VISIONFEST 09: The Other Festival

VF09 opening night sales for EVIL THINGS scare up an added screening; Interest flares for staged reading of epic WWII script, PREEMPTIVE STRIKE and Academy Award winner, Mira Sorvino, shines in ‘closing night’ film.

NYC’s Tribeca Cinemas’ marquee will light up with the VISIONFEST 09 title this coming Wednesday, June 17, as the film festival kicks off its ninth annual, five-day run.

New York City, (June 16, 2009) – VISIONFEST 09: The Other Festival (VF09), which runs June 17-21, 2009, at Tribeca Cinemas (corner of Varick and Laight streets in New York City), has added a screening to its opening night program, which is scheduled for this coming Wednesday, June 17, at 8:00 p.m. in the Tribeca Cinema 2 venue. The decision to open up Tribeca Cinema 1 with a simultaneous HD screening of the Dominic Perez thriller, EVIL THINGS, was confirmed when all available tickets for the show were declared “sold out” with more than a week to go before the start of the event. The film, which has just been completed to meet the deadline of its “red carpet” World Premiere at VF09, follows five college students as they head up to a country house for a weekend birthday celebration. However, the celebration quickly turns to fear, when the group of friends realize that something ‘evil’ is lurking too close to them and watching their every move in a most unsettling way. VF09 co-director, Bruno Derlin, described the film as an “old-fashioned horror movie with some very clever modern touches” adding that: “It’s also a statement of how voyeuristic personalities can attract danger to themselves without even realizing that it’s happening.” Joshua Martin’s short subject, A WAGON FULL OF MISCHIEF, also a World Premiere, will precede the feature presentation. Cast and crew members from both films will be on hand for a follow-up Q&A, which will be held in the Main Lounge, just prior to handing the event over to MISTER GIO, for a “live” performance of tunes from the band’s upcoming CD.

Screenwriting aficionados, WWII history buffs, and anyone looking for something completely different to do in New York City over the weekend will be delighted by the “exclusive” staged reading of Alan Armstrong’s PREEMPTIVE STRIKE, last year’s winner of the Visionfest Feature Screenwriting Competition, which will be held at the Cherry Pit Theatre, (50 Bank Street), at 3:45 p.m., on Saturday, June 20, 2009. Based on the life experiences of General Claire Lee Chennault and his involvement in organizing “a guerilla air corps” known today as the American Volunteer Group or Flying Tigers, PREEMPTIVE STRIKE, unveils “the plan that would have prevented the attack on Pearl Harbor.” The reading, which is directed by Ari Taub, produced by Jill Yablon, and presented by InkTip.com and the Domani Vision Film Society, is free and open to the public, but due to limited seating, requires that a reservation be made via e-mail, at: 2009@visionfest.com

Style, elegance, and impeccable storytelling are just three of the countless attributes of this year’s Closing Night Selection (Sun, June 21, 7:00 p.m.), New York Premiere of the visually poetic page-to-screen adaptation of Karen Kingsbury’s best selling novel, LIKE DANDELION DUST. Directed by Jon Gunn and produced by Bobby Downes, Kevin Downes, and Kerry David, the film, one of the year’s most acclaimed on the film festival circuit, stars Academy Award™ winner, Mira Sorvino, who “shines in what is possibly her best dramatic role to date,” as stated by VF co-founder, Mark Doyle. The cast also includes Barry Pepper, Kate Levering, Cole Hauser, and Maxwell Perry Cotton. Exploring “the different meanings of being a parent through the grittily realistic lives of a struggling, blue-collar family, and a privileged family, as they intersect, intertwine, and ultimately collide, all for the love of a little boy,” LIKE DANDELION DUST makes for a perfect Father’s Day treat and is one’s ticket to getting a sneak peek at what is fast becoming one of the most talked about films of the year. Producers, Bobby Downes and Kevin Downes, will be attending and will be on hand for a Q&A following the screening, along with Danielle Jacobs, director of the heart-warming short subject, boy I man, which will precede the feature presentation. The VF09 Awards Ceremony will follow the Closing Night Selection screening, in the adjacent Tribeca Cinemas Main Lounge.

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