"The problem is that boy you were with..." Gravitas has debuted the official trailer for an indie romantic drama titled The Violent Heart, a tale of two star-crossed lovers. This initially premiered at the Deauville Film Festival last year, and is slated for a VOD release in February. Fifteen years after the murder of his older sister, Daniel finds himself falling for Cassie, a vivacious high school senior. The film is described as a "southern gothic-inspired Romeo & Juliet story set in the American heartland." Yep. Starring Jovan Adepo as Daniel, and Grace Van Patten as Cassie, along with Mary J. Blige, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Lukas Haas. This the latest film from former commercials director Kerem Sanga and, oddly, is produced by Shawn Levy & Tobey Maguire. This film looks like it carefully navigates some complex topics, telling a nuanced story of love and growth. Here's the official US ...
- 1/20/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Sometimes, when a movie ends with a twist, it makes you want to rush back and rewatch the entire story to see how the filmmakers pulled it off. Where did they hide the clues? What new insights does a closer look reveal? In other cases, it’s best just to accept the surprise and move on, salvaging what you can of the experience.
In “The Violent Heart,” writer-director Kerem Sanga (“The Young Kieslowski”) wants us to believe that we’re watching a sensitive post-racial romance about a goody-goody white Tennessee teen who challenges her family’s unexamined biases by hooking up with the local bad boy — who is Black and six years her senior — when in fact, the movie pulls a fast one in the final act. To be fair, Sanga introduces the twist early on, depicting fragments of the traumatic event that scars and shapes 9-year-old Daniel for the...
In “The Violent Heart,” writer-director Kerem Sanga (“The Young Kieslowski”) wants us to believe that we’re watching a sensitive post-racial romance about a goody-goody white Tennessee teen who challenges her family’s unexamined biases by hooking up with the local bad boy — who is Black and six years her senior — when in fact, the movie pulls a fast one in the final act. To be fair, Sanga introduces the twist early on, depicting fragments of the traumatic event that scars and shapes 9-year-old Daniel for the...
- 9/9/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Veteran indie film producer Ross Putman has been hired as an agent at Verve, where he will work alongside Amy Beecroft in the agency’s independent film sales and finance division Verve Ventures.
The move comes as Putman’s latest film as producer, the romantic comedy Plus One, is set to premiere next month at the Tribeca Film Festival. Andrew Rhymer and Jeff Chan directed the pic, which Putman produced alongside Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films and Studio71. Jack Quaid and Maya Erskine star.
He also just wrapped production on Kerem Sanga’s The Violent Heart, which Putman produced with 21 Laps and 3311. Grace Van Patten, Jovan Adepo, and Mary J Blige star in Sanga’s follow-up to the 2016 Sundance prizewinner First Girl I Loved. Upcoming projects include the punk rock indie comedy Dinner in America, also produced with Red Hour.
Putman, who began his career in development before...
The move comes as Putman’s latest film as producer, the romantic comedy Plus One, is set to premiere next month at the Tribeca Film Festival. Andrew Rhymer and Jeff Chan directed the pic, which Putman produced alongside Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films and Studio71. Jack Quaid and Maya Erskine star.
He also just wrapped production on Kerem Sanga’s The Violent Heart, which Putman produced with 21 Laps and 3311. Grace Van Patten, Jovan Adepo, and Mary J Blige star in Sanga’s follow-up to the 2016 Sundance prizewinner First Girl I Loved. Upcoming projects include the punk rock indie comedy Dinner in America, also produced with Red Hour.
Putman, who began his career in development before...
- 3/19/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Danny Leiner, the director of stoner comedies including “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” and “Dude, Where’s My Car?,” has died.
Leiner passed away late Thursday night, an individual close to Leiner told TheWrap.
Producer Ross Putman, who produced the 2014 “The Young Kieslowski” with Leiner, announced Leiner’s passing on Facebook.
“Danny was one of the producers with me on the first real film I ever made; he was not only gracious in sharing the job with some newbies just getting their sea legs, but taught us a great deal in the process,” Putman wrote. “And we collaborated a few times after that, including on the film I just finished–which he helped champion for years.”
A graduate of Suny Purchase, Leiner’s first feature film was the 1996 comedy “Layin’ Low,” starring Jeremy Piven and Edie Falco. His next feature “Dude, Where’s My Car?” in 2000 with Ashton Kutcher...
Leiner passed away late Thursday night, an individual close to Leiner told TheWrap.
Producer Ross Putman, who produced the 2014 “The Young Kieslowski” with Leiner, announced Leiner’s passing on Facebook.
“Danny was one of the producers with me on the first real film I ever made; he was not only gracious in sharing the job with some newbies just getting their sea legs, but taught us a great deal in the process,” Putman wrote. “And we collaborated a few times after that, including on the film I just finished–which he helped champion for years.”
A graduate of Suny Purchase, Leiner’s first feature film was the 1996 comedy “Layin’ Low,” starring Jeremy Piven and Edie Falco. His next feature “Dude, Where’s My Car?” in 2000 with Ashton Kutcher...
- 10/20/2018
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Most people got to known Brianna Hildebrand for the very first time through her scene-stealing performance as Negasonic Teenage Warhead in Deadpool. But if you were at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, you might have seen her a bit earlier. Hildebrand hit the festival with First Girl I Loved, a tender coming-of-age drama directed by Kerem Sanga (The Young Kieslowski). […]
The post ‘First Girl I Loved’ Trailer: Two Girls Navigate Love and Identity in Sundance Coming-of-Age Drama appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘First Girl I Loved’ Trailer: Two Girls Navigate Love and Identity in Sundance Coming-of-Age Drama appeared first on /Film.
