Category: Movie news

KDMG, Inc acquires filmmaker Tony Ahedo’s feature film ‘Icon’

KDMG, Inc. will release “Icon”  across all TVOD/Digital and Blu-Ray/DVD platforms throughout North America on August 1, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

KDMG, Inc. (Kaczmarek Digital Media Group, Inc.) has acquired the Pretty Sweet Films’ production of filmmaker Tony Ahedo’s touching feature film debut “Icon.” This moving coming of age drama charts the perilous journey to adulthood for our charismatic leads Sam (Parker Padgett) and Ana (Devon Hales). KDMG, Inc. will release “Icon” across all TVOD/Digital and Blu-Ray/DVD platforms throughout North America on August 1, 2022. (Kaczmarek Digital Media Group, Inc., 2022)

Young love’s the topic of so many films, but rarely is it handled with earnest, authentic grace, as we see in “Icon.” Anchored in the touching performances of Padgett and Hales, audiences will find themselves moved much like fellow beloved indie film “The Spectacular Now.” When a surprise pregnancy forces Sam to face many brutal realities of adulthood and responsibility, things spiral rapidly out of control as he simultaneously tries to fight to find his own truth: why his absent father hasn’t been in his life since he was one and is only a fading memory.

Inspired by a true story, “Icon” stars Parker Padgett and Devon Hales along with Julia Denton, Tony Demil, Bryce Anthony Heller, and the feature film debut of Ronald Sansone.

“I am excited for audiences everywhere to see the film and prompt important conversations. My intent is to show the male perspective to a pregnancy in such a way that illuminates the idealization of patriarchy and toxic masculine views of the past and how we move beyond it.” Tony Ahedo.

Adapted from an award-winning short that won the presidents’ award at Ringling College of Art & Design, “Icon” was filmed in Ahedo’s hometown of Saint Petersburg, Florida, just prior to the pandemic. The story pulls elements from his childhood growing up in the mid 90s through the early 2000s in Florida.

“It’s not often we see a good coming-of-age film that breaks down the fundamentals of teen adolescence in a relatable way. I felt this story had an audience and needed to be seen. On behalf of myself and the KDMG team, I am thrilled to be part of Icon’s journey.” – Kyle Kaczmarek, KDMG, Inc.’s CEO

Kaczmarek Digital Media Group, Inc. (KDMG, Inc.) was founded in 2012 to provide a non-traditional, outside the box, hands-on digital approach to entertainment content providers. Deeply passionate about our work, KDMG counsels individuals and companies in all areas of the entertainment industry, including producers, directors, distributors, technology companies, digital retail platforms, sales agents, and cable, telecommunications and satellite companies toward achieving their highest potential.

Pretty Sweet Films is a full-service narrative production company founded by award-winning filmmaker Tony Ahedo based in Los Angeles. Since its inception in 2019, the company has created and collaborated on a wide variety of projects across the country. From romantic coming of age films to raunchy dark comedies to chilling horror thrillers, PSF is prepared to make any story a compelling piece for the eyes and mind. With more than a decade of production experience, PSF is here to make films pretty sweet.

Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Movie adaptation: ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ by Delia Owens

The movie adaptation of Delia Owens’ bestselling novel will hit theaters on July 15, 2022. Photo: amazon

Delia Owens is the coauthor of three internationally bestselling nonfiction books about her life as a wildlife scientist in Africa—”Cry of the Kalahari,” “The Eye of the Elephant,” and “Secrets of the Savanna.” She has won the John Burroughs Award for Nature Writing and has been published in Nature, the African Journal of Ecology, and International Wildlife, among many other publications. “Where the Crawdads Sing,” the #1 New York Times bestseller, is her first novel and has been adapted into a movie that will be released in theaters on July 15, 2022. It is at once an ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. (amazon, 2022)

“Where the Crawdads Sing” – For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens.

