Independent Films Archives - Page 5 of 23

SQUEAL: Film Review

PRESENTS

To Live Free and Starve, Or To Eat and Die In Bondage

Director Aik Karapetian fable SQUEAL brings the Greek mythical goddess Circe to life through his female lead Kirke (Laura Siliņa), a pig farmer’s daughter, named after the Goddess. When she encounters Samuel (Kevin Janssens), who is searching for his father. A man he has never seen or met.

Photo 1-Kevin Janssens in Aik Karapetian's SQUEAL (Photo Credit_ GOOD DEED ENTERTAINMENT)

Kevin Janssens and the magical pig in Aik Karapetian's SQUEAL (Photo Cr

Looking at the interactions between Kirke and Samuel on the farm, I am reminded of slave masters  and their treatment of their slaves and their bondage on the plantations and their treatment of the slaves that automatically creates a dark picture of what is to come.

According to Karapetian, “My focus was originality and simplicity, but at the same time speaking about the universal topics of love, freedom, greed, brutality, tenderness and jealousy.”

These topics of  love, freedom, greed, brutality, tenderness and jealousy vividly comes through with the dialogue and film plot written by Aik Karapetian, Aleksandr Rodionov.

Aik Karapetian's SQUEAL (Photo Credit_ GOOD DEED ENTERTAINMENT) b

Something that stands out is how Aik Karapetian flipped the script and has his female lead behind the abductions, enslavement and brutality of  Samuel (Kevin Janssens). It reminds me of the film Misery with Kathy Bates and James Caan.What stands out?

SQUEAL is an engaging film that struggles with the human animal’s desire for security and freedom. See it.

Release Date: Theatrical:   Aug 19, 2022  Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 19, 2022
Distributor: Good Deed Entertainment
Producer: Inese Boka-Grube, Gints Grube
Production Co: Good Deed Entertainment And Cranked Up Films
Run Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Cast: Kevin Janssens,Laura Siliņa,Aigars Vilims,Normunds Griestiņš,Juris Bartkevičs,Guntis Pilsums
Director: Aik Karapetian
Writers: Aik Karapetian,Ale][ksandr Rodionov
Cinematography: Jurģis Kmins
Editor: Paula Popmane 
Composer: Justine Bourgeus
Run Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

ABOUT GOOD DEED ENTERTAINMENT
Good Deed Entertainment (GDE) is an Ohio based independent studio dedicated to producing, financing, and distributing quality entertainment for under-served audiences. Its distribution slate includes recent releases Summertime, Ma Belle, My Beauty, and Lucky Grandma, in addition to the Academy Award nominated, Loving Vincent, and Spirit Award nominated, To Dust.

Website: http://www.gooddeedentertainment.com/

OUR AMERICAN FAMILY US Theatrical Release in New York (Cinema Village), Los Angeles (Laemmle Monica) on September 2nd and on VOD in the US and Canada on Major Platforms on September 6th, Timed to National Recovery Month

GIANT PICTURES PRESENTS 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
Run Time: 1 hour 27 minutes
Genre: Feature Length Documentary
Country: USA

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

Photo 2- Our American Family (Giant Pictures)

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.

Photo 3- Our American Family (Giant Pictures)

View New Trailer for SQUEAL that will Opens theatrically in NYC (Alamo Manhattan) and LA (Laemmle Music Hall) and on VOD on major platforms in the US and Canada on August 19th

Good Deed Entertainment and Cranked Up Films Present SQUEAL

Director: Aik Karapetia
Scriptwriter: Aik Karapetian,Aleksandr Rodionov
Cast: Kevin Janssens,Laura Siliņa,Aigars Vilims,Normunds Griestiņš,Juris Bartkevičs,Guntis Pilsums
Year: 2021
Genre: Dark Comedy
Country: Latvia
Language: Latvian and English (with English subtitles)
Run time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Official Selection: FANTASTIC FEST 2021 and many more

