Category: Movie news

Salt in My Soul documentary: a rare look into life of Mallory Smith

Mallory Smith in Will Battersby’s Salt in My Soul. Photo: Giant Pictures, used with permission.

Powerful documentary Salt in My Soul will be released theatrically in New York (Cinema Village) and Los Angeles (Laemmle Royal) on January 21 followed by the VOD Release in the US, Canada, and UK & Ireland and key territories worldwide on January 25. (Giant Pictures, 2021)

A Feature Documentary Film by Will Battersby
Run time: 96 Minutes (USA- Feature Documentary)

VOD Platforms: 

US- Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Microsoft/Xbox, Vudu
Canada- Apple TV/ITunes, Microsoft/Xbox
UK- Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Microsoft/Xbox
Ireland- Apple TV/iTunes, Google Play

Cable Platforms: 

US- InDemand TVOD (Comcast, Spectrum, Cox), DirectTV/AT&T and more 

Based on the bestselling posthumously published memoir of the same name, Salt in My Soul is a documentary and classic coming of age story about a young woman figuring out how to live while dying. Mallory Smith was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of three. In her twenty five-year battle with the deadly disease, she carved out a life that most of us do not come close to. Using Mallory’s posthumously published 2500-page secret diaries, hundreds of hours of newly discovered footage, and audio recordings, the film offers Mallory as the narrator of her own extraordinary chronicle.

Following her realization at age nine that she would die young, Mallory secretly began to record her inner thoughts in her diary while throwing herself at life: friendships in elementary school, lovers and sports teams in high school, the little travel her disease would allow. She attended college and explored the wider world, one that was just beyond her grasp. She became a devoted environmentalist, seeing a startling and vivid metaphor for her declining health in the destruction of our world. Her father feverishly researched treatment options, desperate that the death sentence be commuted. Her mother obsessively helped her to live, cooking to maintain her weight and create community, raising money for research, and teaching her to prioritize relationships over all else. Mallory fought. And she wrote – about her fears, her loves, her pain, her depression, her hopes, and gave a voice to the many millions who struggle with invisible or visible illness. In Mallory’s final days, her father uncovered a long-forgotten treatment that is now changing the world of medicine. Heartbreakingly, it came too late to save his daughter.

Mallory was a young woman who lived with illness her whole life, who suffered immeasurably but who always found the will to live happy. Her story is a testament to enduring parental love and determination and the healing power of memoir as medicine, inspiring all of us to live life as fully as possible in the face of the challenges we all face. 

“Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life,” by Mallory Smith, is a powerful, intimate, and inspiring portrait of a brave young woman living with chronic illness. Mallory understood that patient voices need to be amplified in order to improve healthcare, that the intersection of human behavior and nature is critical to environmental sustainability, and that love and friendship give life meaning. As Mallory’s body deteriorated, she sharpened her mind, crystalized her thinking, and honed her writing skills. In her 2500 pages of private journal entries, she created poetry out of prosaic experiences. Beautifully written, provocative, and peppered with insights, “Salt in My Soul” reminds us to follow Mallory’s mantra and “Live Happy.”  

Giant Pictures is a leading digital distributor that is committed to empowering filmmakers to own their distribution. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, we work directly with rights owners to distribute movies and TV shows to VOD and streaming platforms in North America and worldwide. Our content partners range from first-time filmmakers to award-winning independent producers, as well as notable studios Alamo Drafthouse Films, Abramorama Selects, Participant, Tribeca Enterprises, Utopia Distribution, and XYZ Films. A division of Giant Interactive, the award-winning digital media and technology services company, we distribute across 45+ platforms, including AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Tubi, and Peacock. 

Movie adaptation: ‘The Lost Daughter’ by Elena Ferrante

The movie adaptation of ‘The Lost Daughter’ by Elena Ferrante is now playing in theaters everywhere. Photo: amazon

Elena Ferrante is the author of seven novels, including four New York Times bestsellers; “The Beach at Night,” an illustrated book for children; and “Frantumaglia,” a collection of letters, literary essays, and interviews. Her fiction has been translated into over forty languages and been shortlisted for the MAN Booker International Prize. In 2016 she was named one of TIME’s most influential people of the year and The New York Times has described her as “one of the great novelists of our time.” Her book “The Lost Daughter” has been adapted into a major motion picture directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, Paul Mescal, and Peter Sarsgaard. (amazon, 2022)

“The Lost Daughter” – Leda, a middle-aged divorcée, is alone for the first time in years after her two adult daughters leave home to live with their father in Toronto. Enjoying an unexpected sense of liberty, she heads to the Ionian coast for a vacation. But she soon finds herself intrigued by Nina, a young mother on the beach, eventually striking up a conversation with her. After Nina confides a dark secret, one seemingly trivial occurrence leads to events that could destroy Nina’s family in this “arresting” novel by the author of the New York Times–bestselling Neapolitan Novels, which have sold millions of copies.

