admin, Author at Unspool Hollywood

Global TVOD Release of 1091 Pictures Documentary “Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic”

Director and Editor: Maria Peek
Producers: Maria Peek and Stephen Peek
Cinematographer Stephen Peek

“Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic,” made its world premiere at this year’s Santa Barbara International Film Festival as part of the Social Justice Feature Documentaries, and recently through the Spotlight Docs Series (a 501c3 that the filmmakers founded), the film recently completed a sold-out 20+ city educational tour around the country (to audiences over 5,000 people), where the filmmakers, and Federal agents who ran the landmark case (declassified for first time in this film), have been onsite to experience the emotional and powerful moments—where victims and victims’ families spoke up during the post screening Q&A’s. They have over 200 additional requests across the globe asking for an educational screening series in their cities. The EU Parliament and The Pentagon have begun planning screenings with the filmmakers for later this year.

The internet can be an amazing place that has helped make life easier but with that comes more responsibility. It is all of our jobs to make the internet a safer place for children. This film empowers children, parents and community members to help make the internet a safer place for all.

The case featured in the film was declassified by (HSI) right before this film, comparable in scope to the case featured in the critically acclaimed “Spotlight.” It’s important to note the difference between human trafficking (cases in the hundreds of thousands), and sextortion (cases in the tens of millions) – as sextortion is 1,000 times more prevalent, and is often the precursor to trafficking. 1 in 4 kids are affected or know someone who has been affected by sextortion.

Through partnerships with the Department of Justice and Homeland Security, the filmmaking team had unique unrestricted access to all government documents for an international sextortion case of a Top Gun pilot with hundreds of victims, unsealed for this film for the very first time. By interviewing survivors and their parents, this true crime piece exposes this fastest growing crime against children, the tactics of online predators, and the voices of parents and law enforcement poised to stop online child exploitation in its tracks. Through interviews with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), “Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic” shows the scale of online enticement and exploitation of children-- and what we can do to stop it. The filmmakers created an online educational curriculum in partnership with NCMEC, which is available at https://www.missingkids.org/netsmartz. This curriculum will be available to educators, parents, federal agents and police departments, and is age-appropriate for middle and high school students.

Canada’s Intl Oscar Entry & Multi-Award Winning Animated Documentary “Eternal Spring (長春)” US Theatrical Release Begins in New York at Film Forum Oct 14th, Expanding Nationwide Oct 21

Eternal Spring (長春)

Confronted with government denunciations and human rights violations against their spiritual practice, a group of Chinese activists executes a bold and perilous plan to hack into state television.

Canada’s official entry into the international feature film category for the 2023 Oscars, “Eternal Spring (長春 )” is gearing up for the rapidly approaching US theatrical release. Having begun the films Canadian theatrical in September, the film begins its official theatrical release in the United States with a week-long exclusive at New York’s prestigious Film Forum starting on October 14^th, before expanding nationwide to more than 50 markets on October 21^st. Markets where tickets are available for purchase beginning on October 21^st for the expansive roll out include: Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Charlotte, Detroit, Cincinnati, Chattanooga, Columbus, Hartford, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Nashville, New York, New Haven, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, San Diego, Tallahassee, Tampa, Tulsa and Washington D.C, among others.

“Eternal Spring (長春)” is a multiple award winner, having won the Hot Docs Audience Award for best film and the Rogers Audience Award for best Canadian film, among many others (truly they'd won at nearly every international film festival where they have screened to sold-out crowds). This extraordinary harmony of animation & documentary has been awarded and acclaimed across Europe in its Film Festival run thus far for its groundbreaking animation – and of particular note, has been its incredible comic-book-style animation that transports the viewer into the brave and heroic world of a group of Falun Gong practitioners. “Eternal Spring (長春)” with its story of survival at all costs & battle for human rights continues to draw powerful comparisons to beloved Oscar nominee “Flee.”

View New Trailer: COMPUTER ACCENT (Documentary featuring Grammy nominated band YACHT)

Directed and Produced by: Riel Roch-Decter & Sebastian Pardo
Featuring: YACHT
Feature Documentary Feature
Running Time: 1 hour 23 minutes
USA

“An entertaining and thought-provoking exploration of the intersection of art, technology and human intuition” - CPH:DOX

OPENING THEATRICALLY:

OCTOBER 21- NEW YORK (METROGRAPH) (With Live Performance)

NOVEMBER 17- SAN FRANCISCO (ROXIE THEATER)

NOVEMBER 17- LOS ANGELES (LAEMMLE THEATERS)
Including: Laemmle Noho, Laemmle Glendale, Laemmle Newhall, Laemmle Monica.