- 8/26/2016
- by Angie Han
- Slash Film
Young love is always a flurry of excitement and terror, dominated by a wide-eyed sense of wonder and joy. But it can be difficult if two people aren’t on the same page, and even more difficult if two people are in the closet. The new film “First Girl I Loved,” which won the Next Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, follows Anne (Dylan Gelula), a high school senior and yearbook volunteer who falls in love with Sasha (Brianna Hildebrand), the most popular girl at her high school. But when Anne tells her best friend Clifton (Mateo Arias), who has always harbored a secret crush, he tries to sabotage their relationship out of jealousy. The film also stars Pamela Adlon (“Better Things”), Tim Heidecker (“Tim & Eric”), Cameron Esposito (“Take My Wife”), Erik Griffin (“Workaholics”), and Jennifer Prediger (“Apartment Troubles”). Watch the exclusive trailer below.
Read More: ‘First Girl I Loved...
Read More: ‘First Girl I Loved...
- 8/23/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Lousy Smarch is almost here and the debut schedules for all the movies and series that will be hitting Netflix in March have arrived. We also have the Amazon Prime folks covered as well! The second season of Marvel’s Daredevil and the premieres of the fourth season of House of Cards and the first season of the new comedy Flaked, with Will Arnett hit the small screen. Did you forget about the premiere of the Judd Apatow-produced Pee-wee’s Big Holiday? We didn’t.
On the Amazon Prime front, check out below to see what you’ll be able to stream for free and what’s going to have a cost. Let’s watch!
All Title Dates are Subject to Change
Netflix U.S. Release Dates Only
Available 3/1
Adult Beginners (2015)
Ahora o Nunca (2015)
Aldnoah.Zero: Season 2
American Pie Presents: Beta House (2007)
American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile...
On the Amazon Prime front, check out below to see what you’ll be able to stream for free and what’s going to have a cost. Let’s watch!
All Title Dates are Subject to Change
Netflix U.S. Release Dates Only
Available 3/1
Adult Beginners (2015)
Ahora o Nunca (2015)
Aldnoah.Zero: Season 2
American Pie Presents: Beta House (2007)
American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile...
- 2/23/2016
- by Graham McMorrow
- City of Films
Netflix is delivering the goods in March 2016.
Mark your calendars: Season 2 of "Marvel's Daredevil" debuts March 18, as does "Pee-wee's Big Holiday." And President Underwood returns March 4 with Season 4 of "House of Cards."
And prepare to yell "Khaaaaan!" to your heart's content as "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982) is added to Netflix streaming on March 1. Also new to Netflix in March: "Groundhog Day" (1993), "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991), and "Scarface" (1983).
Available March 1, 2016
"Adult Beginners" (2015)
"Ahora o Nunca" (2015)
"Aldnoah.Zero: Season 2
"American Pie Presents: Beta House" (2007)
"American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile" (2006)
"Before We Go" (2015)
"Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland" (2016)
"El Desconocido" (2015)
"Fresh Meat: Series 2
"Frog Kingdom" (2013)
"Good Burger" (1997)
"Groundhog Day" (1993)
"Heaven Knows What" (2015)
"Hot Sugar's Cold World" (2015)
"Midsomer Murders: Series 17
"Narcopolis" (2015)
"Road Trip: Beer Pong" (2009)
"Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991)
"Scarface" (1983)
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979)
"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982)
"The Young Kieslowski...
Mark your calendars: Season 2 of "Marvel's Daredevil" debuts March 18, as does "Pee-wee's Big Holiday." And President Underwood returns March 4 with Season 4 of "House of Cards."
And prepare to yell "Khaaaaan!" to your heart's content as "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982) is added to Netflix streaming on March 1. Also new to Netflix in March: "Groundhog Day" (1993), "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991), and "Scarface" (1983).
Available March 1, 2016
"Adult Beginners" (2015)
"Ahora o Nunca" (2015)
"Aldnoah.Zero: Season 2
"American Pie Presents: Beta House" (2007)
"American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile" (2006)
"Before We Go" (2015)
"Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland" (2016)
"El Desconocido" (2015)
"Fresh Meat: Series 2
"Frog Kingdom" (2013)
"Good Burger" (1997)
"Groundhog Day" (1993)
"Heaven Knows What" (2015)
"Hot Sugar's Cold World" (2015)
"Midsomer Murders: Series 17
"Narcopolis" (2015)
"Road Trip: Beer Pong" (2009)
"Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991)
"Scarface" (1983)
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979)
"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982)
"The Young Kieslowski...
- 2/22/2016
- by Sharon Knolle
- Moviefone
How's this for a freaky Monday?! It seems like yesterday when we first watched Lindsay Lohan try not to strangle her big-screen brother in Disney's Freaky Friday. But more than 12 years after the film became a huge hit, we've found out the irresistible sibling played by Ryan Malgarini has grown up into a mature, handsome young man. At 23 years young, Malgarini is still acting and most recently starred in the TV series Resident Advisors. He also scored roles in Mike & Molly and Bones. This past summer, he traveled to the Los Angeles and Cleveland International Film Festival where his film The Young Kieslowski collected a number of awards. After all of these years, however,...
