wresting control of a clothing company from her ex, Eugene, she quickly realizes he has more than just business in mind. Unable to deny their emotional past, the pair spend the weekend trying to determine once and for all whether they have a future in store. Set in an LA full of eccentrics, this raw romantic comedy finds a former off-screen couple energetically playing out their real-world baggage in front of the camera, for laughs and tears. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH63SD1tOj4 “I’m super pumped to be getting A Wonderful Cloud out there through FilmBuff,” says Kotlyarenko. “This movie is extremely personal for me and has turned out to be a lot of fun for audiences so far. I’m really curious to see how people will react to something this confessional, that’s still aiming to entertain.” A Wonderful Cloud is Eugene Kotlyarenko’s second feature film, with critics admiring his style, and his onscreen rapport with Sheil. Variety praised the film, commenting: “Those seeking a raucous, wholly improvised 21st-century Annie Hall need look no farther…” while Indiewire commented: “Fueled by the creative liberation of improvisation and steered by a real-life shared history,” A Wonderful Cloud is “a good kind of weird.” “We see a lot of movies every year and it’s rare to find one that feels so funny, intimate and daring,” says FilmBuff’s Jake Hanly. “We knew A Wonderful Cloud was special right away and our team is excited to see audiences connect with it.” A Wonderful Cloud will be available on all major On Demand platforms, including Amazon Instant Video, Comcast’s Xfinity TV, Google Play, iTunes, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS, Vudu, and Xbox, beginning on Friday, October 23rd, 2015, and will open in Los Angeles at the Laemmle’s Playhouse 7.
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Magnolia Pictures, Duplass Brothers Launch TANGERINE Oscar Campaign for Transgender Stars

Magnolia Pictures and the Duplass Brothers are launching an Oscar campaign for TANGERINE stars Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor, reports Variety. This will reportedly be the first awards season push for transgender actress by a movie distributor in Hollywood history. Rodriguez will be pushed as Lead Actress and Taylor as Supporting. They plan on bids for screenwriting and cinematography for the film as well. TANGERINE directed by Sean Baker, was released earlier this Summer via Magnolia Pictures, and earned a lot of well deserved attention for not only featuring transgender actresses in prominent roles, but also for its technical feat – it was shot on an iPhone 5s. The film follows a prostitute, who’s just released from prison, and headed to Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart. Mark Duplass points out that AMPAS is behind the various TV academies in terms of recognizing trans actors; he tells Variety, “Jay and I are new to the Academy, so we’re just figuring this whole thing out. One thing that has become apparent to us as we look at this stuff, it seems that the TV Academy has embraced what’s happening in the trans movement with ‘Transparent’ and ‘Orange is the New Black.’ We feel that the film Academy is a little behind on that front.” This TANGERINE campaign offers a vital counterpoint to “Oscar bait” campaigns in which straight, cisgender, white actors portray trans characters. Mark Duplass tells Variety of this counterpoint, “This is the time for it. We’re in the middle of a civil rights movement.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALSwWTb88ZU
It’s Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee (newcomer Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend (James Ransone, STARLET, “Generation Kill”) hasn’t been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra (newcomer Mya Taylor), embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity. Director Sean Baker’s prior films (STARLET, PRINCE OF BROADWAY) brought rich texture and intimate detail to worlds seldom seen on film. Shot on an iPhone 5s, TANGERINE follows suit, bursting off the screen with energy and style. A decidedly modern Christmas tale told on the streets of L.A., TANGERINE defies expectation at every turn.
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Faith Film FULL OF GRACE about Final Days of Mary of Nazareth Eyes Early 2016 Release Date | TRAILER

Cinedigm has acquired the feature film Full of Grace, which examines the final days of Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus. The film will have an early 2016 release date, which will be preceded by an extensive church screening program, and eventual release on Cinedigm’s newly launched Dove Channel, a digital streaming service offering curated faith-based content vetted by The Dove Foundation™. Full of Grace is an artfully made biblical epic in the spirit of The Passion of the Christ which tells the story of the New Testament from the perspective of Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. There is only one person in the Gospel that had the experience of living 30 years with Jesus, from birth through the Resurrection: his mother Mary. After a full life shared with her Son, fleeing into Egypt, losing him in the Temple, seeing him placed upon the cross, Mary is living her final days on earth pondering her life with Jesus. Set 10 years after the Resurrection, Mary eagerly awaits the return of the Apostle Peter. Arriving at Mary’s home after years of traveling, preaching and narrowly escaping death, Peter expresses the overwhelming responsibility of spreading the story of Jesus amidst heresies and conflict. Providing the encouragement only a mother can, Mary helps Peter re-discover the truth: he is not leading, he is following and walking in the light of God. Written and directed by Andrew Hyatt and starring Noam Jenkins, Bahia Haifi and Kelsey Chow, Full of Grace is an Outside da Box production. It has garnered comprehensive support from the Catholic community. The filmmakers had a private audience with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to discuss the company’s mission and the need for more captivating human stories from the Christian point of view. https://vimeo.com/130161766
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New Trailer + Poster for Jose Nestor Marquez’s REVERSION, Opening October 9