New horror movie release: Witch House

Based on H.P. Lovecraft’s short story The Dream in the Witch House, the new horror movie Witch House is now available on digital and DVD. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

From Horror Wasteland Pictures International, releasing for the first time on digital and DVD this July, H.P Lovecraft’s Witch House. Based on the H.P. Lovecraft’s short story The Dreams in the Witch House, Witch House blurs the boundaries between reality, dreams and the beyond. Easley and Ken Wallace scripted the movie, which was shot in Indiana’s Historical Hannah House which is known to be haunted. It is now available through Walmart and in digital through Amazon, iTunes, Tubi, and Spectrum. (Horror Wasteland Pictures International, 2022)

Witch House – Graduate student Alice Gilman (Portia Chellelynn, Hematic Web) is running from an abusive past. She seeks refuge in the infamous Hannah house; a historic home with an ominous past. Determined to prove the possibility of alternate dimensions, she unknowingly unlocks a gateway to unimaginable horror. Facing a series of bizarre and violent events, Alice is plagued by nightmarish dreams of these evil entities. Trapped between the 4th dimension and reality, the diabolical truth is revealed as Alice fights for her sanity and her very soul.

Courtesy photo, used with permission.

New movie release: Fall

Fall will be released in theaters only on August 12, 2022. Photo: Lionsgate, used with permission.

In today’s movie news: Lionsgate Films and Capstone Global present Fall, dropping in theaters only on Friday August 12, 2022. Starring Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Directed by Scott Mann and written by Scott Mann and Jonathan Frank, this thriller is not yet rated and runs 107 minutes long. It is produced by Christian Mercuri, James Harris, Mark Lane, and Scott Mann. (Lionsgate, 2022)

Fall – For best friends Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner), life is all about conquering fears and pushing limits. But after they climb 2,000 feet to the top of a remote, abandoned radio tower, they find themselves stranded with no way down. Now Becky and Hunter’s expert climbing skills will be put to the ultimate test as they desperately fight to survive the elements, a lack of supplies, and vertigo-inducing heights in this adrenaline-fueled thriller co-starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Don’t look down. FALL – dropping in theaters soon.
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Guidance explores the reality of human behavior

Francesco Chen and Yu Chieh Chiu in Neysan Sobhani’s GUIDANCE. Photo, Good Deed Entertainment, used with permission.

The movie Guidance, directed by Neysan Sobhani and starring Sun Jia (Han Miao), Harry Song (Mai Zi Xuan) and Francesco Chen (Su Jie) was released in the US on VOD June 17 on all major platforms including Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, XFinity Cable, and more. (Good Deed Entertainment, 2022)

Guidance – In the not-too-distant future, humanity slowly rebuilds itself a decade after The Great War. Believing that the ability to lie is the root cause of the devastating conflict, a tech entrepreneur creates a pill containing a nanotechnology app known as “Guidance” that allegedly will make everyone more enlightened. Once swallowed, an A.I. “installs” in the person’s nervous system and aids their ability to detect deception in other people among other enhancements. A young couple goes on a weekend retreat to the countryside and they begin to use Guidance. However, recent events have potentially compromised their trust in one another. With the tech in their bodies, the couple tries to subvert Guidance in the hopes of saving their relationship before it is too late.

This movie puts forth and examines the hypothetical question: can humanity truly ever be ready for absolute honesty? It sounds like an admirable quality for a society to have, especially one that is rebuilding after a war, but in reality, sometimes little white lies are necessary. Giving people the capability to detect deception in others is worthless if humanity itself does not wish to change. Even when the technology exists, people will still try to circumnavigate the system, similar to how some people can beat a lie detector. That is exactly what happens in this movie. As the young couple who initially try it discover, the quest for full honesty did more harm than a lie would have and their relationship remains on shaky ground. They were the initial Guidance testers and eventually it was also made available to the general public who apparently come to the same conclusion. To answer my initial question: it goes without saying that humanity is not ready for the repercussions of absolute honesty. It is mostly dialogue driven and the production value is excellent, particularly the visuals. Guidance is an excellent movie and like most science fiction movies, it explores the ethics of morality and controlling human behavior.

China, 2021, 93 minutes, in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles

*Thank you to Emma Griffiths PR for an advance screening.*

Photo: Good Deed Entertainment, used with permission.

New horror movie: The Bloody Man

The Bloody Man will premiere on digital on July 12 before releasing on physical formats later. Photo: google

Wild Eye Releasing has acquired the rights to director Daniel Benedict’s The Bloody Man, a supernatural horror film reuniting A Nightmare On Elm Street 4 : The Dream Master stars Lisa Wilcox and Tuesday Knight. (Wild Eye Releasing, 2022)

Penned by Daniel and Casi Benedict, and produced by Red Serial Films, the film tells of a young boy who, after the death of his mother, becomes obsessed with a comic book she gave him that ultimately summons the ancient monster found in its pages.