Theaters Include:
NYC (Alamo Manhattan)
Lumiere Music Hall - Los Angeles

VOD Platforms Include:
US: Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, XFinity Cable, and more.
Canada: Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play

“Icon” Available Now Across All Platforms on August 1st: KDMG, Inc. Releasing Filmmaker Tony Ahedo’s Touching Feature Film “Icon” Starring Parker Padgett and Devon Hales

KDMG, Inc. (Kaczmarek Digital Media Group, Inc. ) release of Pretty Sweet Films’ production of filmmaker Tony Ahedo’s touching feature film debut “Icon” is available today across all TVOD/Digital and Blu-Ray/DVD platforms throughout North America.

This moving coming of age drama charts the perilous journey to adulthood for our charismatic leads Sam (Parker Padgett) and Ana (Devon Hales).

Young love’s the topic of so many films, but rarely is it handled with earnest, authentic grace, as we see in “Icon”. Anchored in the touching performances of Parker Padgett and Devon Hales, audiences will find themselves moved much like fellow beloved indie film “The Spectacular Now.” When a surprise pregnancy forces Sam to face many brutal realities of adulthood and responsibility, things spiral rapidly out of control as he simultaneously tries to fight to find his own truth: why his absent father hasn’t been in his life since he was one and is only a fading memory.

“Icon” was inspired by a true story and stars Parker Padgett (“Surviving Lunch”) and Devon Hales (Netflix’s “Teenage Bounty Hunters,” “Stan Against Evil”), along with Julia Denton (“The Fundamentals of Caring,” “Geostorm”), Tony Demil (Succession,” “Zola”), Bryce Anthony Heller (“Education in Love,” “Cobra’s World”), and the feature film debut of Ronald Sansone.

Adapted from an award-winning short that won the presidents’ award at Ringling College of Art & Design, “Icon” was filmed in Ahedo’s hometown of Saint Petersburg, Florida, just prior to the pandemic. The story pulls elements from his childhood growing up in the mid 90’s through the early 2000s in Florida.

Cinematographer Harrison Stagner (“Rosary, Fiona Humphrey: A Family Album,” “Stubbz”), utilized different cameras to best embody the film’s timelines. A Canon C200 was used for the 2010 timeline and BMCC4K with a vintage 60’s lens for the 90’s timeline. “Icon” also features a moving original score by Chris Carlone (“The Red Cocoon,” “Highway to Havasu”).

Where to follow the film and its journey—
Website: www.iconfeature.com
Facebook: @iconthemovie
Instagram: @iconthemovie

Adventure Entertainment Brings Digitally Remastered 50th Anniversary of “Five Summer Stories” To Theatres Across the U.S. & Canada Beginning on August 12th

Greg MacGillivray’s Iconic Surf Film Offers Cultural Time Capsule To Cinema Audiences in Over 50 Markets

(Laguna Beach, CA—July 29, 2022) Adventure Entertainment continues to bring extraordinary stories to North American audiences this summer with MacGillivray Freeman Films (MFF), the world’s foremost independent producer of original giant-screen films for IMAX® theatres, and co-founder Greg MacGillivray’s 50^th Anniversary special release of the company’s digitally remastered classic surf documentary, “Five Summer Stories” (1972), widely considered the greatest surf film ever made, beginning on August 12^th. A cultural touchstone and time capsule from a truly watershed era when the world was at a critical crossroads, “Five Summer Stories” captures the state of surfing on the verge of creative transition, raising the surf film art form to a new level and setting the genre’s artistic standards for the next two decades.

Adventure Entertainment will bring this beloved epic documentary to audiences theatrically across North America (U.S. and Canada) in cinemas in more than 50 markets. This 50^th Anniversary theatrical release is perfectly timed to coincide with the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, when surfing captures the imagination of viewers around the world. Filmmakers will be in attendance for Q&As at screening events in select markets, and community partnerships with the Surfrider Foundation, a grassroots nonprofit ocean conservation organization, as well as Quiksilver, a heritage surf brand, will support these events in select locations. Quiksilver will be releasing a limited edition t-shirt for the film’s release, available soon.

