Friday, March 13, 2015

VF15 ANNOUNCES PARTIAL LINE-UP


VISIONFEST will kick off 15th anniversary run on May 13, 2015
with New York Premiere of DESERT CATHEDRAL

Mob comedy ALTO unveils as festival’s ‘Centerpiece Screening’ on May 15th

May 17:  FRANK VS. GOD showdown is Official Closing Night Selection!


 
New York City – March 13, 2015 – VISIONFEST 15: THE OTHER FESTIVAL (VF15) is letting some early cats out of the bag this year!  Traditionally announcing its official line-up about a month before the start of the event, the film festival, which has been dubbed ‘the American Classic’ and is widely renowned and respected throughout the U.S. for its quality programming, is officially announcing some of the titles already locked into key slots exactly two months prior to the start of the event.  Running May 13 thru May 17 at Tribeca Cinemas (corner of Laight and Varick Streets in New York City), VF15, whose mission to “promote domestic filmmaking” is supported and propelled by its organizing entity, the Domani Vision Film Society, a not-for-profit arts & culture organization, this year celebrates its fifteenth annual outing with a powerful and very diverse lineup of some of the finest American indie films on the festival circuit today.

Beginning with its “Official Opening Night Selection,” DESERT CATHEDRAL, the haunting debut feature from Travis Gutierrez Senger, VF15 explores more thematic paths and genre shifts than ever before.  In this opening night feature, a broken real estate developer, played by Lee Tergesen (Oz, Generation Kill, Monster), mysteriously disappears into the Southwest in 1992, leaving behind a series of VHS tapes to his employer and family. Without the aid of the police, his desperate wife hires a private investigator, played by Chaske Spencer (The Twilight Saga), to locate his whereabouts and bring him home.  When asked about the Selection Committee’s decision to include the film in this year’s line-up, VF15 co-director and programmer, Bruno Derlin stated: “How one film manages to keep you on the edge of your seat and, at the same time, pace itself with some of the most breathtaking and eloquently paced visual poetry you’ll ever see is beyond me.  This is the work of a true visionary.  We are so proud to be able to celebrate our fifteenth anniversary with such beautiful work.”

The “Special Centerpiece Selection” this year is reserved for ALTO, another debut feature in a completely different genre.  Here, writer-director Mikki del Monaco blends improbable love, the mob, and family non-conformity in a comedic tale whose tagline boasts “Two Girls. One Gun. The Mob. Because coming out to family is hard. But coming out to ‘family’ is funny.”  VF15 co-director and co-programmer, Frank Lewallen, called the film as “a breath of fresh air.  It’s clear to me that everyone in this movie had a blast making it and the love, passion, and dedication for the project are all too evident on the screen.”  The film, which features vibrant turns by Diana DeGarmo (American Idol) and Natalie Knepp (Orange Is The New Black), also stars Annabella Sciorra (The Sopranos, Don Peyote – she is also billed here as one of the producers).


“Official Closing Night Selection,” FRANK VS. GOD, by Stewart Schill (Big Time Rush, Charmed) offers a perfect blend of comedy, drama, and existentialism.  After his house is destroyed by a tornado (what his insurance company deems an "act of God"), former hotshot lawyer David Frank, played immaculately by Henry Ian Cusick (Lost, Hitman, Scandal) is determined that someone must pay. He decides to serve God... with a lawsuit.  VF15 producer, Jana Frindtova shared that:  “Films like this one make all the work we put into this festival worthwhile.  I laughed. I cried. I laughed again and cried from laughing so hard, but ultimately, I was entertained above and beyond anything that the local multiplex can offer these days.  I think everyone should see this film.  It says so much without ever preaching.  It stays with you long after the end credits have rolled.”

On the ‘short subjects’ front, VF15 has already secured screening rights to Chris King’s BIRTHDAY, one of the most highly acclaimed and anticipated shorts on the film festival circuit this year, screening at the Tribeca Film Festival prior to making its way to VF15.  Also already confirmed in the line-up of shorts:  William Speruzzi’s THE EXAM, Brian Dilg’s DOUBLE NEGATIVE, and VF alum, Jeremiah Kipp’s THE MINIONS.  These last three filmmakers all collaborated on one another’s projects as part of a special New York City filmmaking collective known as the 3x3 Project.  Also confirmed at press time, John Mattiuzzi's animated ZEROGON, fresh from its recent Slamdance Film Festival premiere.


VF15’s complete line-up will be announced in the next few weeks and tickets will be going on sale in early April. – www.visionfest.com


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