- 9/28/2015
- E! Online
My basic advice for indie film success: stay ambitious. Sometimes you have to compromise, sure. But that shouldn't be your first thought. Got a crazy location in your film? If you have time on your side — that is to say, no money for production yet — then stay ambitious with that location. For instance, let's suppose you want to shoot in Nasa mission control. I would budget at least two years to establish residence in Houston, befriend a few employees, learn everything you can about shooting regulations and so forth. Now, you’ll probably never get permission, and even if you did, maybe two years of life isn't worth it. This is an extreme example, of course, but you get the idea. Read More: Mance Media Acquires Global Rights to L.A. Film Festival Winner "The Young Kieslowski" In "The Young Kieslowski," our mission control was the Caltech University campus in Pasadena,...
- 7/24/2015
- by Kerem Sanga
- Indiewire
R.L. Stine's Goosebumps novels have been terrifying children since 1992, and inspired Cavity Colors to create apparel based on the 11th book in the series, The Haunted Mask. Also: Ejecta Blu-ray details, The Last Survivors trailer, and Clowntown photos.
Cavity Colors's The Killer Mask: R.L. Stine's The Haunted Mask tells the story of a girl who discovers that the Halloween mask she purchased has become permanently attached to her face.
The Killer Mask collection of apparel was designed by artists Coki Greenway and Aaron Crawford. With a retail price of $24.00 apiece, The Killer Mask T-Shirt and Tank Top are black in color and 100% Cotton. The limited edition print is priced at $40.00, and the stickers / buttons are priced at $10.00 for a pack of two.
For more information on this apparel, visit the Cavity Colors online shop.
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Ejecta: Press Release: "From the writer of Pontypool and Septic Man comes Ejecta,...
Cavity Colors's The Killer Mask: R.L. Stine's The Haunted Mask tells the story of a girl who discovers that the Halloween mask she purchased has become permanently attached to her face.
The Killer Mask collection of apparel was designed by artists Coki Greenway and Aaron Crawford. With a retail price of $24.00 apiece, The Killer Mask T-Shirt and Tank Top are black in color and 100% Cotton. The limited edition print is priced at $40.00, and the stickers / buttons are priced at $10.00 for a pack of two.
For more information on this apparel, visit the Cavity Colors online shop.
---------
Ejecta: Press Release: "From the writer of Pontypool and Septic Man comes Ejecta,...
- 7/17/2015
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Last week's MPAA bulletin had two titles and both were notable releases, this week has nine titles and only one of them really moves the dial... at all. That one being Stonewall, which I'm sure most people drooling over Roland Emmerich's current project, Independence Day: Resurgence, forgot all about. Well, if you're in that camp, let me remind you. Stonewall is a drama centered on the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York, an event widely considered the starting point for the modern gay civil rights movement. The movie stars Jeremy Irvine, Caleb Landry Jones, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ron Perlman, Joey King and Karl Glusman. Here's the synopsis: Kicked out of his own home, young Danny Winters (Jeremy Irvine) flees to NY, leaving behind his beloved sister (Joey King). Homeless and destitute, he befriends a group of street kids who soon introduce him to the watering hole of the local drag queens,...
- 7/14/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Rising Stars From ‘Deadpool,’ ‘Kimmy Schmidt’ Set for Indie Romance ‘First Girl I Loved’ (Exclusive)
Rising stars Dylan Gelula (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) and Brianna Hildebrand (“Deadpool”) are set to star in Kerem Sanga’s indie “First Girl I Loved,” a romantic dramedy about a burgeoning romance between two teenage girls, TheWrap has learned. Mateo Arias (Disney’s “Kickin’ It”) co-stars alongside Pamela Adlon (“Louie”), Tim Heidecker (“Entertainment”), Erik Griffin (“Workaholics”) and Cameron Esposito (“Maron”). Sanga, whose previous film “The Young Kieslowski” won the audience award at last year’s La Film Festival, wrote the script and is directing the movie. Also Read: 8 Biggest Winners of Comic-Con: 'Suicide Squad,' 'Deadpool,' 'Outlander' Top...
- 7/13/2015
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
Read More: Laff Review: 'The Young Kieslowski' is Yet Another Pregnancy Comedy A new exclusive trailer for "The Young Kieslowski" finds two students accidentally expecting after a drunken encounter at a college party. The film follows an intelligent physics student, Brian Kieslowski (Ryan Malgarini), who drunkenly loses his virginity to the equally-inexperienced Leslie Mallard (Haley Lu Richardson). The two soon find that Leslie is pregnant and seemingly wants to keep the child and start a life together. Despite the film's serious premise -- and its grappling with the choice to not have an abortion at a young age -- it's a comedy, relying on Brian's missteps and awkwardness for laughs. The story explores the nature of first relationships, along with how to control unexpected conflict while just being a college student. "The Young Kieslowski" won the Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and will premiere in...
- 7/13/2015
- by Meredith Mattlin
- Indiewire
Shout! Factory TV is spreading fear all summer long with a plethora of classic films including John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper's Body Bags. Also: a Cthulhu Vinyl Bank from Diamond Select Toys and Blu-ray and DVD release details for The Last Survivors.
Shout! Factory TV's Summer of Fear: Press Release: "This July, summer hats up with a plethora of new programming on Shout! Factory TV that is sure to beat those binge cravings. Shout! Factory TV is unveiling Summer of Fear, a fright fest sure to please! A collection of classic horror films debut this month, featuring Body Bags, Day of the Dead, Night of the Demons, Q: The Winged Serpent, The Final Terror and many more.