Says director Greg MacGillivray: “With Five Summer Stories, Jim and I sought to make a state-of-the-art surf film that would reflect the broader cultural shifts happening in the late 60s and early 70s, when youth culture was experimenting in so many creative ways and surfing was going through its own pivotal transition. The film really took the surfing world by storm, and I think today’s audiences will find it relevant and exciting in ways we couldn’t have imagined fifty years ago.”

“Five Summer Stories” first premiered in 1972 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and was quickly deemed “the greatest surf film ever made.” The film’s unusual format—a montage of five-plus stories or vignettes—perfectly captured a fractured era in which an explosion of creativity and revolutionary change was shaking down the old order, taking the sport of surfing off into new and unknown territory. Although the film went through several (and increasingly popular) incarnations as it played in theaters over a seven-year span from 1972 to 1979, its fundamental story remained the same—that the pure, innocent joy of surfing was symbolic of humankind’s best possibilities on Earth without war or politics or environmental destruction. The film features music by the Beach Boys and Honk.

Greg MacGillivray holds a very unique place in filmmaking history with a career that spans more than 60 years, first as an innovative filmmaker who revolutionized surf movies with classic surf documentaries like A Cool Wave of Color and Five Summer Stories with creative partner Jim Freeman, to working in Hollywood with such celebrated filmmakers as Stanley Kubrick on The Shining and on films like Big Wednesday, The Towering Inferno, Blade Runner, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Koyaanisqatsi, then becoming a pioneer and champion of the 70mm IMAX® format and creator of some of the most iconic cinematography ever captured for giant screen films, including Everest, the highest-grossing IMAX film of all time.

"Five Summer Stories” is directed and produced by Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman, and photographed by MacGillivray, Freeman, Bud Browne (“Going Surfin’”) and George Greenough, with narration written by Drew Kampion and music composed by the 1970s rock/surf band Honk and featuring songs by the Beach Boys.

Key Premiere Dates

Aug 3 Regency Wharf Cinema, Lahaina, HI

Aug 5 Regent Theatre, Arlington, MA

Aug 5 Magic Lantern, Bridgton, ME

Aug7&10 CMX Theatres in 6 Florida markets

Aug 7&10 CMX Pinnacle, Gulf Shores, AL

Aug 7 Manship Theatre, Baton Rouge, LA

Aug 9 Jane Pickens Theater, Newport, RI

Aug 9 Hopewell Theatre, Hopewell, NJ

Aug 12 La Paloma Theatre, Encinitas, CA

Aug 23 Regency South Coast Village, Costa Mesa, CA

Aug 25 Laemmle Monica Film Center, Santa Monica, CA

Sep 3 Arena Theater, Point Arena, CA

Sept 4 Southampton Arts Center, Southampton, NY

Sept 12 Metrolux 10, San Clemente, CA

Additional screenings will be held through the U.S. and Canada through September. View the complete list of screening dates here: http://fivesummerstories.com/

The publication of MFF company co-founder Greg MacGillivray’s visual memoir, Five Hundred Summer Stories, will follow the theatrical release of “Five Summer Stories” and will be released on November 15^th, 2022. Illustrated with more than 500 photographs and filmmaking artifacts from MacGillivray’s extensive archive, as well as story contributions by legendary surfers Gerry Lopez and Bill Hamilton, and filmmakers such as Stephen Judson, Brad Ohlund and Howard Hall. https://500summerstories.com/

About Greg MacGillivray & MacGillivray Freeman Films
Greg MacGillivray is one of the most prolific and successful documentary filmmakers of all time, with 60 films to his credit. He started making surf films when he was just 13 and later partnered with Jim Freeman to form MacGillivray Freeman Films in 1966. Since the 1976 production of their first IMAX film, To Fly!, Greg has produced some of the most enduring films in the giant-screen genre and has received two Academy Award^® nominations for Best Documentary Short Subject for The Living Sea and Dolphins. MacGillivray Freeman Films is the first documentary production company to reach the $1 billion benchmark in worldwide gross ticket sales. Greg is also a passionate ocean conservationist, and with his wife Barbara founded the MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation. https://macgillivrayfreeman.com/.