Movie adaptation: ‘Nightmare Alley’ by William Lindsay Gresham

The movie adaptation of ‘Nightmare Alley’ is now in theaters. Photo: amazon

William Lindsay Gresham was a novelist and nonfiction writer. Gresham’s was a tortured mind and a tormented life, and he sought to banish his demons through a maze of dead-end ways, from Marxism to psychoanalysis to Christianity to Alcoholics Anonymous to Rinzai Zen Buddhism. From these demons came his novel “Nightmare Alley” (1946), one of the underground classics of American literature. It is a study of the lowest depths of showbiz and its sleazy inhabitants – the dark, shadowy world of a second rate carnival filled with hustlers, scheming grifters, and Machiavellian femme fatales. Guillermo del Toro directed the 2021 movie adaptation from a screenplay by del Toro and Kim Morgan. It stars Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette and Willem Dafoe and focuses on Stan Carlisle, an ambitious carny who hooks up with corrupt psychiatrist Dr. Lilith Ritter, who proves to be as dangerous as he is. (amazon, Wikipedia, 2021)

“Nightmare Alley” – It all begins with an extraordinary description of a carnival-show geek—alcoholic and abject and the object of the voyeuristic crowd’s gleeful disgust and derision—going about his work at a county fair. Young Stan Carlisle is working as a carny, and he wonders how a man could fall so low. There is no way in hell, he vows, that anything like that will ever happen to him. Since Stan is clever and ambitious and not without a useful streak of ruthlessness, soon enough he is going places. Onstage he plays the mentalist with a cute assistant, then he graduates to full-blown spiritualist, catering to the needs of the rich and gullible in their well-upholstered homes. It looks like the world is Stan’s for the taking. At least for now.

Action-thriller Confession to be released in January

Stephen Moyer and Colm Meaney star in Confession, coming in January 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Uncork’d Entertainment has acquired North American rights to writer-director David Beton’s action-thriller, Confession. The film, starring Stephen Moyer (“True Blood,” “Fortunate Son”) and Colm Meany (Seberg, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”), had its market premiere at EFM earlier this year. Uncork’d will be releasing the film in theaters January 21, 2022 followed by a VOD release Jan 25. (Uncork’d Entertainment, 2021)

An intense-thriller played in real time during one fateful night, Confession fixes on a wounded man (Moyer) who takes a priest (Meany) hostage, determined to confess to a past misdemeanor before it is too late.

Written and directed by David Beton (One Last Heist), Confession also stars Clare-Hope Ashitey (Children of Men). Producers are Picture Perfect’s Lucinda Rhodes Thakrar and Jeet Thakrar. Signature’s Elizabeth Williams is an executive producer. Andrew Nerger of Signature Entertainment negotiated the deal on behalf of the film team with Keith Leopard of Uncork’d Entertainment.

“Confession is a very suspenseful, thrilling ride with terrific performances from two always-dependable performers, Moyer and Meany. It’s an incredible film to kick off our exciting 2022 slate.” – Keith Leopard, President Uncork’d Entertainment.

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Acclaimed drama HipBeat to be released on digital platforms

HipBeat will be released on digital platforms this Thursday December 23, 2021. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Writer/director Samuel Kay Forrest’s acclaimed drama HipBeat, described by the critical community as Easy Rider with dresses instead of motorcycles, has been acquired by Indie Rights. (Indie Rights, 2021)

The film, produced by Mother Earth Films, FC Films, and Castle Matrix Productions, tells of a political activist fighting against the system while searching for love in the Berlin queer community. Forrest also stars in the film alongside Marie Céline Yildirim, Judy LaDivina, Helmut Wößner, Filip Süt Rutkowski, and Andriana Manfredi.

“We’re excited to be distributing and are looking forward to finding an audience for the film.” – Linda Nelson, CEO Indie Rights

“The love revolution taking place in Berlin inspired me to start a conversation about love, gender, and politics.” – Samuel Kay Forrest

Indie Rights, who have acquired global rights, will release HipBeat on Digital platforms beginning December 23, 2021.