With Film Screenings and Performances throughout October and November in major cities including: Portland, Bellingham, Austin, Minneapolis and more.

THE COMPUTER ACCENT is a documentary following the boundary-pushing pop group YACHT as they try something terrifying and new: handing over the reins of their entire creative process to ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Working with technologists and leading AI researchers, YACHT uses cutting-edge data analysis tools, machine learning, neural networks, sci-fi instruments, and generative composition strategies to create a new kind of human-machine album—music, lyrics, artwork, videos, and all. Putting AI to the test in the name of art, YACHT are guides through the brave new world of machine intelligence. Along the way, they’ll question their own roles in a future where software anticipates, generates, and synthesizes human work.

Sebastian Pardo and Riel Roch-Decter founded MEMORY at the start of 2014 and together have produced and distributed award-winning fiction and non-fiction films. They have collaborated with multi-hyphenate filmmakers and artists to bring their debut films to fruition, such as: Celia Rowlson-Hall’s MA, Carson Mell’s ANOTHER EVIL, Dean Fleischer-Camp’s FRAUD, Theo Anthony’s RAT FILM, Marnie Ellen Hertzler’s CRESTONE and Zia Anger’s MY FIRST FILM project. In 2016, MEMORY was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, and in 2020 MEMORY was awarded the Cinereach Producing Award for their work in “shaping new ways of filmmaking.” MEMORY’s latest production, Theo Anthony’s ALL LIGHT, EVERYWHERE won a Special Jury Prize for Non-Fiction Experimentation at Sundance 2021. THE COMPUTER ACCENT, which world premiered at CPH:DOX 2022, is their debut feature film as a directing team.

YACHT began in 2002, as the design studio Young Americans Challenging High Technology, but the group is neither young nor American. For 20 years, Jona Bechtolt, Claire L. Evans and Robert Kieswetter have shape-shifted through multiple lineups and musical styles, releasing albums internationally on DFA RECORDS and DOWNTOWN RECORDS. YACHT have created and sold unplayable compact discs, published a philosophical handbook, built a 62-foot video installation for Dolby, designed an eyewear collection, created a fragrance, campaigned against NSA surveillance, programmed large- scale public art activations, and have been commissioned to speak, curate, and perform by organizations including THE GETTY CENTER, ADOBE, TEDx, WIRED, MOMA LACMA, RHIZOME, VICE, and more. Their seventh album, Chain Tripping, was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Immersive Audio Album.

Also featuring:
Kenric Allado McDowell, founder of Artists in Machine Intelligence
Research scientists Douglas Eck, Jesse Engel, Adam Roberts of Google Magenta
AI music experimentalists Dadabots
Algorithmic music pioneer Dr. David Cope
Creative technologist and poet Ross Goodwin
AI art curators Luba Elliott and Josette Melchor
Creative Computing researcher Dr. Rebecca Fiebrink

WEBSITE: https://memory.is/the-computer-accent

SOCIAL MEDIA: IG: @memory.is / Twitter: @memorypresents

View Clip: Mill Valley Film Festival World Premiere of Extraordinary Documentary Feature Film “Finding Her Beat”

The journey of “Finding Her Beat” reveals a collective dedication for these Taiko drummers to be recognized in their field...they are trying to right a wrong, as women have not been allowed their place on the taiko stage. This film follows the journey of five women bringing the art form into the current reality and bringing other women center stage with them. Struggling through personality clashes, illness and the clock, we see how much one person can make a difference as Jennifer takes the dream and plants it, waters it and it flourishes into one of the most inspirational concerts ever witnessed, let alone filmed.

“Finding Her Beat”
In the midst of a frozen Minnesota winter, a Japanese drum master and Korean adoptee from North Dakota join forces to assemble the world’s best Taiko drummers in a bold effort to claim a cultural spotlight that has historically been reserved only for men. Their rhythm revolution includes rock stars from the world of Taiko: Tiffany Tamaribuchi, Kaoly Asano, Chieko Kojima, Megan Chao-Smith, and Jennifer Weir. Through grueling rehearsals, Jennifer weaves together their disparate voices and styles. Vulnerability, pain, and joys are shared—and we quickly see the bonds of friendship form as these talented women navigate their way through differences in culture, age, language, and performing styles. As the clock ticks toward their first performance, it becomes clear that their story has become much larger than Taiko.