About Adventure Entertainment:
Sydney-based, and operating in more than a dozen countries on 4 continents, Adventure Entertainment is making literal and metaphorical waves in the adventure film world with over 10 film touring platforms, and dozens of feature films in recent distribution. Specializing in producing live, eventized, theatrical film screenings, AE is leading the way in innovative, community-based marketing and generating pre, and post-show buzz in the entertainment industry. In addition to "Rookie Season," other 2021/22 titles include National Geographic's " Torn, " Red Bull Media House's "La Liste: Everything or nothing, " and "Buried, ” from Oscar-winning producers Evan Hayes and Michael Sugar. See more at adventureentertainment.com

OUR AMERICAN FAMILY U.S. Theatrical Release on September 2nd in New York and Los Angeles and on VOD Major Platforms in the US and Canada on September 6th. Timed to National Recovery Month

GIANT PICTURES PRESENT

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

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

OUR AMERICAN FAMILY U.S. Theatrical release on September 2^nd in New York (Cinema Village), Los Angeles (Laemmle Monica) and on VOD major platforms in the US and Canada on September 6^th Timed to National Recovery Month.

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

Our American Family (Giant Pictures)

HALLEE ADELMAN, DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Hallee Adelman is a writer, filmmaker, and co-founder of World of HA Productions. She is an executive producer on the Emmy-winning documentary “The Social Dilemma,” and the Oscar-nominated international film, “Writing with Fire.” Other titles include the Academy shortlisted, “The Truffle Hunters,” the Sundance premiere “UsKids,” and the soon to be released, “Art & Krimes by Krimes.” Recent festival premieres, “Aisha,” “Broadway Rising,” and “Your Friend, Memphis.” Adelman is a Board Member of the International Documentary Association. Adelman co-directed and produced OUR AMERICAN FAMILY after a writing project deepened her connection with the brave participants featured in the film.

SEAN O’GRADY, DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Sean King O’Grady is a filmmaker based in Michigan. His award-winning feature films have screened at Sundance, Tribeca, Telluride, Berlinale, Sitges, SXSW and dozens of other festivals around the world.

FILM WEBSITE:
https://ouramericanfamilyfilm.com

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

ABOUT GIANT PICTURES

Giant Pictures is a leading digital distributor that partners with studios and filmmakers to release movies and series across all major streaming platforms, including Apple TV, Netflix, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, IMDb TV, Peacock, and more. Release your movie your way with Giant Pictures.

Learn more at: giant.pictures.

View the New Trailer for Sci-fi Thriller KARMALINK Opening Theatrical and on VOD This Week

Director: Jake Wachtel
Cast: Srey Leak Chhith, Leng Heng Prak, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Cindy Sirinya Bishop, Rous Mony and Sveng Socheata
Year: 2021
Country: Cambodia
Language: Khmer with English subtitles
Run time: 1 hour 42 minutes

Theaters include:
Lumiere Music Hall - Los Angeles, CA
Rialto Lakeside Elmwood - Berkeley, CA
Rialto Lakeside Sonoma - Sebastopol, CA
SIFF Film Center - Seattle, WA

VOD Platforms include:
US: Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, XFinity Cable, and more.Canada: Apple TV/iTunes, Google Play.

Filmmaker Jake Wachtel

Sahajak Boonthanakit in Jake Wachtel's KARMALINK (Photo Credit: Good Deed Entertainment)

Conceived as a way to interrogate processes of neo-colonialism, and highlighting the alienating effects of technological progress, Jake Wachtel's KARMALINK is a mind-bending tale of reincarnation, artificial consciousness, and the search for enlightenment.

