Motion Picture Exchange AFM Title
EXCLUSIVE: Motion Picture Exchange has acquired global sales rights to heist film Take the Night and will launch sales at the upcoming virtual American Film Market. Written and directed by Seth McTigue, starring are Sam Li, Roy Huang (The Offer), Grace Serrano (Thou Shalt Not Kill) and Brennan Keel Cook (Encounter). Pic is produced by Julien P. Bourgon, Franco Sama and Mark Heidelberger. In the film, a bitter heir organizes a kidnapping of his younger brother on his birthday unaware that the criminals he hired to do the job are more cunning than he imagined. “We are proud to be partnering with Seth on his feature directorial debut,” said Ryan Bury, SVP of Acquisitions and Sales for MPX. “He has created a finely tuned, high octane film with an in-depth story and lots of twists and turns. He’s a talented young filmmaker that is one to watch. Moviegoers are going to want to bookmark this as one of their ‘favorites.’” Above is a first look image from the feature.
Homeless Youth LA Fellowship Program
EXCLUSIVE: LA’s Micheaux Film Festival and homeless shelter Covenant House of California are launching the “Within Our Gates” Fellowship Program. The project is launched to create spaces for homeless and trafficked youth (ages 18-24) to develop hands-on experience in the media industry. Starting this month until the 2022 Micheaux festival, MFF Directors Noel Braham and Courtney L. Branch will host monthly workshops where participants will be able to connect with industry professionals. The program which will be hosted at Covenant House of California, targets marginalized, underprivileged, and displaced young people of color aged 18-24. Said Micheaux Film Festival Co-Founders Noel Braham and Courtney Branch: “California has more than 66K+ citizens who are homeless and/or displaced. According to THE Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA), 4,775 youth are experiencing homelessness throughout Los Angeles County, a 19% increase over the previous year. Of that number, more than 60% of homeless youth are black. This program is aimed to provide resources, relationships, and information to young people who many have waived off and discarded. Beyond donations and money, we want to give these incredible young adults time and tangible help to show them that they matter, and that their dreams matter despite their challenging circumstances.” At the conclusion of the program, attendees will be given the opportunity to make their own micro-budget short film that will screen at the 2022 Micheaux Film festival.
Electric Brain & Incessant Rain Deal For Nepali Projects
EXCLUSIVE: Electric Brain Entertainment, the production company launched by Zack Stentz and Geoffrey James Clark earlier this year, is partnering with Nepali production, animation and VFX house Incessant Rain Studios to produce live action and animated content aimed at global audiences. The partnership’s upcoming slate includes genre feature film Frostbite, a Nepal-set suspense thriller written by Stentz and Will Stenberg, directed by Clark (SophiaWorld), and produced by Jeremy Ross and Incessant Rain CEO Kiran Bhakta Joshi. The seeds of the partnership were planted in early 2020, when Incessant Rain founder and former Disney Animation veteran Kiran Bhakta Joshi invited screenwriter Stentz (Thor) to Kathmandu, Nepal, as a judge and teacher for the Nepal International Film Festival. “I fell in love with the country and its people,” said Stentz, “and was struck by Nepal’s enormous potential as a new hub for global film and television production.” The two companies are also collaborating on multiple animated projects inspired by the history, culture, and myths of Nepal. These include Yeti Man, about a young Yeti raised by humans who goes on a quest to find his own people’s legendary underground kingdom, and Rainmaker, a modern retelling of an ancient Kathmandu legend about a young girl’s quest to save her valley from drought by convincing the angry cloud god Badal to have pity on her people. “By teaming up with Zack and Geoff, we can combine Hollywood storytelling with our reputation for high quality and low cost in animation, VFX and production,” said Joshi, “all while sharing our country’s rich well of culture and stories with the rest of the world.” Clark added: “Foreign language hits like Squid Game and Money Heist have proven that smart storytelling knows no borders, and we plan to help showcase the country of Nepal’s beautiful culture and people like never before.”