The 10th edition of U.S. In Progress Wroclaw, the industry wing of the American Film Festival in Poland which was held online this year, wrapped over the weekend and presented a variety of awards to the participating American film projects.
The awards range from post-production services to travel bursaries and cash. A $10,000 cash prize to be put towards post-production in Poland was awarded to the film To The Moon from director Scott Friend and producers Cate Smierciak, Everett Hendler, Stephanie Randall, and Gabe Wilson. The full list of awards is below.
In addition to the U.S. projects, a group of U.S. experts including Sony Pictures Classics’ Dylan Leiner and CAA execs Maren Olson and Kat Moncrief took part in pitching and one-on-one sessions with Polish projects seeking U.S. partners. The non-competitive event is designed to foster potential co-productions and was hosted by Deadline.
In the wider festival,...
The awards range from post-production services to travel bursaries and cash. A $10,000 cash prize to be put towards post-production in Poland was awarded to the film To The Moon from director Scott Friend and producers Cate Smierciak, Everett Hendler, Stephanie Randall, and Gabe Wilson. The full list of awards is below.
In addition to the U.S. projects, a group of U.S. experts including Sony Pictures Classics’ Dylan Leiner and CAA execs Maren Olson and Kat Moncrief took part in pitching and one-on-one sessions with Polish projects seeking U.S. partners. The non-competitive event is designed to foster potential co-productions and was hosted by Deadline.
In the wider festival,...
- 11/16/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
As the definition of an independent film has shifted with the ever-expanding budget divide in American filmmaking — particularly Hollywood cutting back on its mid-range projects — when it comes time for awards season, it’s often only the highest profile of “indie films” that get recognized. While we do our best to recognize the films that often get unfortunately, a new awards has launched that honors the best of truly independent American cinema, featuring films all under a $1 million budget.
Aptly titled the American Independent Film Awards (aka AIFAs), they were voted on by international film festival programmers, U.S. based film festival programmers, and North American film critics (including yours truly.) “First and foremost, we would like to thank all film producers and distribution companies who helped us identify qualifying films and outline the categories. We’d also like to thank the international and American based film festival programmers, and...
Aptly titled the American Independent Film Awards (aka AIFAs), they were voted on by international film festival programmers, U.S. based film festival programmers, and North American film critics (including yours truly.) “First and foremost, we would like to thank all film producers and distribution companies who helped us identify qualifying films and outline the categories. We’d also like to thank the international and American based film festival programmers, and...
- 2/20/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Closet Monster (Stephen Dunn)
Writer/director Stephen Dunn’s feature debut Closet Monster cares little about convention to tell the story of Oscar Madly (Connor Jessup) growing up with a psychological revulsion to his sexual urges, all thanks to an extremely disturbing event witnessed as a child. This prologue glimpse at his youth (played by Jack Fulton) is a mash-up of tough coming-of-age-dramatics and a dark-edged imaginative whimsy that intrigues to draw you closer.
Closet Monster (Stephen Dunn)
Writer/director Stephen Dunn’s feature debut Closet Monster cares little about convention to tell the story of Oscar Madly (Connor Jessup) growing up with a psychological revulsion to his sexual urges, all thanks to an extremely disturbing event witnessed as a child. This prologue glimpse at his youth (played by Jack Fulton) is a mash-up of tough coming-of-age-dramatics and a dark-edged imaginative whimsy that intrigues to draw you closer.
- 1/20/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Wildworks Productions announced today that Mvd Entertainment Group will release John Stuart Wildman’s The Ladies Of The House on DVD, December 13th.
The critically acclaimed grindhouse-style feminist thriller is available for pre-order at Mvd here and on Amazon.
The Ladies Of The House follows the fate of two brothers, Jacob and Kai, who, along with their friend Derek, go to a dance club to celebrate Kai’s birthday. After Derek convinces the other two to follow one of the dancers home, things take a tragic turn. However, that is simply the beginning of the nightmare for the young men, because her roommates (Getty, Lin and Crystal) aren’t just fellow dancers, they are also cannibals with a fierce sense of home and family – and a taste for men. After Kai quickly falls victim to Getty and Lin and is on his way to becoming the centerpiece of that evening’s meal,...
The critically acclaimed grindhouse-style feminist thriller is available for pre-order at Mvd here and on Amazon.