In near-future Phnom Penh, the rich and privileged are augmented with nanotech, and new skyscrapers crowd the skyline. In Tralop Bek, a tight-knit community threatened with forced eviction, 13-year-old Leng Heng is having vivid dreams of his past lives. He and his friends are convinced they are meant to find a buried Buddhist statue to save their homes, and they seek out help from a street-smart girl in the neighborhood, Srey Leak. Together they follow clues across town and into the past, uncovering a link with a genius neuroscientist on a quest for digital nirvana. As Leng Heng’s dreams converge on the present, his very sense of identity begins to unravel. When it becomes clear that the stakes are higher than they imagined, the two friends must decide how far they are willing to go to find their treasure and the truth.

American-born filmmaker Jake Wachtel began his career making short documentaries for nonprofits and social impact ventures working in the global south. His work has been featured on NYTimes.com, Wired, NPR, and MSNBC.

In 2015, he moved to Cambodia to teach a year-long class in filmmaking to children as a part of the Filmmakers Without Borders initiative. His Phnom Penh-set short film THE FOREIGNER HERE premiered at the Cambodian International Film Festival, and he has gone on to collaborate with many of the growing new wave of young Cambodian filmmakers. He also served as on-set editor for Jimmy Henderson's Cambodian-Chinese coproduction THE PREY. Phnom Penh became his home base for several years as he developed his first feature KARMALINK—Cambodia’s first sci-fi movie—set in the community where he taught and produced with a majority Cambodian cast and crew, including his former students.

ABOUT GOOD DEED ENTERTAINMENT

Good Deed Entertainment (GDE) is an Ohio based independent studio dedicated to producing, financing, and distributing quality entertainment for under-served audiences. Its distribution slate includes recent releases Summertime, Ma Belle, My Beauty, and Lucky Grandma, in addition to the Academy Award nominated, Loving Vincent, and Spirit Award nominated, To Dust.

Website: http://www.gooddeedentertainment.com/

View New Trailer for Liongate’s FALL in U. S. Theaters August 12th

Cast: Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Director: Scott Mann
Writers: Scott Mann, Jonathan Frank
Producers: Christian Mercuri, James Harris, Mark Lane, Scott Mann
Genre: Thriller
Rating: Not Yet Rated
Running Time: 1 hour 47 minutes

For best friends Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner), life is all about conquering fears and pushing limits. But after they climb 2,000 feet to the top of a remote, abandoned radio tower, they find themselves stranded with no way down. Now Becky and Hunter’s expert climbing skills will be put to the ultimate test as they desperately fight to survive the elements, a lack of supplies, and vertigo-inducing heights in this adrenaline-fueled thriller costarring Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Lionsgate Films and Capstone Global Present a Tea Shop Production and Capstone Studios Production in Association with Flawless and Cousin Jones.

OFFICIAL SITE: http://www.lionsgate.com/movies/fal

FOLLOW FALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
https://www.instagram.com/fallmovie/

https://twitter.com/fallmovie

KARMALINK: Movie Review

Production Year: 2021
Director: Jake Wachtel
Writers: Jake Wachtel, Christopher Larsen
Cast: Srey Leak Chhith, Leng Heng Prak, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Cindy Sirinya Bishop, Rous Mony and Sveng Socheata
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery
Country: Cambodia
Language: Khmer with English subtitles
Run Time: 1 hour 42 minutes

Children are the Future!

Jake Wachtel’s KARMALINK is a fascinating tale of Srey Leak (Srey Leak Chhith) and Leng Heng (Leng Heng Prak) and a group of his friends, as they, their families and all the members of the community are being left behind with new technological advancements and at the same time, trying to save their community, the Tralok Bek neighborhood of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from being forced to relocate, in order to make room for a speed train. They believe they must find the buried gold Buddhist statute to save them all.