Director: Dawn Mikkelson
Cinematographer: Keri Pickett
Producer: Jennifer Weir, Dawn Mikkelson
Co-cinematography by Shiho Fukada
Caroline Mariko Stucky, Dawn Mikkelson
Music: Me-Lee Hay
Editors: Dawn Mikkelson, Sam Kaiser, Keri Pickett and Carrie Shanahan

Award-winning documentary YOUNG PLATO opens theatrically today

YOUNG PLATO will open theatrically today Friday, September 30 in WASHINGTON DC (ANGELIKA POP UP), DALLAS (ANGELIKA DALLAS), SAN DIEGO (ANGELIKA CARMEL MOUNTAIN), SACRAMENTO (TOWER THEATER), PLANO, TX (ANGELIKA PLANO),FAIRFAX, VA (ANGELIKA MOSAIC) and will open NEXT WEEK (October 7) in LOS ANGELES (LAEMMLE MONICA).

Full list of theaters/ cities: Friday, September 23

ANGELIKA NEW YORK, NEW YORK, NY (Held over)
DEDHAM THEATER, DEDHAM, BOSTON, MA (Held over)

Friday, September 30

ANGELIKA CARMEL MOUNTAIN, SAN DIEGO, CA
ANGELIKA POP-UP AT UNION MARKET, WASHINGTON, DC
THE TOWER THEATER BY ANGELIKA, SACRAMENTO, CA
ANGELIKA PLANO, PLANO, TX
ANGELIKA DALLAS, DALLAS, TX
ANGELIKA AT MOSAIC, FAIRFAX, VA

Friday, October 7

LAEMMLE THEATER, SANTA MONICA, LOS ANGELES, CA
CAPITOL THEATRE, ARLINGTON MA, BOSTON AREA

LGBTQ Documentary “Wonderfully Made — LGBTQ+R(eligion)” WoodStock Film Festival Premiere

“Wonderfully Made — LGBTQ+R(eligion),” is an extraordinarily moving feature-length documentary that strikes at the root of anti-LGBTQ attitudes by exploring the challenges and aspirations of LGBTQ+ Catholics. The film focuses on the Catholic Church, as one of the largest religious organizations in the world with its anti-LGBTQ+ stance, has been a source of pain for so many of its followers. The film shines a penetrating light on the Churches ostracizing teaching, while remaining respectful of those of faith. It features interviews with leading advocates of LGBTQ+ Catholics, including a pioneering nun, two prominent priests (one of whom is openly gay), and a former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. The narrative of the film is shaped by the process of a fine art project creating unprecedented, photographic iconography depicting Jesus as a member/ally of the LGBTQ+ community, portrayed by multiple LGBTQ+ models of diverse ethnicities, genders, races, sexualities, and identities.

“Wonderfully Made — LGBTQ+R(eligion),” was shaped and crafted by husbands, director and Emmy® winner Yuval David and executive producer Mark McDermott (who’s story as a person of faith opened the door to this bigger conversation). Advocate Producers include a number of notables including: Lance Bass, Bishop Gene Robinson, Reverend Mel White, former Ireland President Mary McAleese, Andrew Tobias, Mitchell Gold, and Jane Clementi. The film features Cinematography by Nicco Quinto, editing by Hugo Perez, with original music composed by Ariel Blumenthal.

“Wonderfully Made — LGBTQ+R(eligion),” offers eye-opening interviews with Father James Martin, S.J., Father Bryan Massingale, Sister Jeannine Grammick, SL, Stanley JR Zerkowski, Marianne Duddy-Burke, Cathy Renna, Natalia Imperatori-Lee, fmr. Ambassador Miguel Diaz, Xorje Olivares, and Jason Steidl.

Where to follow the film and its journey:
Website: wonderfullymadefilm.com
Instagram: @WonderfullyMadeMovie
Twitter: @wonderful_made_
Facebook: @WonderfullyMadeLGBTQReligion

20th Digital Studio’s BITE SIZE HALLOWEEN Brings
20 Spooky Shorts from Diverse, Emerging Filmmakers for Huluween

Tatiana Maslany, Brigette Lundy-Paine, & Kate Nash Included in Cast

In celebration of Huluween, 20th Digital Studio’s Bite Size Halloween series of spooky shorts is back for a third season! Twenty new shorts from exciting emerging filmmakers premiere October 1 on Hulu, blending genres like horror, comedy, sci-fi, thriller, and more.

Shot in seven different countries, this season takes on topical issues such as racism, gender, parenthood, sexuality, and identity. SNATCHED (dir. Michael Schwartz) features Tatiana Maslany (“She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law”) in her first on-screen role with husband Brendan Hines (“Locke & Key”). Misha Osherovich (“Freaky”) stars as their son.

Other shorts feature familiar faces like Brigette Lundy-Paine (“Atypical”), Lin Shaye (“Insidious”), David Costabile (“Breaking Bad”), and former “Glow” co-stars Rebekka Johnson and singer-songwriter Kate Nash who co-wrote/directed/star in a short featuring Nash’s original music.