The Ladies Of The House follows the fate of two brothers, Jacob and Kai, who, along with their friend Derek, go to a dance club to celebrate Kai’s birthday. After Derek convinces the other two to follow one of the dancers home, things take a tragic turn. However, that is simply the beginning of the nightmare for the young men, because her roommates (Getty, Lin and Crystal) aren’t just fellow dancers, they are also cannibals with a fierce sense of home and family – and a taste for men. After Kai quickly falls victim to Getty and Lin and is on his way to becoming the centerpiece of that evening’s meal,...
- 12/14/2016
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Zach Clark has directed a sad comedy about a dysfunctional family for what he calls "the little goth girl in all of us." Thanks, we needed it. In Little Sister, a skillful blend of humor and heartbreak (minus sappy sentiment), Clark takes us to places and head spaces we don't see coming. The wonderful Addison Timlin shines as Colleen Lunsford, the little goth girl who is now a novitiate at a New York convent. She's just short of taking her final vows, though Mother Superior (Barbara Crampton) has her doubts.
- 10/12/2016
- Rollingstone.com
After crafting one of our favorite (and most darkly uncomfortable) yuletide favorites over the last few years with White Reindeer, director Zach Clark is back with the new film Little Sister. Executive produced by Joe Swanberg, the film follows a family re-connecting, then things get a little strange. Ahead of a release in October, the first compelling trailer has now arrived.
We said in our review, “Saying Zach Clark‘s Little Sister being called a comedy does a disservice to the film seems like a slight on the genre. I know. But I don’t mean it that way. What this label does — even if it’s clarified with the word “dark” — is build an expectation that’s able to hurt the film’s true appeal. Clark and Melodie Sisk‘s script is definitely a drama first: a tough familial drama consisting of broken souls seeking an avenue to mend...
We said in our review, “Saying Zach Clark‘s Little Sister being called a comedy does a disservice to the film seems like a slight on the genre. I know. But I don’t mean it that way. What this label does — even if it’s clarified with the word “dark” — is build an expectation that’s able to hurt the film’s true appeal. Clark and Melodie Sisk‘s script is definitely a drama first: a tough familial drama consisting of broken souls seeking an avenue to mend...
- 9/1/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Saying Zach Clark‘s Little Sister being called a comedy does a disservice to the film seems like a slight on the genre. I know. But I don’t mean it that way. What this label does — even if it’s clarified with the word “dark” — is build an expectation that’s able to hurt the film’s true appeal. Clark and Melodie Sisk‘s script is definitely a drama first: a tough familial drama consisting of broken souls seeking an avenue to mend fences and remember what it was like to be whole. The humor enhances this drive by lightening the weightiness of the Lunsfords’ struggle as well as endearing them as a relatable group not so different from our own families regardless of our personal issues possibly not matching their immense tragedy.
The title dually represents young Colleen (Addison Timlin). She’s the “little sister” of the family,...
The title dually represents young Colleen (Addison Timlin). She’s the “little sister” of the family,...
- 7/29/2016
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
By Jonathan Weichsel
MoreHorror.com
Over the past year I reviewed a lot of indie horror films, some of them really good, some of them just Ok, and some of them really, really bad. The following isn't exactly a best of the year list, because I haven't watched every single film that was released, played at a film festival, or completed filming this year. Rather, these are the best movies that I reviewed for MoreHorror.com in 2015, and are all movies that I can recommend without hesitation.
Mania is directed by Jessica Cameron and stars Ellie Church. Olalla is written and directed by Amy Hesketh and stars Amy Hesketh, Jac Avila, Mila Joya, and Erix Antoine. Headless is directed by Arthur Cullipher, written by Nathan Erdel, and stars Shane Beasley, Kelsey Carlisle, Dave parker and Ellie Church. Spring is directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead and written by Justin Benson,...
MoreHorror.com
Over the past year I reviewed a lot of indie horror films, some of them really good, some of them just Ok, and some of them really, really bad. The following isn't exactly a best of the year list, because I haven't watched every single film that was released, played at a film festival, or completed filming this year. Rather, these are the best movies that I reviewed for MoreHorror.com in 2015, and are all movies that I can recommend without hesitation.