Sahajak Boonthanakit in Jake Wachtel's KARMALINK (Photo Credit: Good Deed Entertainment)

Leng Heng Prak in Jake Wachtel's KARMALINK (Photo Credit: Good Deed Entertainment)

Watching Srey and 13year-old Leng, along with his friends, devise a plan to save their Tralok Bek neighborhood and their determination to not be left behind with the new technology. Is a reminder, that it is the kids of today that will eventually inherit the good and the bad that is left behind by the adults currently in power, and will have to develop solutions to those problems.

It is a reminder of what the United States is called eminent domain. It gives the government the right to to force owners to sell their private property, for what is suppose to be for the public good. Be it, freeways or highways that leads to people being forced to move and also divide communities.

The backdrop of the skyscrapers hoovering over the slums where Srey Leak Chhith, Leng Heng Prak, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Cindy Sirinya Bishop, Rous Mony and Sveng Socheata call home as they go about their daily lives is a stark reminder of the class-difference between the wealthy and those living in extreme poverty that while the kids are trying to save their close-knit community.

Srey Leak Chhith in Jake Wachtel's KARMALINK (Photo Credit_ Good Deed Entertainment)

(L-R) Cindy Sirinya Bishop and Leng Heng Prak in Jake Wachtel's KARMALINK (Photo Credit_ Good Deed Entertainment)

KARMALINK brings Girl Power! into sharp focus with Srey Leak (Srey Leak Chhith). Whether it is the interaction with her older brother, who appears to be irresponsible, or leading a group of boys, who call her the detective, as they search to find a buried gold Buddhist statute.

Reminded of the gentrification of marginalized communities from around the world and how they are left behind socially, economically and technologically too. Even here in the U. S. people do not have access to the internet, something that is now considered a basic service that is denied to many.

And, commonly used by governments, eminent domain that forces private citizens to sell their private property to state and/or federal government, is used to force people from their home in order to build a speed train. A train that those in the Tralok Bek neighborhood will most likely never use.

Director Jake Wachtel weaves together the reality of life in the slums of Cambodia, the technological advancements taking place around those who are struggling for their survival and their dominate societal belief in reincarnation thorough Sci-Fi to tell a captivating narrative in KARMALINK.

Photo 1- Leng Heng Prak in Jake Wachtel's KARMALINK (Photo Credit_ Good Deed Entertainment)

Cinematographer Robert Leitzell captures a vivid picture of Heng's reincarnations through out time., the nitty gritty life in the slums, where the actors Srey and Leng Heng were born and live. The dark lighting provides the ambiance and intensity for Leng Heng’s journeys back in time.

Editors Harrison Atkins, Stephanie Kaznocha work flows effortlessly from scene to scene, helping to tell a very compelling story.

The clothes worn by the characters give a clear indication to their social and economic status within the society they live.

The use of the actual homes and conditions of the residences in the Tralok Bek neighborhood adds to the movie experience of the Set Design (does the setting influence other elements. does it add or subtract from my experience.)

KARMALINK takes place in the Tralok Bek neighborhood of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Tralok Bek is where Srey Leak Chhith, Leng Heng Prak lived and called home. Being filmed in a real place, where real actors lived depicting their actual day to day experiences gives the film a believably story line.

Composer Ariel Marx’s musical score works well with the various scenes providing the suspense needed for a mystery and travel through time.

KARMALINK is a great film, that is sure to captivate your attention, with its cast of kids ready and able to take on the world for the greater good.

