Next week, there will be several theatrical, television, and digital releases including Castro’s Spies, Human Factors, Mascarpone, Barbee Rehab, We Need To Talk, They Talk, A.K. Tolstoy’s “A Taste of Blood,” and Trip. See below for summaries of each. (Gravitas Ventures, Dark Star Pictures, Uncork’d Entertainment, Cleopatra Entertainment, Terror Films, 2022)

Theatrical
Castro’s Spies
Gravitas Ventures
Theatrical: May 13, 2022
Digital : May 13, 2022
Documentary
Directed by Ollie Aslin and Gary Lennon

Nail-biting documentary Castro’s Spies, the story of Cuban spies being sent undercover to America in the ‘90s, is set for a North American release from Gravitas Ventures. From their recruitment, training, and eventual capture on US soil, this film peers into a secret world of false identities, love affairs, and betrayal. Using never seen before footage from the Cuban Film Institute’s archive and first-hand testimony from the people at the heart of this story, Castro’s Spies gives a rare glimpse into the shadowy world of a spy – where the stakes are life and death.

“All spies are not James Bond. That laconic comment delivered during Castro’s Spies may be the key to this forensic-level insight into the workings of the ‘Cuban 5’… Compelling as a tale of Cold War intrigue, equally gripping on a human level.” – SCREEN DAILY

Human Factors
Dark Star Pictures
Theatrical : May 6 2022 (LA/NYC)
Digital Premiere : May 24, 2022
Thriller
Directed by Ronny Trocker
Starring Sabine Timoteo, Mark Waschke, Jule Hermann, Wanja Valentin Kube

At the advertising agency they co-own, French-German couple Nina and Jan have signed a new politically charged client, forcing them to confront their clashing priorities. To escape mounting tensions at work, they whisk their kids, Max and Emma, away to their seaside vacation home. What was meant to be an idyllic off-season retreat turns sinister when a mysterious home invasion sets everything off balance. Though at first the aftermath brings the family closer, as they try to put the incident into perspective, their accounts of what took place begin to unravel alongside the couple’s faith in each other.

Mascarpone
Dark Star Pictures/Uncork’d
Theatrical : May 6, 2022 (LA)
Digital : May 6
Comedy
Directed by Matteo Pilati and Alessandro Guida
Written by Giuseppe Paternò Raddusa, Matteo Pilati and Alessandro Guida, and directed by Guida and Pilati, Mascarpone has received rave reviews.
Starring Giancarlo Commare, Antonioas Antonio

Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment have acquired Alessandro Guida and Matteo Pilati’s romantic comedy Mascarpone. The film, which has snared awards at several major fests including Cinema Diverse (Festival Favorite), Reeling Chicago (Audience Award), OUTshine (Jury Prize), and over 20 others, will be released theatrically and on digital in May.

Antonio is a family man whose life takes an unexpected twist when he is suddenly dumped by his husband. Antonio needs to find a new place to stay, a job, and a new purpose in life. Through this process, he discovers the value of independence.

Television

Barbee Rehab
Global Digital Releasing
Tubi Premiere : May 6, 2022
Episodes roll out each week. Seven episode first season.
Comedy
Directed by Derek S. Orr
Starring Bai Ling, Janice Dickinson, Tom Sizemore, Lisa Wilcox, Vanessa Bednar

This seven part, limited series follows a patient (Tom Sizemore, “Twin Peaks : The Return”, Heat, Saving Private Ryan), who is on the verge of being locked up after claiming to have discovered a rehab facility focused on treating people who are obsessed with collecting and/or living as real life Barbie and Ken dolls. He shares his unbelievable stories about the unstable staff and patients who suffer from a variety of outrageous Barbie and Ken doll addictions, with his psychiatrist, (Janice Dickinson). Will he convince her this is a real place, or will he end up in the nuthouse? Welcome to “Barbee Rehab,” where reality, imagination, delusion and perversion collide.

Digital Releases

We Need To Talk
Global Digital Releasing
Digital: May 13, 2022
Comedy
Directed by Todd Wolfe
Starring Emily Bett Rickards, James Maslow, Trey Chaney

Scott is a self-absorbed online video-game influencer who speaks to millions of fans every day but cannot (or will not) communicate with the people he loves. He remains blissfully unaware that he is the problem until one morning, as she is walking out the door, his girlfriend Aly tells him, “we need to talk.” Her comment sends Scott spiraling into a day-long tailspin as he seeks wisdom, advice, and emotional support from his social media network of friends, internet trolls, and a myriad of online characters from around the world.

They Talk
Uncork’d Entertainment
Digital Premiere : May 10, 2022
Horror
Directed by Giorgio Bruno
Starring Jonathan Tufvesson

Sound engineer Alex accidentally records sinister voices while shooting a documentary. The voices do not sound human and they appear to be trying to warn him about someone, or something. His search for their meaning will bring back mysterious people and events from his past. A threatening, black, and gloomy wave starts to haunt him.

A.K. Tolstoy’s “A Taste of Blood”
Cleopatra Entertainment
Digital / Blu-ray Premiere : May 10, 2022
Horror
Directed by Santiago Fernandez Calvete
Starring German Palacios, Tomas Carullo Lizzio, Naiara Awada, Lautaro Bettoni and Alfonsina Carrocio.

Based on Aleksey Tolstoy’s 1839 short story “The Family Of The Vourdalak,” the film takes place in the uncertain hours after a vampire hunt when it is unclear if the hunter himself has been turned into a creature of the night. Will his family find out in time, or will their sentiment make them easy prey for the novice nightwalker?

Trip
Terror Films
AVOD : May 13, 2022
Horror
Directed by Neil McCay
Starring Akasha Villalobos, Major Dodge, Peggy Schott, Jill Young, Björgvin Arnarson.

Starring CHUCKY’s Björgvin Arnarson. Following her daughter’s suicide, a grief-stricken mother is visited by an unconventional therapist who offers a hallucinogenic drug that will allow communion with the dead. Desperate to understand her daughter’s psyche, she accepts the offer and soon finds herself terrorized by her daughter’s identical experiences.