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Multi-award winning psychological thriller Help

Help will be available on digital formats starting February 15, 2022. Photo: google

Ridder Films, in association with Executive Producer Lucas A. Ferrara, are delighted to share the new trailer and poster for their award-winning psychological thriller Help, which will be available on digital download in the USA and Canada starting February 15, 2022. Help was filmed over just twelve days. Due to UK lockdown restrictions, only twenty cast and crew members were involved. Help is a testament to producing high-quality films during such a turbulent time. (Ridder Films, 2021)

A young woman’s life turns chaotic when she uncovers a deadly secret about her friend. A painful break up prompts Grace to visit her friend Liv who is living in the idyllic English countryside with her boyfriend Edward and his dog Polly. The trio start the weekend in high spirits but soon turns into chaos, as well-kept secrets are exposed and the friends come to see each other in a whole new light. Everyone has a secret.

Help boasts an impressive cast of promising actors of Louis James (The English Teacher, A Simple Robbery), Emily Redpath (Romeo and Juliet, Casualty), Sarah Alexandra Marks (Glamour, Psychosis), and including a cameo performance from iconic boyband Blue’s very own Duncan James.

With a plot as dark as Help’s, you might not expect to see former boyband member Duncan James’ cameo, but the unlikely pairing came about organically. “I met Louis whilst filming in Liverpool, a mutual friend introduced us, and we immediately struck up a friendship,” explains James. “His passion was palpable and there was a lot of mutual respect. I watched his performance in a few of Ridder’s short films, such as ‘The English Teacher’ and ‘A Simple Robbery’ and thought he was great, so I wanted to support him and be involved in his next project.”

“No matter how hard we try, no one is perfect. We all have our own issues and help that we seek for. Especially in our personal relationships, much like the characters in this film. During the UK’s first lockdown in March 2020, it pushed me to create even more short films than I ever did before. Of course, with each film you make, it teaches you something, you learn from your mistakes and understand what really captures the audience through my storytelling. Which ultimately made me decide it was time to make my debut feature film.” – Director Blake Ridder

“As the script was developed I could sense from the early stages he was crafting something unique. Coming onboard as Producer I knew I would I have to match Blake’s machine like work ethic. I got to work immediately assembling a strong cast and crew to lift his story off of the page. We worked closely together to make sure our visions for the production were kept aligned each step of the way.” – Producer Louis James

Distributor: Ridder Films
Digital Download Date: February 15, 2022
Digital Platforms: iTunes, Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play & Microsoft
Writer and Director: Blake Ridder
Producer: Louis James
Executive Producer: Lucas A. Ferrara
Cast: Louis James, Emily Redpath, Sarah Alexandra Marks, Duncan James, Blake Ridder, Amy Jim, Stuart Wolfe-Murray
Run Time: 96 minutes
Rating: TBC

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Terror Films launches AVOD channel in January with two new movies

Isaac Rodriguez’ Last Radio Call is one of the movies that will premiere on AVOD in January. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Genre distributor Terror Films will officially launch their YouTube AVOD channel in 2022 with 2 new releases. The first film out of the gate will be Isaac Rodriguez’ found footage horror film, Last Radio Call on January 14, followed by Kipp Tribble’s home invasion horror film, Evil at the Door on January 21. The films will premiere exclusively on the Terror Films channel featuring a live chat event with the filmmakers, cast and fans during the premiere. The films will be released wide, across Digital and VOD platforms one week later after their premieres. (Terror Films, 2021)

In addition to new releases, the channel will also feature the distributor’s entire library of diverse, indie horror films, which will eventually expand to an international audience.

“This is such an exciting time for us as a company. This was a necessary, next step in our ongoing efforts to grow our brand while increasing the reach and revenue streams of our amazing library of horror films.”- Joe Dain, Terror Films President

Written and Directed by Isaac Rodriguez, who also produced alongside Cynthia Bergen, Last Radio Call centers around Officer David Serling, who went missing inside the abandoned Yorktown Memorial Hospital. One year later, his wife has hired a film crew to help bring light on what really happened that night. Using recovered body cam footage, she discovers a dark secret that sends her spiraling down a horrific path of ancient evil. She must now face an unknown terror to find the answers she desperately seeks. Starring Sarah Froelich, Jason Scarbough, June Griffin Garcia, Ali Alkhafaji, KeeKee Takatsuki, Bert Lopez, and Makayla Rodriguez, the film will be available across digital and VOD platforms January 21, one week after it debuts on the Terror Films Channel.