Shout! Factory TV grants an insider’s insight into these films with the premiere of audio commentaries on the streaming service. This month, directors John Carpenter, George A. Romero, Kevin Tenney,...
Shout! Factory TV's Summer of Fear: Press Release: "This July, summer hats up with a plethora of new programming on Shout! Factory TV that is sure to beat those binge cravings. Shout! Factory TV is unveiling Summer of Fear, a fright fest sure to please! A collection of classic horror films debut this month, featuring Body Bags, Day of the Dead, Night of the Demons, Q: The Winged Serpent, The Final Terror and many more.
Shout! Factory TV grants an insider’s insight into these films with the premiere of audio commentaries on the streaming service. This month, directors John Carpenter, George A. Romero, Kevin Tenney,...
- 7/4/2015
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Kerem Sanga’s The Young Kieslowski earned Best American Independent Feature award as the 18th Sonoma International Film Festival came to a close.
Afia Nathaniel’s Dukhtar (pictured) was named Best World Feature and Galen Knowles’ Far From Home won best documentary.
Best Narrative Short went to God Has His Head In The Clouds by Gianluca Sodaro, Cindy Allen’s Fish Out of Water won Best Documentary Short and Best Animated Short was presented to Jack Anderson for Wirecutters.
The Stolman Audience Award of $1,000 for Best American Independent Feature went to The Week by John W Mann and Jon Gunn, while Jeffrey Brown’s Sold claimed the $1,000 A³ Audience Award for world cinema prize and Cowspiracy by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn took the $1,000 A³ Audience Award for best documentary.
“We are already looking forward to our 19th,” said festival executive director Kevin W McNeely. “Our 18th reached a new high of films from around the world...
Afia Nathaniel’s Dukhtar (pictured) was named Best World Feature and Galen Knowles’ Far From Home won best documentary.
Best Narrative Short went to God Has His Head In The Clouds by Gianluca Sodaro, Cindy Allen’s Fish Out of Water won Best Documentary Short and Best Animated Short was presented to Jack Anderson for Wirecutters.
The Stolman Audience Award of $1,000 for Best American Independent Feature went to The Week by John W Mann and Jon Gunn, while Jeffrey Brown’s Sold claimed the $1,000 A³ Audience Award for world cinema prize and Cowspiracy by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn took the $1,000 A³ Audience Award for best documentary.
“We are already looking forward to our 19th,” said festival executive director Kevin W McNeely. “Our 18th reached a new high of films from around the world...
- 4/1/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
"Just make a movie." That was "Short Term 12" producer Asher Goldstein’s advice for first-time filmmakers at the production case studies panel at the Film Independent Forum in October: Just make it, "not to make a ton of money—or make your money back, even—just making a movie, just to make it, to prove that you can." Read More: What I Wish I Knew About Film Distribution Before Self-Distributing "I Am Not a Hipster" Goldstein, his producing partner Ron Najor and "Land Ho!" writer-director Aaron Katz were on the panel discussing their films' paths to the big screen. Moderating the panel was Seth Caplan, producer of "The Young Kieslowski," which premiered at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival, and Spirit Award winner "In Search of a Midnight Kiss," which he discussed on this same panel at a past Forum. "I was in one of your guys’ seats a few years ago,...
- 1/21/2015
- by Mary Sollosi
- Indiewire
Previous | Image 1 of 12 | NextFilmmaker and activist Michael Moore introduced ‘Roger and Me.’
Chicago – As the 2014 edition of the 50th Chicago International Film Festival ends on October 23rd, HollywoodChicago.com spotlights the Red Carpet events with a collection of Exclusive Portraits from photographer Joe Arce. Directors are highlighted, as filmmakers ranging from Oliver Stone to Michael Moore are featured.
Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All images © Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com.
CIFF1: Filmmaker and activist Michael Moore introduced ‘Roger and Me.’ CIFF2: Actress Kathleen Turner at the 50th Chicago International Film Festival. CIFF3: Oliver Stone introduced his films ‘Natural Born Killers’ & ‘Alexander.’ CIFF4: Director Taylor Hackford presented his film ‘White Nights.’ CIFF5: Director Richard Lagravenese debuted ‘The Last 5 Years.’ CIFF6: Director Margarethe Von Trotta served on the International Feature Film jury.
Chicago – As the 2014 edition of the 50th Chicago International Film Festival ends on October 23rd, HollywoodChicago.com spotlights the Red Carpet events with a collection of Exclusive Portraits from photographer Joe Arce. Directors are highlighted, as filmmakers ranging from Oliver Stone to Michael Moore are featured.
Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All images © Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com.
CIFF1: Filmmaker and activist Michael Moore introduced ‘Roger and Me.’ CIFF2: Actress Kathleen Turner at the 50th Chicago International Film Festival. CIFF3: Oliver Stone introduced his films ‘Natural Born Killers’ & ‘Alexander.’ CIFF4: Director Taylor Hackford presented his film ‘White Nights.’ CIFF5: Director Richard Lagravenese debuted ‘The Last 5 Years.’ CIFF6: Director Margarethe Von Trotta served on the International Feature Film jury.
- 10/23/2014
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
You can’t win ‘em all. Sometimes the challenge with a film festival, as opposed to say a music festival, is that not everything you see will be good. Sometimes you may decide it just wasn’t for you, and sometimes you wonder why they even decided to choose that film in the first place.