Mercedez Varble, Dan Eardley, Jason Crowe, Roni Jonah and KateLynn E. Newberry join Wilcox and Knight in the film, which is said to encompass high-end production values and plays like a cocktail of A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Goonies, and Stranger Things. Wild Eye will premiere the film on digital on July 12 before releasing on physical formats later.

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Karmalink’s theatrical and video on demand release in US and Canada

Karmalink will be released in the US in major city theaters and on video on demand in the US and Canada on Friday July 15, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Conceived as a way to interrogate processes of neo-colonialism, and highlighting the alienating effects of technological progress, Jake Wachtel’s Karmalink is a mind-bending tale of reincarnation, artificial consciousness, and the search for enlightenment. (Good Deed Entertainment, 2022)

In near-future Phnom Penh, the rich and privileged are augmented with nanotech and new skyscrapers crowd the skyline. In Tralop Bek, a tight-knit community threatened with forced eviction, 13-year-old Leng Heng is having vivid dreams of his past lives. He and his friends are convinced they are meant to find a buried Buddhist statue to save their homes, and they seek out help from a street-smart girl in the neighborhood, Srey Leak. Together they follow clues across town and into the past, uncovering a link with a genius neuroscientist on a quest for digital nirvana. As Leng Heng’s dreams converge on the present, his very sense of identity begins to unravel. When it becomes clear that the stakes are higher than they imagined, the two friends must decide how far they are willing to go to find their treasure and the truth.

American-born filmmaker Jake Wachtel began his career making short documentaries for nonprofits and social impact ventures working in the global south. His work has been featured on NYTimes.com, Wired, NPR, and MSNBC. In 2015, he moved to Cambodia to teach a year-long class in filmmaking to children as a part of the Filmmakers Without Borders initiative. His Phnom Penh-set short film The Foreigner Here premiered at the Cambodian International Film Festival, and he has gone on to collaborate with many of the growing new wave of young Cambodian filmmakers. He also served as on-set editor for Jimmy Henderson’s Cambodian-Chinese coproduction The Prey. Phnom Penh became his home base for several years as he developed his first feature Karmalink—Cambodia’s first sci-fi movie—set in the community where he taught and produced with a majority Cambodian cast and crew, including his former students.

Director: Jake Wachtel Starring: Srey Leak Chhith, Leng Heng Prak, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Cindy Sirinya Bishop, Rous Mony, and Sveng Socheata. 

Cambodia, 2021, 102 minutes, in Khmer with English subtitles

***OFFICIAL SELECTION: VENICE FILM CRITICS’ WEEK (OPENING NIGHT FILM), AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL, GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL, and many more.***

Karmalink will be released in the US Theatrically in major cities and on VOD in the US and Canada on Friday, July 15, 2022.

Theaters include:
Lumiere Music Hall – Los Angeles, CA
Rialto Lakeside Elmwood – Berkeley, CA
Rialto Lakeside Sonoma – Sebastopol, CA
SIFF Film Center – Seattle, WA

VOD Platforms include:
US: Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, XFinity Cable, and more.
Canada: Apple TV/iTunes, Google Play.

Good Deed Entertainment (GDE) is an Ohio based independent studio dedicated to producing, financing, and distributing quality entertainment for under-served audiences. Its distribution slate includes recent releases Summertime, Ma Belle, My Beauty, and Lucky Grandma, in addition to the Academy Award nominated, Loving Vincent, and Spirit Award nominated, To Dust.

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New movie: Final Caller premieres on DVD and digital

Horror movie Final Caller will premiere on DVD and Digital on July 5, 2022 from Wild Eye Releasing. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Final Caller is the new film from the legendary director of Clownado and Bonehill Road. From legendary indie director Todd Sheets (Bonehill Road, Zombie Bloodbath, Clownado), Final Caller premieres on DVD and Digital July 5 from Wild Eye Releasing. For fans of movies like Saws and Hostel. (Wild Eye Releasing, 2022)

Final Caller – Roland Bennett, an obnoxious late-night radio personality specializing in the supernatural is not having a good night. A visit from his soon-to-be ex-wife brings divorce papers to the station, a boss is listening in due to complaints, and a call from self-proclaimed serial killer “The Outsider”  who threatens to kill a woman live on the air. Being live on the air tonight will spell death for all involved. 