Written and Directed by Kipp Tribble, who also produced alongside Patrick Rivera, Kenny Yates and Executive Producer Richard Siegelman, Evil at the Door centers around a secret guild that has operated for nearly a century, known as The Locusts. Once a year this guild treats its members to a night of curated home invasions (aka, “runs”), known underground as “The Night of The Locusts.” With 180 minutes to do as they please with the occupants of the selected home, four masked men enter the home of Daniel and Jessica and begin to engage in sick, twisted games with them. Unbeknownst to the intruders, Liz, Jessica’s younger sister, is hiding under the bed. While the run time winds down, Liz plots her escape as The Locusts realize there is a traitor in their group. But will the division amongst the intruders be enough distraction for Liz to survive before The Locusts’ clock runs out? Starring Bruce Davison, Andrea Sweeney Blanco, Robert Allen Mukes, Kipp Tribble, Kenny Yates, Sunny Doench, and Richard Siegelman, the film will be available across digital and VOD platforms January 28, one week after it debuts on the Terror Films Channel.

EVO Entertainment’s superhero event

EVO Entertainment Group is celebrating the blockbuster Spiderman: No Way Home with a special superhero themed event. Photo: EVO Entertainment Group, used with permission.

EVO Entertainment Group is bringing everyone’s favorite heroes, both on and off the screen, to celebrate the highly-anticipated blockbuster Spiderman: No Way Home. Spider-Man, Little Spider Gwen, Little Miles Morales, Iron Man and Hawkeye characters will appear in-costume at EVO Entertainment Kyle Crossing on Friday, December 17, 2021 from 7p.m. to 9p.m. and EVO Entertainment Schertz on Saturday, December 18, 2011 from 5:30p.m. to 8:30p.m. (EVO Entertainment Group, 2021)

EVO Entertainment is partnering with non-profit Cap’s Crusaders to bring these classic Marvel characters to life and give guests the chance to be a hero themselves. To take a snapshot with their friendly neighborhood heroes, guests are encouraged to bring a new or gently used children’s toy, book, or donation to benefit local children’s hospitals and shelters. Of course, photos can still be captured without a donation. So grab your popcorn, camera and web shooters and head to EVO Entertainment to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

For those still looking for the perfect last minute gift this holiday season, EVO Entertainment is offering a Buy $50, Get $10 digital gift card for purchase to guests starting today, December 16, 2021. This offer is available through Friday, December 24, 2021 and terms and conditions of purchase may be found below. Guests can visit EVO Cinemas to purchase a $50 digital gift card and get their $10 bonus. Each card is redeemable at any EVO location so guests can experience unlimited excitement in EVO’s state-of-the-art gaming centers. Once players are done riding the Virtual Rabbids VR Coaster and fighting off the alien invaders in HALO: Fireteam Raven, they can head to any redemption shop and claim their prize. 

Terms and conditions: *Order must be placed between 12/16/21 at 12a.m. CT through 12/24/21 at 11:59p.m. CT. Valid online only. One (1) $10 gift card will be awarded for each increment of $50 purchased in gift cards, up to $500. Limit of five (5) gift cards per customer, per day. Qualifying purchases will receive gift card via email within three hours of purchase. The gift card is redeemable at any EVO location. Promotion only eligible within the United States. Not valid on previous purchases. No backorders or substitutions.

Movie adaptation: ‘Munich’ by Robert Harris

The movie adaptation of Robert Harris’ ‘Munich’ will be released on Netflix and movie theaters in January. Photo: amazon

Robert Harris is the author of “Pompeii,” “Enigma,” and “Fatherland.” He has been a television correspondent with the BBC and a newspaper columnist for the London Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph. His novels have sold more than ten million copies and been translated into thirty languages. His book “Munich,” a World War II-era spy thriller set against the backdrop of the fateful Munich Conference of September 1938, has been adapted into a movie by Netflix and will have a limited theatrical release before its January 21, 2022 on Netflix. It stars film stars Jeremy Irons, George MacKay, Jannis Niewöhner, Sandra Hüller, Liv Lisa Fries, August Diehl, Jessica Brown Findlay, Anjli Mohindra, and Ulrich Matthes. (amazon, 2021)

“Munich” – Hugh Legat is a rising star of the British diplomatic service, serving at 10 Downing Street as a private secretary to the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. Paul von Hartmann is on the staff of the German Foreign Office–and secretly a member of the anti-Hitler resistance. The two men were friends at Oxford in the 1920s, but have not been in contact since. Now, when Hugh flies with Chamberlain from London to Munich, and Hartmann travels on Hitler’s train overnight from Berlin, their paths are set on a disastrous collision course. Once again, Robert Harris gives us actual events of historical importance–here are Hitler, Chamberlain, Mussolini, Daladier–at the heart of an electrifying novel.