The Young Kieslowski was this year’s dud. It broke the rule I held that there are no romantic leads named “Brian”, and if there are fictional Brians they end up writing term papers while everyone else gets paired off with Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheady. And yet it doesn’t help that Brian Kieslowski is remarkably repellent.
Hardly an edgy sex comedy on par with any college-aged romp you can imagine from the last 10 years, and trying desperately to be a mix of Ferris Bueller, Juno and maybe a dash of 500 Days of Summer,...
The Young Kieslowski was this year’s dud. It broke the rule I held that there are no romantic leads named “Brian”, and if there are fictional Brians they end up writing term papers while everyone else gets paired off with Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheady. And yet it doesn’t help that Brian Kieslowski is remarkably repellent.
Hardly an edgy sex comedy on par with any college-aged romp you can imagine from the last 10 years, and trying desperately to be a mix of Ferris Bueller, Juno and maybe a dash of 500 Days of Summer,...
- 10/18/2014
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
The distributor has acquired Us rights to Barry Levinson’s dark comedy starring Al Pacino and Greta Gerwig, following the world premiere in Venice and North American premiere in Toronto.
Millennium Entertainment will launch an awards campaign in support of Pacino, who plays a stage actor in his twilight years who embarks upon a fateful affair with a lesbian half his age.
Millennium handles worldwide rights. ICM Partners brokered the deal with the distributor.
Mance Media has picked up world rights to Kerem Sanga’s comedy The Young Kieslowski and will introduce to buyers at Afm. The parties have earmarked a theatrical and VOD launch in the first half of 2015.
Millennium Entertainment will launch an awards campaign in support of Pacino, who plays a stage actor in his twilight years who embarks upon a fateful affair with a lesbian half his age.
Millennium handles worldwide rights. ICM Partners brokered the deal with the distributor.
Mance Media has picked up world rights to Kerem Sanga’s comedy The Young Kieslowski and will introduce to buyers at Afm. The parties have earmarked a theatrical and VOD launch in the first half of 2015.
- 9/24/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Director Kerem Sanga's film The Young Kieslowski, winner of the audience award for best narrative feature at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival, has sold to Mance Media, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Mance is planning a theatrical and VOD release for the first half of 2015. It will shop the film to international distributors at November's American Film Market. "Mance Media's enthusiasm for Kieslowski has been palpable since the day we premiered at Laff," said Sanga, who also wrote the film. "I'm very proud of this film, and I couldn't be more excited to be working with them
read more...
read more...
- 9/22/2014
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Blind knowledge is probably the best state in which to see “The Young Kieslowski” – not for fear of any plot spoilers, but because its quick synopsis might actually repel viewers before seeing a single frame. Following a geeky college student loses his virginity and impregnates his first girlfriend in one fell swoop -- as “Obvious Child” recently explored, such a premise surrounding that aftermath requires a skillful execution, and initially it seems like director Kerem Sanga’s second feature won’t take a similar consideration. However, just as a slate of recent teen dramas like “The Spectacular Now” or “Perks of Being a Wallflower” have achieved, a helping of real emotion and well-developed characters helps to right the balance, and “The Young Kieslowski” carries on in that tradition. For its majority, the film is much warmer, funnier, and pleasurable than you’d expect, as Cal Tech student Brian Kieslowski (Ryan Malgarini...
- 6/25/2014
- by Charlie Schmidlin
- The Playlist
Man From Reno, a Kickstarter-backed movie about a Japanese crime novelist investigating a murder mystery in San Francisco, won the Best Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival. “Its exploration of barriers of age, language and success set against a noir plot line infuses a pop energy into the well observed portrayal of its unique characters,” the jury stated, awarding director Dave Boyle the $5,000 prize. The film stars Ayako Fujitani as the novelist as well as Pepe Serna (Scarface) and Kazuki Kitamura (The Raid 2).
Stray Dog, Debra Granik’s first film since Winter’s Bone, won the festival prize for Best Documentary Feature.
Stray Dog, Debra Granik’s first film since Winter’s Bone, won the festival prize for Best Documentary Feature.
- 6/20/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
Top brass at the Los Angeles Film Festival unveiled the winners of jury and audience awards as the festival came to a close.
Dave Boyle earned the Narrative Award for Man From Reno, Debra Granik’s Stray Dog took documentary honours and the inaugural La Muse Award was presented to Damian John Harper for Los Ángeles.
Each award carried an unrestricted $5,000 cash prize for the winning director.
Winners of the short film awards each received a $1,500 cash prize.
Best Narrative Short Film went to The Runaway by Jean-Bernard Marlin, while Best Documentary Short Film went to The Queen by Manuel Abramovich. The Award for Best Animated or Experimental Short Film went to Hu Wei’s Butter Lamp.
In the audience awards, best narrative feature went to Kerem Sanga’s The Young Kieslowski and Geeta V Patel and Ravi V Patel’s Meet The Patels prevailed in the documentary strand.
Someone You Love by Pernille Fischer Christensen won the...
Dave Boyle earned the Narrative Award for Man From Reno, Debra Granik’s Stray Dog took documentary honours and the inaugural La Muse Award was presented to Damian John Harper for Los Ángeles.
Each award carried an unrestricted $5,000 cash prize for the winning director.
Winners of the short film awards each received a $1,500 cash prize.
