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.
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