Mania is directed by Jessica Cameron and stars Ellie Church. Olalla is written and directed by Amy Hesketh and stars Amy Hesketh, Jac Avila, Mila Joya, and Erix Antoine. Headless is directed by Arthur Cullipher, written by Nathan Erdel, and stars Shane Beasley, Kelsey Carlisle, Dave parker and Ellie Church. Spring is directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead and written by Justin Benson,...
- 12/22/2015
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Filmmaker‘s Taylor Hess recently attended and reported on the U.S. in Progress series at the Champs-Élysées Film Festival. While there, she spoke to a number of female directors and producers. Below, her conversation with Applesauce producer Melodie Sisk. Filmmaker: What was your timeline on Applesauce? Sisk: Applesauce moved so fast! We essentially had no real pre-production and had to jump right in. This made our schedule erratic, we’d shoot a few days at a time, jumping around between holidays, and then, just like that, we premiered at Tribeca exactly five months to the date of our first day of shooting. It […]...
- 6/27/2015
- by Taylor Hess
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Filmmaker‘s Taylor Hess recently attended and reported on the U.S. in Progress series at the Champs-Élysées Film Festival. While there, she spoke to a number of female directors and producers. Below, her conversation with Applesauce producer Melodie Sisk. Filmmaker: What was your timeline on Applesauce? Sisk: Applesauce moved so fast! We essentially had no real pre-production and had to jump right in. This made our schedule erratic, we’d shoot a few days at a time, jumping around between holidays, and then, just like that, we premiered at Tribeca exactly five months to the date of our first day of shooting. It […]...
- 6/27/2015
- by Taylor Hess
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Reviewed by Jonathan Weichsel
MoreHorror.com
The Ladies of the House
Starring: Farah White, Melodie Sisk, Brina Palencia, Belladonna, Gabriel Horn, Samrat Chakrabarti, Rj Hanson, and Frank Mosley
Directed by: John Stewart Wildman
When you're a film critic, your inbox and Facebook messenger can get clogged with so many requests to review films that it can be overwhelming. I get maybe five or six requests to review movies a day, coming from everybody from professional publicists, to teenage filmmakers making movies in their parent's backyards, and everybody in between. And the thing is, you have to say no to most of these movies, because you know that most of them are going to suck and you'd drive yourself crazy watching them, and also because you simply don't have the time.
Still, when director John Stewart Wildman sent me an unsolicited email to review his film (how these people find my...
MoreHorror.com
The Ladies of the House
Starring: Farah White, Melodie Sisk, Brina Palencia, Belladonna, Gabriel Horn, Samrat Chakrabarti, Rj Hanson, and Frank Mosley
Directed by: John Stewart Wildman
When you're a film critic, your inbox and Facebook messenger can get clogged with so many requests to review films that it can be overwhelming. I get maybe five or six requests to review movies a day, coming from everybody from professional publicists, to teenage filmmakers making movies in their parent's backyards, and everybody in between. And the thing is, you have to say no to most of these movies, because you know that most of them are going to suck and you'd drive yourself crazy watching them, and also because you simply don't have the time.
Still, when director John Stewart Wildman sent me an unsolicited email to review his film (how these people find my...
- 6/25/2015
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Title: The Ladies of the House Director: John Wildman Starring: Farah White, Melodie Sisk, Brina Palencia, Michelle Sinclair, Gabriel Horn, Samrat Chakrabarti and Rj Hanson People are often forced to contend with, and find ways to overcome, many obstacles that are presented to them as they try to realize their short- and long-term goals. Whether they’re just hoping to capture a moment’s worth of fun, or fulfill their life-long dream of being cherished and remembered by society, finding a way to conquer their obstacles in order to achieve those plans can be a difficult, but at-times rewarding, process. The new independent horror thriller, ‘The Ladies of the House,’ which marks [ Read More ]
The post The Ladies of the House Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Ladies of the House Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 5/31/2015
- by Karen Benardello
- ShockYa
Title: Summer of Blood Dark Sky Films Director: Onur Tukel Writer: Onur Tukel Cast: Onur Tukel, Anna Margaret Hollyman, Dakota Goldhor, Jason Selvig, Melodie Sisk, Juliette Fairley, Vanna Pilgrim, Keith Poulson, Jerry Raik, Dustin Guy Defa Running time: 86 min, Not Rated (Language, Sexuality, Gore) Special Features: Deleted/Extended Scenes, Commentary with Onur Tukel, Behind the Scenes, Trailer Available November 11 Erik Sparrow’s (Onur Tukel) 3 year relationship just ended after he refused his girlfriend Jody’s (Anna Margaret Hollyman) proposal. How he landed a girl like that I can’t imagine. Does she have low self esteem? Erik supposedly has a micropenis and is terrible in bed; that should’ve been a deal [ Read More ]
The post Summer of Blood DVD Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Summer of Blood DVD Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 11/21/2014
- by juliana
- ShockYa
Out here in Southern California it's been hovering around 90 degrees for the passed few days and that's really gotten summertime on our minds. Mpi is apparently feeling the warmth to as their latest acquisition will see them celebrating a Summer of Blood.