Best Narrative Short Film went to The Runaway by Jean-Bernard Marlin, while Best Documentary Short Film went to The Queen by Manuel Abramovich. The Award for Best Animated or Experimental Short Film went to Hu Wei’s Butter Lamp.
In the audience awards, best narrative feature went to Kerem Sanga’s The Young Kieslowski and Geeta V Patel and Ravi V Patel’s Meet The Patels prevailed in the documentary strand.
Someone You Love by Pernille Fischer Christensen won the...
- 6/19/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
When college freshman Brian (Ryan Malgarini) meets Leslie (Haley Lu Richardson), a drunken talkative girl at a party, they both experience their first intimate encounter. Their special night forms an intense connection between them at least for that night. But when the news of an unexpected pregnancy comes knocking at their door, their follow-up plans are conflicting. Furthermore, it is not an ordinary ordeal. Leslie is expecting twins. She wants to keep them. He doesn’t, but he is too afraid to voice his wishes and plays a part he wasn’t prepared for at all. In Kerem Sanga’s debut feature the “The Young Kieslowski”, comedy is the vehicle for the characters to grapple with their new life-changing circumstances. Can they make it work? Will their parents approve? Or will they crumble at the face of just difficult premise?
Director Kerem Sanga, producer Danny Leiner ("Dude, Where's My Car?," "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle") and stars Ryan Malgarini and Haley Lu Richardson shared with us their thoughts on this amusing story about decisions, unpredictable fate, and the uncertainty of young love.
The film premiered at Laff on Saturday June 14th and it screens again tonight at 6:30 Pm at the Regal L.A. Live Theaters
Carlos Aguilar: What’s the origin of the film? Does it come from anything personal or simply your desire to explore this complex relationship?
Karem Sanga: My dad and my mother got pregnant with my twin brother and me when they were in college. I though it would be pretty fun to write a movie about that and give it different characters and different situations.
Although this is fictional, my dad told me that the feeling after my mother told she was pregnant was a kind of daze. Like Brian in the film, he was just looking at everybody else and wanting to be one of them.
Aguilar: While writing the film and in the actors’ case while reading the script, did you put think of what you would have done in the characters’ situation?
My dad had a much more supportive reaction, obviously, here I am [Laughs], but then I thought, “Would I have felt that way?” When writing the film I gave in to my darkest impulses. I’d like to think that I’d be very supportive but then I also think that at his age I would have pretended to be supportive.
Haley Lu Richardson : You read something, you see a character, and you put yourself in that position and you find parts of yourself that are similar to that, parts that you can develop and will make this a different character. Especially with good writing, when I read it, it was really easy for me to do that. I started freaking out because I envisioning myself as the character in some of stressful, crazy stuff we had to go through. When a character makes me feel stressed, sad, and to feel like this guy is an idiot from Leslie Mallard’s’ perspective, it is easy to go there.
Ryan Malgarini : I’ve never been told that I was going to have twins [Laughs], as an actor you look at that and you just try to bring similar experiences of the same feeling. Like anxiety and stress, and bring that to the table for a good director like Karem who could really help guide you to how or what it feels like. Even if he hasn’t experience it, maybe some of his feelings of how should be portrayed get passed onto to me and something different is created.
Aguilar: Danny, you’ve worked in various capacities in the industry, particularly in broad comedies. What brought you this project?
Danny Leiner : Karem worked as a Pa in a movie I did in Texas. I met him when he was been starting in the industry and we just became friends during the shoot. When he came to L.A. to go to the screenwriting program at USC we kept in touch. He sent me an early version of this film and I just thought there was some potential there but it needed a lot of work. I encouraged him to really have a go at it and make it something special and that separated itself from everything else. A while later he sent me another version and I thought, “Wtf is this?” [Laughs] “This is amazing” I though it was a beautiful script. I’ve done broad comedy, but I’m just attracted to good material. He took a part of himself to create this, which was an incredible transformation.
Aguilar: Another recent film “Obvious Child” deals with pregnancy but from a woman’s perspective. In that film abortion is the fest solution the character finds for the situation. Did you ever consider that option for your characters?
Karem: I haven’t seen “Obvious Child” but I plan to. The thing about this story that was relatively easy to write was that it had this natural story to it built in, which is the pregnancy.
Did I ever think she might have the abortion? I thought about for about two seconds. I thought I had to honor the source material. I just wanted to see a character that didn’t want to have kids, have kids. I felt like that was a bigger transformation or just a worst premise for someone to go through. I never really considered ending it in any other way. I always had an ending in mind where somebody who’d been fighting this the whole time finally has to accept “Well this is what my life is now”. They say a father doesn’t really feel like a father until he sees the child, while a woman feels like a mother right when she finds out she is pregnant. So I think that was the disconnection the entire movie, he ran away from her.
Ryan: Is a real reaction, is the first thing you want to do when something like that happens, run away! [Laughs]
Haley: And you had no other social skills to know that even though that’s what you want to do, it is not what you are supposed do! [Laughs]
Aguilar: The protagonists’ story goes from a one-night stand to being faced with parenthood in a short amount of time. They are thrown into a serious relationship without having had a chance to have diverse experiences. How do you think this affects their relationship and in turn your performances?
Ryan: I think Karem hit it right on the button with hat comment about the father not feeling like a father until he sees the child for the first time. But you can see there is a change in her as soon as she gets pregnant. I think that the two wavelengths of him not wanting to have kids and her wanting to keep them, creates a nice little battle or subtext on screen. You see us do that fight back and forth which is really nice.