 

Official lineup for the 10th annual Key West Film Festival

Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘C’MON, C’MON’ will have its Florida premiere at this week’s Key West Film Festival. Photo: A24, used with permission.

The 10th Annual Key West Film Festival announces its official 2021 lineup including major falls films from Jane Campion, Sean Baker, Mike Mills, Pedro Almodovar, and Paolo Sorrentino. More than 75 films will be part of the five day festival, which runs November 17-21 and celebrates its 10th Anniversary. A full lineup of the festival is available online. (Key West Film Festival, 2021)

The star studded spotlight films will be joined by the previously announced RED ROCKET (A24), whose director, Sean Baker, will be honored with the prestigious Golden Key Award for Excellence in Filmmaking, along with JOCKEY (Sony Pictures Classics), starring Clifton Collins Jr, which will also see its director, Clint Bentley, honored with the inaugural Golden Key for Breakthrough Florida Filmmaker.

As previously announced, BRIAN WILSON: LONG PROMISED ROAD, will open the festival on November 17 at an outdoor screening under the stars at the Key West Amphitheater. The short film BLONDIE: VIVIR EN HABANA, about the celebrated artist’s recent concert in Cuba, will precede the film.

This year’s LGBTQ films, programmed with the assistance of Eugene Hernandez, Director of the New York Film Festival, and Brian Brooks of Cinetic Media, include GREAT FREEDOM, winner of the Jury Prize for Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, the Cold War forbidden love story FIREBIRD, and BOULEVARD! A HOLLYWOOD STORY, chronicling the love triangle that resulted from Gloria Swanson’s attempts to adapt “Sunset Boulevard” into a musical and directed by Jeffrey Schwarz, which marks his fourth film to play at the festival (I am Divine, Tab Hunter Confidential, The Fabulous Alan Carr).

Documentaries take center stage at the festival this year, with each film featuring a live appearance or event. Award-winning director Penny Lane (Our Nixon, Nuts!, Hail Satan!) will appear with her newest film, LISTENING TO KENNY G; multiple Gotham Award and Cinema Eye Award nominee Douglas Tirola comes to town with his Leonard Bernstein film, BERNSTEIN’S WALL; Danielle Kummer will cross the pond to appear with ALIEN ON STAGE, about a small town musical of the sci fi classic Alien, and KWFF will host a special wine tasting after the screening of BLIND AMBITION, which follows Zimbabwe’s first team to compete in the international wine tasting tournament.

International films include Academy Award-winner Paolo Sorrentino’s HAND OF GOD and FINAL SET, starring Kristin Scott Thomas.

KWFF 2021 will host additional outdoor events at the Lawn at The Perry Hotel, where a special sing-along edition of the 20th Anniversary of the 2001 film MOULIN ROUGE will be screened along with Eric Clapton’s latest concert film, ERIC CLAPTON: THE LADY IN THE BALCONY. The Perry will also screen a collection of boundary pushing short films prior to a Welcome Party for visiting filmmakers and VIPs on Thursday, November 18.

Florida gets its moment in the sun with an all-day Florida Focus on Sunday, November 21. A collection of award-winning shorts from Key West High School’s Conch 5 Studios – who recently sent NINE films to the National High School Student Film Awards – will be screened in the morning, followed by the 15thanniversary screening of Florida Filmmaking legend Billy Corben’s COCAINE COWBOYS. Corben will participate in a discussion following the screening. The award winning Miami-produced feature LUDI will also screen at the festival.

The festival shines on an Alumni spotlight on Nell Teare’s BOLIVAR. This is her first feature after having won numerous awards for her short films at the festival.

The shorts programs and Florida feature films were curated from over 1000 submissions, with entries from nearly all 50 states and dozens of countries.

Returning programs this year include the 7th annual Critics Panel, in which top film critics will join both in person and virtually by Zoom to cover the seismic changes in the industry this year; the sixth annual Golden Key for Excellence in Costume Design awarded to Paul Tazewell for his work in WEST SIDE STORY, making KWFF the only such festival to annual honor this art; Kibbitz with Critics series, in which the curating critic shares one of their favorite films from the last year over brunch. Aguilar will present the charming immigration story LIMBO; and the presentation of the prestigious Critics Prize, given each year to one film across the program as decided upon by participating critics. Past critics have included Kenneth Turan, Jen Yamato and Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times, Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post, Eric Kohn of Indiewire, Emily Yoshida of New York Magazine, David Fear of Rolling Stone, Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York, and Amy Nicholson of KPCC-LA’s Film Week.

Photo: Key West Film Festival, used with permission.
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