David Worthen Brooks, 20th Digital Studio head commented: “As we launch the first feature films developed with our incredibly talented Bite Size Halloween filmmaker alums, we are thrilled to introduce the next wave of dynamic filmmaking talent and their ingenious short films. We take great pride in showcasing these vital, diverse voices and their very personal twists on horror, thriller and sci-fi.”

The goal of 20th Digital Studio’s short film programs is to continue to guide and finance the growth of these artists’ careers and to transition some of the shorts into longer features. The first two films developed in this way will premiere this month for Huluween: “Grimcutty” from John William Ross on Oct. 10 and “Matriarch” from Ben Steiner on Oct. 21. Shorts from past seasons have played at festivals such as SXSW, Sundance, Tribeca, Fantasia, and more.

20th Digital Studio’s focus on diversity and inclusion continues as prestigious filmmakers from the festival world are featured, including Nuhash Humayun (“Moshari,” SXSW Grand Jury Prize), Sam Max (“Chaperone,” Sundance), Michelle Krusiec (“Bite,” AFI DWW), Zoey Martinson (“Cupids,” Tribeca), and many more.

About 20th Digital Studio

20th Digital Studio focuses on funding and producing award-winning short-form genre content together with up-and-coming filmmakers from the digital and film festival worlds. 20th Digital develops select shorts into longer form content, packaging new voices with established producers and offering opportunities for growth and representation; always with a goal to create innovative character narrative, voice-driven filmmaking with a social message, cultural impact and box-office or streaming success. Set up in 2008 as a nimble entrepreneurial group within Fox Filmed Entertainment, 20th Digital is now a part of Disney General Entertainment Content. For more information visit: https://www.20thdigitalstudio.com/ or follow: @20thDigital on Instagram & Twitter, or facebook.com/20thdigitalstudio.

PR CONTACT:

EMMA GRIFFITHS PR Emma Griffiths
E: emma@eg-pr.com W:www.eg-pr.com

THE COMPUTER ACCENT opening theatrically in NYC/LA/ SF and more- (Documentary featuring Grammy nominated band YACHT)

Directed and Produced by: Riel Roch-Decter & Sebastian Pardo
Featuring: YACHT
Also featuring: Kenric Allado McDowell, founder of Artists in Machine Intelligence Research scientists Douglas Eck, Jesse Engel, Adam Roberts of Google Magenta
AI music experimentalists Dadabots
Algorithmic music pioneer Dr. David Cope
Creative technologist and poet Ross Goodwin
AI art curators Luba Elliott and Josette Melchor
Creative Computing researcher Dr. Rebecca Fiebrink
Feature Documentary
Running Time: 1 hour 23 Minutes
USA

“An entertaining and thought-provoking exploration of the intersection of art, technology and human intuition” - CPH:DOX

OPENING THEATRICALLY:

OCTOBER 21- NEW YORK (METROGRAPH) (With Live Performance)
NOVEMBER 17- SAN FRANCISCO (ROXIE THEATER)
NOVEMBER 17- LOS ANGELES (LAEMMLE THEATERS)
Including: Laemmle Noho, Laemmle Glendale, Laemmle Newhall, Laemmle Monica.

With Film Screenings with Performances throughout October and November in major cities including: Portland, Bellingham, Austin, Minneapolis and more.

WEBSITE: https://memory.is/the-computer-accent

SOCIAL MEDIA: IG: @memory.is / Twitter: @memorypresents

Dark Star Pictures Theatrical Release MISSING on November 4, 2022

(Sagasu/さがす)
Directed by: Shinzô Katayama
Starring: Aoi Ito, Hiroya Shimizu, Misato Morita, Jirô Satô
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
Year: 2021
Run Time: 2 hours 4 minutes

Dark Star and Bloody Disgusting plan a US theatrical release for MISSING on November 4, 2022, an On Demand release on November 18, 2022, and the Blu Ray release for the film to follow on December 6, 2022.

OFFICIAL SELECTION: Busan International Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival.

Depressed and in debt following the death of his wife, Santoshi (Jiro Sato) tells his young daughter he has found a way out. Pointing to a reward note, he vows to find the infamous serial killer “No Name” (Hiroya Shimizu) and cash in, claiming to have seen the man in the flesh a few days earlier. Kaeda (Aoi Ito) cannot take her aloof father serious. But when he goes missing without a trace, she starts to fear the worst—and must begin looking for him.