I was saddened to read that Leng Heng Prak had passed away in 2021. He had the potential a future in film making

Release Date: July 15, 2022
Distributor: Good Deed Entertainment
Producer: Valerie Steinberg
Production Co: Valerie Steinberg Productions
Co-producers: Sok Visal (802 Films, Cambodia), Christopher Rompré (littleBIG Films, Cambodia)
Executive Producer(s): Todd Brown, Nate Bolotin, Joe & Freddi Felt
Run time: 1 hour 42 minutes
Cast: Srey Leak Chhith, Leng Heng Prak, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Cindy Sirinya Bishop, Rous Mony, Sveng Socheata, Sokvan So, Sreng Chear, Samneang Chea, No Mo, Ty Li, Tommy Henderson, Rando Henderson, Savern Oum, Pisey Pen, Linda Chhith, Sreyneat Chhith, Morokort Chhith, David Rithyruth Alexander, Channan Moa, Reach Hunchan, Sothun Sok, Socheata Khek, Sotereak Ouk, James Adomian
Director: Jake Wachtel
Writers: Jake Wachtel, Christopher Larsen
Cinematography: Robert Leitzell
Editors: Harrison Atkins, Stephanie Kaznocha
Sound Editor: Vincent Villa
Composer: Ariel Marx
Production Designer: Olga Miasnikova

KDMG, Inc. Brings Moving Coming of Age Drama “Icon” to Audiences Everywhere this August

KDMG, Inc. Acquires Filmmaker Tony Ahedo's Touching Feature Film “Icon” for North American VOD/Digital & Blu-Ray/DVD August 1st Release

(Los Angeles, CA—July 11, 2022) KDMG, Inc. (Kaczmarek Digital Media Group, Inc.) has acquired the Pretty Sweet Films’ production of filmmaker Tony Ahedo’s touching feature film debut “Icon.” This moving coming of age drama charts the perilous journey to adulthood for our charismatic leads Sam (Parker Padgett) and Ana (Devon Hales). KDMG, Inc. will release “Icon” across all TVOD/Digital and Blu-Ray/DVD platforms throughout North America on August 1, 2022.

Young love’s the topic of so many films, but rarely is it handled with earnest, authentic grace, as we see in “Icon”. Anchored in the touching performances of Padgett and Hales, audiences will find themselves moved much like fellow beloved indie film “The Spectacular Now.” When a surprise pregnancy forces Sam to face many brutal realities of adulthood and responsibility, things spiral rapidly out of control as he simultaneously tries to fight to find his own truth: why his absent father hasn’t been in his life since he was one and is only a fading memory.

“I am excited for audiences everywhere to see the film and prompt important conversations. My intent is to show the male perspective to a pregnancy in such a way that illuminates the idealization of patriarchy and toxic masculine views of the past and how we move beyond it,” stated Ahedo.

“It's not often we see a good coming-of-age film that breaks down the fundamentals of teen adolescence in a relatable way,” stated KDMG, Inc.’s CEO, Kyle Kaczmarek . “I felt this story had an audience and needed to be seen. On behalf of myself and the KDMG team, I am thrilled to be part of Icon's journey.”

Terese Linden Kohn, Founder of Talk Global Media, negotiated on behalf of the film with Kyle Kaczmarek, CEO of KDMG.

About KDMG, Inc.:
Kaczmarek Digital Media Group, Inc. (KDMG, Inc.) was founded in 2012 to provide a non-traditional, outside the box, hands-on digital approach to entertainment content providers. Deeply passionate about our work, KDMG counsels individuals and companies in all areas of the entertainment industry, including producers, directors, distributors, technology companies, digital retail platforms, sales agents, and cable, telecommunications and satellite companies toward achieving their highest potential.

About Pretty Sweet Films:
Pretty Sweet Films is a full-service narrative production company founded by award-winning filmmaker Tony Ahedo based in Los Angeles. Since its inception in 2019, the company has created and collaborated on a wide variety of projects across the country. From romantic coming of age films to raunchy dark comedies to chilling horror thrillers, PSF is prepared to make any story a compelling piece for the eyes and mind. With more than a decade of production experience, PSF is here to make films pretty sweet.

About TALK Global Media
TALK is veteran sales executive Terese Ann Linden Kohn's global sales agency whose years of indie sales and distribution experience has provided the global marketplaces with quality film, television and new media content. Representing all genres and numerous libraries for all rights and windows, TALK takes pride in the transparency and service it provides to filmmakers, distributors and programmers around the world.