According to Deadline the hipster horror comedy Summer Of Blood, from writer-director Onur Tukel (Richard’s Wedding, Septien), has been acquired by Mpi Media Group after debuting at last month’s Tribeca Film Festival.
Tukel also stars in the indie as Erik Sparrow, a selfish, schlubby NYC hipster whose miserable life turns around when he meets a vampire in Brooklyn and becomes a blood-sucker himself.
Mpi’s Dark Sky Films will debut the pic, described as “Curb Your Enthusiasm meets True Blood,” in a Fall 2014 theatrical run and DVD/VOD release. Summer Of Blood also stars Anna Margaret Hollyman, Dakota Goldhor, Dustin Guy, Melodie Sisk, and Jason Selvig.
According to Deadline the hipster horror comedy Summer Of Blood, from writer-director Onur Tukel (Richard’s Wedding, Septien), has been acquired by Mpi Media Group after debuting at last month’s Tribeca Film Festival.
Tukel also stars in the indie as Erik Sparrow, a selfish, schlubby NYC hipster whose miserable life turns around when he meets a vampire in Brooklyn and becomes a blood-sucker himself.
Mpi’s Dark Sky Films will debut the pic, described as “Curb Your Enthusiasm meets True Blood,” in a Fall 2014 theatrical run and DVD/VOD release. Summer Of Blood also stars Anna Margaret Hollyman, Dakota Goldhor, Dustin Guy, Melodie Sisk, and Jason Selvig.
- 5/1/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Whoever designed the new poster for the upcoming film The Ladies of the House should be given the job of designing every movie poster... ever. We've got it right here for you to soak in as well as info on upcoming screenings.
The Ladies of the House will be making its world premiere at the Dallas International Film Festival on April 4-5 and then screen immediately afterward at the Sarasota Film Festival on April 7-8.
The film was directed by John Stuart Wildman, who co-wrote the picture with Justina Walford. It stars Farah White (Ex-Terminators, Daylight's End), Melodie Sisk (White Reindeer, Summer of Blood), Brina Palencia ("The Walking Dead," "Star-Crossed"), adult film star Michelle "Belladonna" Sinclair, Samrat Chakrabarti (The Waiting City, "Damages"), Gabriel Horn ("Ghostbreakers", Carried Away) and Rj Hanson.
And in spite of the bit of playfulness in the opening paragraph, we do actually know who created the lovely poster below.
The Ladies of the House will be making its world premiere at the Dallas International Film Festival on April 4-5 and then screen immediately afterward at the Sarasota Film Festival on April 7-8.
The film was directed by John Stuart Wildman, who co-wrote the picture with Justina Walford. It stars Farah White (Ex-Terminators, Daylight's End), Melodie Sisk (White Reindeer, Summer of Blood), Brina Palencia ("The Walking Dead," "Star-Crossed"), adult film star Michelle "Belladonna" Sinclair, Samrat Chakrabarti (The Waiting City, "Damages"), Gabriel Horn ("Ghostbreakers", Carried Away) and Rj Hanson.
And in spite of the bit of playfulness in the opening paragraph, we do actually know who created the lovely poster below.
- 3/24/2014
- by Scott Hallam
- DreadCentral.com
Zach Clark’s White Reindeer is not your average Christmas tale. Flush with WASPy cheer, real estate agent Suzanne Barrington (the note-perfect Anna Margaret Hollyman) eagerly anticipates the holiday until her meteorologist husband Jeff is whacked in their suburban home. What follows is an earnest and surprising unravelling as Suzanne rides a second wave of grief upon the discovery of Jeff’s affair with a stripper. With a script both original and subversive, Clark and his producers Daryl Pittman and Melodie Sisk went out to finance White Reindeer as the debt crisis hit. Clark was kind enough to reflect upon the process […]...