Haley: Because we did have that one night, that was really special to both of our characters, hopefully it is believable that we actually did connect and got attached to things in each other that we had never found in anyone else. We kind of did fall in love a little bit then. I think that night was special and it wasn’t like I was a drunk and he took me home and had sex with me, it was more than that. That’s what held things together, even though there was so much disconnection after that, and you kind of hated him and didn’t know what was going to happen since we didn’t even see each for months and months, hopefully you sill want us to be together at the end because of the special connection.
Ryan: At the end of the day, what held him close to her, even after the news of the pregnancy, was the fact that he really did like her. He truly wanted to see where things could go with her, because he really did care. That’s a nice touch.
Hailey : Before they met each other, neither Leslie nor Brian had probably experienced any connection with any other person. That was a really a special thing.
Karem : It occurred to me after shooting, that they only have three occasions where they spent any time together before they have the kids. They hook-up, a month later she tells him and they spend a little time together, and then months later they see each other.
Danny: The first day of shooting we shot the scene where Haley tells him she wants to keep the kids and he misunderstands her and is relieved. That scene is really cool, and that’s thanks to great writing, directing, and of course great acting. It is a very textured scene.
Ryan : We were able to pull that off because we rehearse a lot
Haley : We were forced! Karem made us [Laughs]
Karem : I think we rehearsed that scene more than anything
Hailey : We needed to figure out what Leslie and Brian’s relationship was going to be like, that was important.
Karem : It was also for me to figure out “Are these people going to listen to what I say?”
Danny : How much can I manipulate them? [Laughs]
Aguilar: The inner voice he struggles with adds an added depth to the character. Where did that voice and the other magical realist elements come from?
Karem : I’d written and I’d thrown in lots of stuff like that while working on the script with David Hunter. I didn’t think, “Is this the right thing to do?” I wondered “What is he thinking?” and stylistically it was about never doing the same thing twice. One time you have the reenactment of what he would have said had he had the guts, another time you have him talking with his voiceover voice, there is like 5 or 6 things like that. The point of view of the voice over is just constantly shifting. Sometimes he is in the future looking back; sometimes he is the devil on his shoulder.
Director Kerem Sanga, producer Danny Leiner ("Dude, Where's My Car?," "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle") and stars Ryan Malgarini and Haley Lu Richardson shared with us their thoughts on this amusing story about decisions, unpredictable fate, and the uncertainty of young love.
The film premiered at Laff on Saturday June 14th and it screens again tonight at 6:30 Pm at the Regal L.A. Live Theaters
Carlos Aguilar: What’s the origin of the film? Does it come from anything personal or simply your desire to explore this complex relationship?
Karem Sanga: My dad and my mother got pregnant with my twin brother and me when they were in college. I though it would be pretty fun to write a movie about that and give it different characters and different situations.
Although this is fictional, my dad told me that the feeling after my mother told she was pregnant was a kind of daze. Like Brian in the film, he was just looking at everybody else and wanting to be one of them.
Aguilar: While writing the film and in the actors’ case while reading the script, did you put think of what you would have done in the characters’ situation?
My dad had a much more supportive reaction, obviously, here I am [Laughs], but then I thought, “Would I have felt that way?” When writing the film I gave in to my darkest impulses. I’d like to think that I’d be very supportive but then I also think that at his age I would have pretended to be supportive.
Haley Lu Richardson : You read something, you see a character, and you put yourself in that position and you find parts of yourself that are similar to that, parts that you can develop and will make this a different character. Especially with good writing, when I read it, it was really easy for me to do that. I started freaking out because I envisioning myself as the character in some of stressful, crazy stuff we had to go through. When a character makes me feel stressed, sad, and to feel like this guy is an idiot from Leslie Mallard’s’ perspective, it is easy to go there.
Ryan Malgarini : I’ve never been told that I was going to have twins [Laughs], as an actor you look at that and you just try to bring similar experiences of the same feeling. Like anxiety and stress, and bring that to the table for a good director like Karem who could really help guide you to how or what it feels like. Even if he hasn’t experience it, maybe some of his feelings of how should be portrayed get passed onto to me and something different is created.
Aguilar: Danny, you’ve worked in various capacities in the industry, particularly in broad comedies. What brought you this project?
Danny Leiner : Karem worked as a Pa in a movie I did in Texas. I met him when he was been starting in the industry and we just became friends during the shoot. When he came to L.A. to go to the screenwriting program at USC we kept in touch. He sent me an early version of this film and I just thought there was some potential there but it needed a lot of work. I encouraged him to really have a go at it and make it something special and that separated itself from everything else. A while later he sent me another version and I thought, “Wtf is this?” [Laughs] “This is amazing” I though it was a beautiful script. I’ve done broad comedy, but I’m just attracted to good material. He took a part of himself to create this, which was an incredible transformation.
Aguilar: Another recent film “Obvious Child” deals with pregnancy but from a woman’s perspective. In that film abortion is the fest solution the character finds for the situation. Did you ever consider that option for your characters?
Karem: I haven’t seen “Obvious Child” but I plan to. The thing about this story that was relatively easy to write was that it had this natural story to it built in, which is the pregnancy.
Did I ever think she might have the abortion? I thought about for about two seconds. I thought I had to honor the source material. I just wanted to see a character that didn’t want to have kids, have kids. I felt like that was a bigger transformation or just a worst premise for someone to go through. I never really considered ending it in any other way. I always had an ending in mind where somebody who’d been fighting this the whole time finally has to accept “Well this is what my life is now”. They say a father doesn’t really feel like a father until he sees the child, while a woman feels like a mother right when she finds out she is pregnant. So I think that was the disconnection the entire movie, he ran away from her.