David Henry Gerson’s award-winning documentary The Story Won’t Die

After theatrical releases, The Story Won’t Die will have a worldwide Video on Demand on June 21, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

The Story Won’t Die, from Award-winning filmmaker David Henry Gerson, is an inspiring, timely look at a young generation of Syrian artists who use their work to protest and process what is currently the world’s largest and longest ongoing displacement of people since World War II. Sundance Award-winning producer Odessa Rae produces the film. (The Story Won’t Die, 2022)

Rapper Abu Hajar, together with other celebrated creative personalities of the Syrian uprising, a post-Rock musician (Anas Maghrebi), members of the first all-female Syrian rock band (Bahila Hijazi and Lynn Mayya), break-dancer (Bboy Shadow), choreographer (Medhat Aldaabal), and visual artists (Tammam Azzam, Omar Imam and Diala Brisly), use their art to rise in revolution and endure in exile in this new documentary reflecting on a battle for peace, justice and freedom of expression. It is an uplifting and humanizing look at what it means to be a refugee in today’s world and offers inspiring and hopeful vantages on a creative response to the chaos of war.

The Story Won’t Die was released theatrically in Los Angeles last Friday and will be released in New York today, June 17, 2022. A worldwide Video On Release on major platforms will follow on June 21, timed to World Refugee Day. Video On Demand platforms include Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google TV, Vimeo, and more.

OFFICIAL SELECTION: Hot Docs, AFI Docs, Watch Docs, and many more.
WINNER! Best Director at Doc LA and Best Feature Doc at FIC Autor Guadalajara.

David Henry Gerson is a filmmaker whose work has won prizes from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Sundance Film Festival, and has been acquired into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in NY. He is a graduate of Columbia University and the American Film Institute, where he was the recipient of the AFI Richard P. Rodgers Award for Creative Excellence. His film, All These Voices, won the Student Academy Award®. David’s spec screenplay, Above Kings, was nominated to the Tracking Board Hit List and was a semifinalist for the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship. His documentary film Ultra Violet for Sixteen Minutes, screened at festivals worldwide, the Pompidou Museum in Paris, and was acquired into the permanent collection of the MoMA. The Story Won’t Die is his debut feature.

Feature Documentary/ Not Yet Rated / Running Time: 83 Minutes
Country: USA/GERMANY
Director: David Henry Gerson
Producer: Odessa Rae
Co-Producers: Abdalaziz Alhamza, Colleen Ritzau Leth and Martin Marquet
Featuring: Medhat Aldaabal, Tammam Azzam, Diala Brisly, Abu Hajar, Bahila Hijazi, Omar Imam, Lynn Mayya, Anas Maghrebi, and Mhd Sabboura.

Movie adaptation: The Black Phone by Joe Hill

The Black Phone, from Joe Hill’s ’20th Century Ghosts’ has been adapted into a movie and will be released in theaters on June 24, 2022. Photo: amazon

Joe Hill is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the novels “The Fireman,” “NOS4A2,” “Horns,” and “Heart-Shaped Box;” “Strange Weather,” a collection of novellas; and the acclaimed story collections “Full Throttle” and “20th Century Ghosts.” He is also the Eisner Award–winning writer of a seven-volume comic book series, “Locke & Key.” Much of his work has been adapted for film and TV, including NOS4A2 (AMC), Locke & Key (Netflix), and In the Tall Grass (Netflix). The Black Phone is a short story in his “20th Century Ghosts” collection and has been adapted into a major motion picture from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions. It stars Ethan Hawke and will be released in theaters on Friday June 24, 2022. (amazon, 2022)

The Black Phone – Jack Finney is thirteen, alone, and in desperate trouble. For two years now, someone has been stalking the boys of Galesberg, stealing them away, never to be seen again. And now, Finney finds himself in danger of joining them: locked in a psychopath’s basement, a place stained with the blood of half a dozen murdered children.

With him in his subterranean cell is an antique phone, long since disconnected . . . but it rings at night anyway, with calls from the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.

“The Black Phone” is one of fifteen stories in Joe Hill’s first story collection, originally published as 20th Century Ghosts—the inventive and chilling compendium that established this award-winning, critically acclaimed, and bestselling author as “a major player in 21st-century fantastic fiction” (Washington Post).

 

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