- 12/6/2013
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Zach Clark’s White Reindeer is not your average Christmas tale. Flush with WASPy cheer, real estate agent Suzanne Barrington (the note-perfect Anna Margaret Hollyman) eagerly anticipates the holiday until her meteorologist husband Jeff is whacked in their suburban home. What follows is an earnest and surprising unravelling as Suzanne rides a second wave of grief upon the discovery of Jeff’s affair with a stripper. With a script both original and subversive, Clark and his producers Daryl Pittman and Melodie Sisk went out to finance White Reindeer as the debt crisis hit. Clark was kind enough to reflect upon the process […]...
- 12/6/2013
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Sun Belt Express and Lake Los Angeles win main prizes.
The third Us in Progress Wrocław - a works-in-progress event targeted at Us independent filmmakers and European buyers - has handed its main prizes to Sun Belt Express and Lake Los Angeles.
This year, six films selected from around 40 submissions competed for prizes consisting of post-production and promotional services worth $60,000.
The main awards went to Sun Belt Express by Evan Wolf Buxbaum, produced by Noah Lang and Iyabo Boyd, and Lake Los Angeles by Mike Ott, produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari.
Sun Belt Express received Di image post-production from Platige Image studio (Warsaw), foley from Aeroplan Studio (Warsaw), final sound mix from Alvernia Studios (Kraków) and soundtrack from composer Maciej Zieliński of Soundflower Studio (Warsaw).
Lake Los Angeles was offered Di image post-production from Di Factory studio (Warsaw), foley from Aeroplan Studio (Warsaw), Dcp creation from Dcinex, subtitling from Vsi Paris/Chinkel and the promotional award from Europa...
The third Us in Progress Wrocław - a works-in-progress event targeted at Us independent filmmakers and European buyers - has handed its main prizes to Sun Belt Express and Lake Los Angeles.
This year, six films selected from around 40 submissions competed for prizes consisting of post-production and promotional services worth $60,000.
The main awards went to Sun Belt Express by Evan Wolf Buxbaum, produced by Noah Lang and Iyabo Boyd, and Lake Los Angeles by Mike Ott, produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari.
Sun Belt Express received Di image post-production from Platige Image studio (Warsaw), foley from Aeroplan Studio (Warsaw), final sound mix from Alvernia Studios (Kraków) and soundtrack from composer Maciej Zieliński of Soundflower Studio (Warsaw).
Lake Los Angeles was offered Di image post-production from Di Factory studio (Warsaw), foley from Aeroplan Studio (Warsaw), Dcp creation from Dcinex, subtitling from Vsi Paris/Chinkel and the promotional award from Europa...
- 10/27/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
IFC Films acquired North American rights to the Zach Clark-directed comedy White Reindeer, which stars Anna Margaret Hollyman, Laura Lemar-Goldsborough, Lydia Johnson, Joe Swanberg and Chris Doubek. Clark, who wrote the script, produced with Daryl Pittman and Melodie Sisk, Kevin Clark and Joan Peacock are exec producers. The film will have a day and date release in theaters and will also premiere digitally on December 6, 2013. Logline: a shell-shocked real estate agent grapples with personal tragedy while fumbling to let loose among strip clubs, department stores, and swinging new neighbors during one sad, strange December in suburban Virginia. Cinetic repped it.
- 9/30/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
An ennui-filled nurse attempts to spice up her life by becoming a dominatrix in Zach Clark’s wickedly twisted feature-length comedy Modern Love Is Automatic, which has recently been uploaded in full online. Watch it embedded above, but be forewarned, it is definitely Nsfw or to watch with children around.
Modern Love Is Automatic roared across the underground film festival a few years ago, racking up numerous awards at the at the Arizona, Atlanta, Melbourne and Boston Underground Film Festivals. In fact, we loved it ourselves so much we named it runner up to Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film’s 2009 Movie of the Year, in a very tight race.
There’s so much to love about the film from Clark’s colorful and uniquely deadpan filmmaking style to star Melodie Sisk’s pitch-perfect bored housewife performance to Maggie Ross’ hilarious scene-stealing turn as an aspiring model who works...