Ryan: Is a real reaction, is the first thing you want to do when something like that happens, run away! [Laughs]
Haley: And you had no other social skills to know that even though that’s what you want to do, it is not what you are supposed do! [Laughs]
Aguilar: The protagonists’ story goes from a one-night stand to being faced with parenthood in a short amount of time. They are thrown into a serious relationship without having had a chance to have diverse experiences. How do you think this affects their relationship and in turn your performances?
Ryan: I think Karem hit it right on the button with hat comment about the father not feeling like a father until he sees the child for the first time. But you can see there is a change in her as soon as she gets pregnant. I think that the two wavelengths of him not wanting to have kids and her wanting to keep them, creates a nice little battle or subtext on screen. You see us do that fight back and forth which is really nice.
Haley: Because we did have that one night, that was really special to both of our characters, hopefully it is believable that we actually did connect and got attached to things in each other that we had never found in anyone else. We kind of did fall in love a little bit then. I think that night was special and it wasn’t like I was a drunk and he took me home and had sex with me, it was more than that. That’s what held things together, even though there was so much disconnection after that, and you kind of hated him and didn’t know what was going to happen since we didn’t even see each for months and months, hopefully you sill want us to be together at the end because of the special connection.
Ryan: At the end of the day, what held him close to her, even after the news of the pregnancy, was the fact that he really did like her. He truly wanted to see where things could go with her, because he really did care. That’s a nice touch.
Hailey : Before they met each other, neither Leslie nor Brian had probably experienced any connection with any other person. That was a really a special thing.
Karem : It occurred to me after shooting, that they only have three occasions where they spent any time together before they have the kids. They hook-up, a month later she tells him and they spend a little time together, and then months later they see each other.
Danny: The first day of shooting we shot the scene where Haley tells him she wants to keep the kids and he misunderstands her and is relieved. That scene is really cool, and that’s thanks to great writing, directing, and of course great acting. It is a very textured scene.
Ryan : We were able to pull that off because we rehearse a lot
Haley : We were forced! Karem made us [Laughs]
Karem : I think we rehearsed that scene more than anything
Hailey : We needed to figure out what Leslie and Brian’s relationship was going to be like, that was important.
Karem : It was also for me to figure out “Are these people going to listen to what I say?”
Danny : How much can I manipulate them? [Laughs]
Aguilar: The inner voice he struggles with adds an added depth to the character. Where did that voice and the other magical realist elements come from?
Karem : I’d written and I’d thrown in lots of stuff like that while working on the script with David Hunter. I didn’t think, “Is this the right thing to do?” I wondered “What is he thinking?” and stylistically it was about never doing the same thing twice. One time you have the reenactment of what he would have said had he had the guts, another time you have him talking with his voiceover voice, there is like 5 or 6 things like that. The point of view of the voice over is just constantly shifting. Sometimes he is in the future looking back; sometimes he is the devil on his shoulder.
- 6/17/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Stories of unplanned pregnancies have an inherent pull to them, especially when the baby’s potential parents are college students. Taking that basic premise and wrangling some laughs, however, is the difficult task set before Kerem Sanga’s “The Young Kieslowski,” a film that succeeds in finding a gentle center, but is ultimately handicapped by its choice of protagonist. Given its festival premiere's proximity to the release date of Gillian Robespierre’s "Obvious Child," it’s difficult not to see the two films as linked. Their setups are not identical, but seeing how effectively Robespierre was able to show the anxieties of a woman facing an unexpected baby, there’s a sense of added pressure in making the experiences of a potential father just as compelling. In this case, that young male is Brian Kieslowski (Ryan Malgarini), an unassuming CalTech freshman unfamiliar in the ways of love and women. At his first college party,...
- 6/15/2014
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Production company Ketchum Labs, a creative incubator challenging conventional entertainment models of production and distribution, and BlackBoxTV, the #1 online genre channel with over 600,000 loyal fans, will launch a strategic production and distribution partnership.
From the Press Release
The first two projects to go into production are Fight Of The Living Dead, a hybrid-reality series set to shoot in Los Angeles in May and the feature film Villisca, which unravels the mystery surrounding one of the most haunted houses in America.
Ketchum co-founder and principal Kevin Abrams and BlackBoxTV founder and creator Tony Valenzuela made the announcement.
A competition series with horror overtones, Fight Of The Living Dead (Fotld) is an unprecedented mash-up of the reality and scripted genres. The show will follow six top YouTube stars as they attempt to survive the first 24 hours of a highly simulated Zombie Apocalypse. What they do to eliminate each other from the competition...
From the Press Release
The first two projects to go into production are Fight Of The Living Dead, a hybrid-reality series set to shoot in Los Angeles in May and the feature film Villisca, which unravels the mystery surrounding one of the most haunted houses in America.
Ketchum co-founder and principal Kevin Abrams and BlackBoxTV founder and creator Tony Valenzuela made the announcement.
A competition series with horror overtones, Fight Of The Living Dead (Fotld) is an unprecedented mash-up of the reality and scripted genres. The show will follow six top YouTube stars as they attempt to survive the first 24 hours of a highly simulated Zombie Apocalypse. What they do to eliminate each other from the competition...
- 4/30/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
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