REVERSION, written and directed by Jose Nestor Marquez, and opening theatrically on October 9, has released a new Trailer and poster. The film stars Aja Naomi King (How to Get Away With Murder), Colm Feore (Gotham, The Chronicles of Riddick), Gary Dourdan (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Being Mary Jane) and Jeanette Samano (ISA, Speechless). REVERSION centers on Sophie Clé (Aja Naomi King), a delighted user of the Oubli, a wisp of high-tech jewelry that wraps behind the ear and uses neuroscience to help its users experience their most joyful memories as if they were happening for the first time. In addition to being the head of marketing for the company that makes this revolutionary memory-enhancing wearable device, she is also the daughter of its inventor, Jack Clé (Colm Feore). Sophie’s most joyful memory is the last day she saw her mother alive, fifteen years earlier. But on the eve of the Oubli’s worldwide launch, a stranger named Isa (Jeanette Samano) kidnaps Sophie, setting off a chain of events that remind us all, you can’t escape what you can’t forget. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgrqlTb5SZM
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Award Winning Indie Film SWEATY BETTY Sets Fall 2015 Release Date | TRAILER

The acclaimed docu-drama SWEATY BETTY, from first-time directors Joseph Frank and Zachary Reed, which made it’s world premiere at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival and went on to win Best Feature Film at the 2015 Brooklyn Film Festival, will be released in the Fall via Breaking Glass Pictures. Breaking Glass is planning a theatrical release for SWEATY BETTY in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. on November 27. An iTunes, Amazon Instant, Xbox, and VOD release will follow on December 8. In the film, a big dream and a pig dream takes place in a low income neighborhood on the outskirts of Washington D.C. Joseph Frank and Zachary Reed co-wrote SWEATY BETTY with the film’s lead actors Seth Dubois, Floyd Rich, and Rico S. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrOLvo1yegU In a cramped row house on the border of Washington D.C., two stories of big dreams take place. Floyd and his family have raised a 1,000-pound pig in their backyard, and are determined to turn her into the team mascot for the Redskins football team. Floyd puts his plan into motion, but the pig, named Miss Charlotte, draws unwanted attention. A few blocks away, Rico and Scooby, two TEENAGE single fathers and best friends, are hanging around the neighborhood. As they scheme up a plan for a better life for themselves and their children, they are presented with an unexpected opportunity.
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THE OVERNIGHT Starring Jason Schwartzman , Taylor Schilling on DVD on September 15th

THE OVERNIGHT starring an outstanding ensemble cast including Adam Scott (“Parks and Recreation”), Taylor Schilling (“Orange is the New Black”), and Jason Schwartzman (The Grand Budapest Hotel), will be released on DVD September 15th. From executive producers Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass and Adam Scott and produced by Scott’s wife, Naomi, THE OVERNIGHT “pushes past the limits other comedies have observed for years” (Yahoo! Movies). THE OVERNIGHT was released on Digital and On Demand September 8, 2015. Alex (Scott), Emily (Schilling) and their son, RJ have recently moved to Los Angeles’ Eastside from Seattle. Feeling lost in a new city, they are desperate to find their first new friends. After a chance meeting with Kurt (Schwartzman) at the neighborhood park, they gladly agree to join family pizza night at their home. But as the night goes on and the kids go to bed, the family “playdate” becomes increasingly more revealing and bizarre as the couples begin to open up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWwvejn97lA The Orchard and Gettin’ Rad Productions and The Duplass Brothers present THE OVERNIGHT. Starring Adam Scott, Jason Schwartzman, Taylor Schilling and Judith Godrèche. Director of Photography John Guleserian. Editor Chris Donlon. Production Designer Theresa Guleserian. Original Score by Julian Wass. Music Supervisor Chris Swanson. Executive Producers Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass and Adam Scott. Produced by Naomi Scott. Written and directed by Patrick Brice.
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Jeff Lipsky’s MAD WOMEN Sets Digital Release Date of October 10th | TRAILER

Jeff Lipsky’s controversial and critically acclaimed sixth feature “Mad Women” will be digitally released, for rent or download, on Amazon and Vimeo-on-Demand, on October 10th.

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