Modern Love Is Automatic roared across the underground film festival a few years ago, racking up numerous awards at the at the Arizona, Atlanta, Melbourne and Boston Underground Film Festivals. In fact, we loved it ourselves so much we named it runner up to Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film’s 2009 Movie of the Year, in a very tight race.
There’s so much to love about the film from Clark’s colorful and uniquely deadpan filmmaking style to star Melodie Sisk’s pitch-perfect bored housewife performance to Maggie Ross’ hilarious scene-stealing turn as an aspiring model who works...
- 8/12/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
On the eve of principal photography for the film Stripped, Wildworks Productions, director/producer John Wildman, and producers Farah White, Adam Dietrich and Justina Walford announced key changes in the cast, with Melodie Sisk, Gabriel Horn and R.J. Hanson joining the horror thriller.
Filming is set to begin in Dallas, Texas on Friday, June 8.
Sisk has been cast to play the leader of a “family” of malevolent women that threaten the lives of a trio of young men on a birthday outing, with Horn and Sanford set to play two brothers that are part of that trio. Sisk and Horn replace the previously announced Tiffany Shepis and Michael Guarnera.
Wildman said, “We couldn’t be more excited by these additions to the film. Melodie and Gabriel are both accomplished indie producers as well as actors with a proven talent for challenging themselves and audiences with their past projects. All...
Filming is set to begin in Dallas, Texas on Friday, June 8.
Sisk has been cast to play the leader of a “family” of malevolent women that threaten the lives of a trio of young men on a birthday outing, with Horn and Sanford set to play two brothers that are part of that trio. Sisk and Horn replace the previously announced Tiffany Shepis and Michael Guarnera.
Wildman said, “We couldn’t be more excited by these additions to the film. Melodie and Gabriel are both accomplished indie producers as well as actors with a proven talent for challenging themselves and audiences with their past projects. All...
- 6/6/2012
- shocktillyoudrop.com
After a couple of years of talking about John Wildman's horror flick Stripped, things are finally moving, and the flick is ready to go before cameras with some new additions to the cast. Read on for details. Dig it!
From the Press Release
On the eve of principal photography for the film Stripped, Wildworks Productions, director/producer John Wildman, and producers Farah White, Adam Dietrich and Justina Walford announced key changes in the cast, with Melodie Sisk, Gabriel Horn and R.J. Hanson joining the horror thriller. Filming is set to begin in Dallas, Texas on Friday, June 8. Sisk has been cast to play the leader of a “family” of malevolent women that threaten the lives of a trio of young men on a birthday outing, with Horn and Sanford set to play two brothers that are part of that trio. Sisk and Horn replace the previously announced Tiffany Shepis and Michael Guarnera.
From the Press Release
On the eve of principal photography for the film Stripped, Wildworks Productions, director/producer John Wildman, and producers Farah White, Adam Dietrich and Justina Walford announced key changes in the cast, with Melodie Sisk, Gabriel Horn and R.J. Hanson joining the horror thriller. Filming is set to begin in Dallas, Texas on Friday, June 8. Sisk has been cast to play the leader of a “family” of malevolent women that threaten the lives of a trio of young men on a birthday outing, with Horn and Sanford set to play two brothers that are part of that trio. Sisk and Horn replace the previously announced Tiffany Shepis and Michael Guarnera.
- 6/6/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
White Reindeer is the new indie film comedy by filmmaker Zach Clark that will go into production this winter and for which he’s raising production funds via Kickstarter.
This will be Clark’s third film made with his partners Daryl Pittman and Melodie Sisk following the film festival hits Modern Love Is Automatic and Vacation!, both of which are beloved here at Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film. Clark has a unique low-key comic approach to outrageous subject matter and situations that sounds like will be full on display once again in White Reindeer.
The film is a twisted Christmas story in which housewife Suzanne Barrington, who forms an unlikely friendship with her murdered husband’s mistress, an exotic dancer named Fantasia. And that friendship sends Suzanne down into a swirling morass of depravity and criminality from which her friends try to help her escape.
Pittman will be...
This will be Clark’s third film made with his partners Daryl Pittman and Melodie Sisk following the film festival hits Modern Love Is Automatic and Vacation!, both of which are beloved here at Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film. Clark has a unique low-key comic approach to outrageous subject matter and situations that sounds like will be full on display once again in White Reindeer.