MISSING (Credit Dark Star Pictures)

After working as an assistant director for Japanese films, including Nobuhiro Yamashita’s works, filmmaker Shinzô Katayama crossed paths with Bong Joon-Ho while shooting “TOKYO!” (2008) and served as his assistant director on “Mother” (2009). In 2019, his debut feature, “Siblings of the Cape ” was selected by numerous domestic and international film festivals. He now is one of the most promising, emerging directors in Japan, and his second feature, MISSING (“Sagasu /さがす”) will be his commercial film debut.

DARK STAR PICTURES

Dark Star Pictures is a new-age North American distribution company, focused on bringing unique and targeted content to audiences across the country. We are committed to releasing auteur-driven, original cinema in the theatrical, digital, and home video space.

Website:https://darkstarpics.com

PR CONTACT- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
EMMA GRIFFITHS
EMMA GRIFFITHS PR
E: emma@eg-pr.com
W: www.eg-pr.com

AMC+ & SUNDANCE TV PREMIERE OUR AMERICAN FAMILY

A World of HA Productions Film in association with Atlas Industries
and
The Intellectual Property Corporation

Directed & Produced by Hallee Adelman & Sean King O’Grady
Executive Producer: Caroline Libresco
Feature Length Documentary
Country: USA
Run time: 1 hour 27 minutes

Award-winning documentary OUR AMERICAN FAMILY will be available on AMC+ starting on October 7th and will premiere on SundanceTV on October 23^rd at 10:30pm (ET), both timed to National Substance Abuse Prevention Month.

Immediately following the film on all platforms is a “Can We Talk About This?” panel discussion hosted by Jordan Carlos, featuring Nika King (Actress, Euphoria) and Moshe Kasher (Comedian and Author).

The film is also available NOW on all major platforms in the US, UK and Canada.

Our American Family (Giant Pictures)

WINNER! Woodstock Film Festival 2021- Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature

Addiction is an all-encompassing force, in not only of the lives of the afflicted, but also those around them. OUR AMERICAN FAMILY provides an honest, unfiltered look at a close-knit Philadelphia family dealing with generational substance abuse. Captured at a pivotal “nothing to lose” moment, for over the course of a year, five family members tired of life with addiction on center stage, each struggle to transcend their crippling histories.

What will it take to shift this entrenched, wrenching pattern in their lives? Will they be able to make significant shifts to help their next generation? The members of OUR AMERICAN FAMILY invite us into their lives to find hope and to explore what’s possible. Though they often falter, their familial loyalty is powerful, demonstrating how through love and dedication people can rise out of the deepest depths. For a touching, eye-opening look into one of America's most pressing crises, look no further.

OUR AMERICAN FAMILY opens in September timed to National Recovery Month, a national observance held every September to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the emergence of a strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and community members across the nation who make recovery in all its forms possible.

https://ouramericanfamilyfilm.com

Instagram: @OurAmericanFamilyFilm
Facebook: @ OurAmericanFamilyFilm
Twitter: @OurAmerFamFilm

About +
AMC+ is the company’s new premium streaming bundle featuring an extensive lineup of popular and critically acclaimed original programming from AMC, BBC America, IFC, and SundanceTV and full access to targeted streaming services Shudder, Sundance Now and IFC Films Unlimited, which feature content such as A Discovery of Witches, Creepshow, and Boyhood. The service features a continually refreshed library of commercial-free content, including iconic series from the AMC Networks portfolio including Mad Men, Halt & Catch Fire, Hell on Wheels, Turn: Washington’s Spies, Rectify, Portlandia, and series from The Walking Dead Universe, among many others. The service also offers a growing slate of original and exclusive series including Gangs of London, Kin, The North Water, That Dirty Black Bag, This is Going to Hurt, Moonhaven and the first two series in a new Anne Rice universe, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches. With new movies released every Friday, AMC+ is the newest destination for exclusive film premieres direct from theaters all year long. AMC+ recently launched in Canada, Australia, India, and Spain and is available in the U.S. through AMCPlus.com, the AMC+ app, and a number of digital and cable partners.

AboutSundanceTV
Since its launch in 1996, SundanceTV has remained true to founder Robert Redford’s mission to celebrate creativity and distinctive storytelling through unique voices and narratives found in the best independent films. From delivering critically acclaimed Emmy®, Golden Globe® and Peabody Award-winning television featuring some of the world’s most talented creators and performers, to showcasing some of the most compelling and iconic films across genres and generations, SundanceTV is a smart and thought-provoking entertainment destination. SundanceTV is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.; its sister networks include AMC, IFC, BBC America and WE tv. SundanceTV is available across all platforms, including on-air, online at www.sundancetv.com,
on demand and mobile.