The film is a twisted Christmas story in which housewife Suzanne Barrington, who forms an unlikely friendship with her murdered husband’s mistress, an exotic dancer named Fantasia. And that friendship sends Suzanne down into a swirling morass of depravity and criminality from which her friends try to help her escape.
Pittman will be...
- 8/29/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Zach Clark’s third feature film Vacation! is a throwback to the late ’80s/early ’90s era of indie filmmaking. Its most obvious antecedent being Johnathan Demme’s 1986 film Something Wild, particularly in the way both films start out as lighthearted romps and eventually turn into much darker and explosive territory.
However, where Demme’s brutal second half comes as a total shock to unprepared viewers, Clark teases from the outset that not everything is going to end up ok for his four female leads — a quartet of college dorm friends who have drifted apart over the years and gather for a weekend at a rented beach house in North Carolina. Actually, that set-up also vaguely recalls another ’80s film, the Troma cult classic Mother’s Day. Although Vacation! doesn’t descend anywhere near into that film’s unbridled depravity, it does enjoy its own peripheral sleaziness.
In Vacation!, Clark...
However, where Demme’s brutal second half comes as a total shock to unprepared viewers, Clark teases from the outset that not everything is going to end up ok for his four female leads — a quartet of college dorm friends who have drifted apart over the years and gather for a weekend at a rented beach house in North Carolina. Actually, that set-up also vaguely recalls another ’80s film, the Troma cult classic Mother’s Day. Although Vacation! doesn’t descend anywhere near into that film’s unbridled depravity, it does enjoy its own peripheral sleaziness.
In Vacation!, Clark...
- 8/9/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Year: 2010
Directors: Zach Clark
Writers: Zach Clark
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Imagine if Bret Easton Ellis and Daniel Clowes wrote a script approved by Fisherspooner and tinkered by Gregg Araki and you're almost at the point where you'd find Vacation! It's an art pop movie about four highly strung young women who rent a house by the ocean for a week, drink margaritas, hang out on the beach and buy drugs from the local surfer. Directed by Zach Clark (Modern Love Is Automatic), it's a dark comedy, "about life, death, sex, drugs and other sh*t that totally fu**s you up."
Suger (Maggie Ross) calls her friends Dee-dee (Melodie Sisk), Donna (Trieste Kelly Dunn) and Lorelei (Lydia Hyslop) and suggests a trip to the beach, so they pile into the car and zoom off on their holiday. "Got any green stuff?" asks Dee-dee,...
Directors: Zach Clark
Writers: Zach Clark
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Imagine if Bret Easton Ellis and Daniel Clowes wrote a script approved by Fisherspooner and tinkered by Gregg Araki and you're almost at the point where you'd find Vacation! It's an art pop movie about four highly strung young women who rent a house by the ocean for a week, drink margaritas, hang out on the beach and buy drugs from the local surfer. Directed by Zach Clark (Modern Love Is Automatic), it's a dark comedy, "about life, death, sex, drugs and other sh*t that totally fu**s you up."
Suger (Maggie Ross) calls her friends Dee-dee (Melodie Sisk), Donna (Trieste Kelly Dunn) and Lorelei (Lydia Hyslop) and suggests a trip to the beach, so they pile into the car and zoom off on their holiday. "Got any green stuff?" asks Dee-dee,...
- 6/20/2010
- QuietEarth.us
The seventh annual CineKink Film Festival is set to undress for all kinky filmgoers in New York City on February 16-21. Included in the lineup are two fantastic, slightly dirty underground films, plus a full smorgasbord of sexy cinematic goodness.
The opening night festivities will begin on the 16th at the Kush Lounge (191 Chrystie St.) with music and performances, plus a screening of the lesbian ode to bestiality (sort of) The Sheep and the Ranch Hand, a beautiful and hilarious film by San Francisco filmmaker Loretta Hintz, and a newly found “lost” film by notorious ’60s radical, criminal and filmmaker J.X. Williams.
Then, on the 17th, the original museum of film, the Anthology Film Archives, will be transformed into an erotic museum when CineKink moves there for the duration of the rest of the festival.
But, on the 19th, don’t dare miss the wonderful S&M comedy Modern Love Is Automatic...
The opening night festivities will begin on the 16th at the Kush Lounge (191 Chrystie St.) with music and performances, plus a screening of the lesbian ode to bestiality (sort of) The Sheep and the Ranch Hand, a beautiful and hilarious film by San Francisco filmmaker Loretta Hintz, and a newly found “lost” film by notorious ’60s radical, criminal and filmmaker J.X. Williams.
Then, on the 17th, the original museum of film, the Anthology Film Archives, will be transformed into an erotic museum when CineKink moves there for the duration of the rest of the festival.
But, on the 19th, don’t dare miss the wonderful S&M comedy Modern Love Is Automatic...
- 2/10/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
One of the great things about producing Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film is that it has introduced me to the work of underground filmmakers from all over the world that I would not have heard of otherwise. Sure, there are tons of fantastic, talented filmmakers in the U.S. whose work I love seeing and reviewing, but there’s something exciting — especially as someone who’s rarely ever traveled — about getting DVDs from foreign lands.
Also, I wrote on the site recently that I didn’t know what types of films could truly be called “innovative” these days. “Innovative” doesn’t automatically conjure up a stamp of quality, of course. Plus, this past year I’ve seen tons of films that have been uniquely creative and have pushed boundaries. Many of the films that ended up as runners-up to this year’s “Movie of the Year” have totally...
Also, I wrote on the site recently that I didn’t know what types of films could truly be called “innovative” these days. “Innovative” doesn’t automatically conjure up a stamp of quality, of course. Plus, this past year I’ve seen tons of films that have been uniquely creative and have pushed boundaries. Many of the films that ended up as runners-up to this year’s “Movie of the Year” have totally...
- 12/17/2009
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
London -- Lynn Shelton's "Humpday" will kickstart this year's Raindance Film Festival, which includes an American Indie sidebar, organizers said Monday.
Shelton's movie, which stars Joshua Leonard and Mark Duplass, opens the London event, which aims to set itself apart from other festivals here by focusing on discoveries, innovation and indie filmmaking.
The festival will close with Steven Soderbergh's "The Girlfriend Experience" to round out a strong U.S. presence.
Also in this year's lineup is "My Suicide," featuring one of David Carradine's last turns before his death.
Steve Balderson returns to the festival with "Stuck!" starring Karen Black, Mink Stole and Susan Traylor.
Raindance will play host to the U.K. premiere of Canadian Ryan Ward's "Son of the Sunshine" and the unspooling of Zach Clark's "Modern Love Is Automatic" starring Melodie Sisk, Maggie Ross and Carlos Bustamante.
Organizers said the 17th edition of...
Shelton's movie, which stars Joshua Leonard and Mark Duplass, opens the London event, which aims to set itself apart from other festivals here by focusing on discoveries, innovation and indie filmmaking.
The festival will close with Steven Soderbergh's "The Girlfriend Experience" to round out a strong U.S. presence.
Also in this year's lineup is "My Suicide," featuring one of David Carradine's last turns before his death.
Steve Balderson returns to the festival with "Stuck!" starring Karen Black, Mink Stole and Susan Traylor.
Raindance will play host to the U.K. premiere of Canadian Ryan Ward's "Son of the Sunshine" and the unspooling of Zach Clark's "Modern Love Is Automatic" starring Melodie Sisk, Maggie Ross and Carlos Bustamante.
Organizers said the 17th edition of...
- 9/1/2009
- by By Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
SXSW is one of my favorite festivals of the year as it showcases some of the best and most innovative real independent films, and with this host of world premiers, it's also playing alot of Sundance material as well as genre fare from all over the world, many of which we've covered heavily in these pages.
From the Sundance lineup, we have films like Moon, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, You Won't Miss Me, Grace, and Humpday, among others.
For the world genre material we've covered, there's Lake Mungo, The Square, Zift, and Awaydays.
I think you get the point that lots of great looking film will be playing. I'll leave a bit of the exploration to you..
Lineup after the break.
Narrative Features Competition
Artois the Goat
Director: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle Bogart
Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest...
From the Sundance lineup, we have films like Moon, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, You Won't Miss Me, Grace, and Humpday, among others.
For the world genre material we've covered, there's Lake Mungo, The Square, Zift, and Awaydays.
I think you get the point that lots of great looking film will be playing. I'll leave a bit of the exploration to you..
Lineup after the break.
Narrative Features Competition
Artois the Goat
Director: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle Bogart
Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest...
- 2/2/2009
- QuietEarth.us
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