‘BLUEBIRD’ is the newest title available from WE ARE COLONY with behind-the-scenes extras!

we are colony logoThe newest digital release from We Are Colony is from first-time director Lance Edmands (editor of Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture) titled BLUEBIRD.  BLUEBIRD-iTunes-Full-Key-Art

Starring Mad Men’s John SlatteryThe Leftovers’ Emily MeadeThe Good Wife’s Margo Martingale plus a cameo from Girls’ Adam Driver, Bluebird will available to rent and buy in the US from Monday 25th July with exclusive behind-the-scenes extras.

Synopsis:

In the northern reaches of Maine, a local school bus driver becomes distracted during her end-of-day inspection, and fails to notice a sleeping boy in the back of the bus. What happens next shatters the tranquility of her small Maine logging town, proving that even the slightest actions have enormous consequences.

BLUEBIRD Amy Morton & Emily Meade & John Slattery Photo by Jody Lee LipesJeremy got the incredible oportunity to see Bluebird at the Indy Film Fest last year. In his review, he outlines the gutwrenching and effecting emotional hold the film has on it’s audience. I could not have said it better myself, so here are a few quotes from Jeremy’s review:

“…at this year’s Indy Film FestLance Edmands’ Bluebird was far and away my favorite of those that I saw and certainly worthy of the Grand Jury Prize, tops of the fest, as well as the American Spectrum Prize for the best film made by an American director…”

BLUEBIRD Amy Morton Photo by Jody Lee Lipes

“Bluebird is not a heartwarming story and thus not for everyone. It mirrors the bleakness and harshness of the landscape and the season in which it was shot so deftly by Jody Lee Lipes (also known for the great photography of Martha Marcy May Marlene). It echoes Atom Egoyan‘s The Sweet Hereafter, a film I would easily put in the top ten best of the 1990s, in tone and even bears some narrative resemblance, yet it stands on its own and makes us take notice.”

You can read Jeremy’s review in it’s entirety as well as his interview with director Lance Edmands. Take a look at the trailer below.

In renting or owning Bluebird through We Are Colony’s digital platform, you are treated to exclusive behind-the-scenes extras.

For more information on this unique platform: We Are Colony Colony-platform

Indy Film Fest Fave ‘Ben’s at Home’ is Getting a Web Series…Hell Yes

bens at home - posterI was happy today to get news that one of my fave films of 2014, Ben’s at Home, is in the process of getting made into a web series. I was lucky enough to catch the film at the Indy Film Fest and had the fantastic opportunity to speak with both co-writer/star Dan Abramovici and co-writer/director Mars Horodyski about the film and their process. You can catch my review here.The basics of the plot is a guy who goes through a bad breakup decides not to leave his house…ever. Everything he needs, he can get sent to his house. Why leave?

So, there is a way that you (yes you!) can help out the Ben’s at Home team. Watch the teaser below and throw a comment their way on YouTube. The Canadian-based filmmakers are looking to get funding through Canada’s Independent Production Fund to get this thing off the ground. So what harm can that do? The film was funny, witty and topical and I expect the web series will expand on what Ben is up to now.

Get there, people. I’m really excited about this project and you should be too.

Jeremy’s Interview: Lance Edmands, Award-Winning ‘Bluebird’ Writer/Director

SFF_BLUEBIRD_Lance_Edmands_press

If you followed my coverage of the Indy Film Fest, you might remember I was able to catch (review here) the Grand Jury & American Spectrum Prize-Winning Bluebird, written and directed by Lance Edmands. You also might remember that it was my favorite of the films that I saw at the festival. I was curious to learn more about the film, its evolution and its journey to the screen so I reached out to Lance and he was kind of enough to give me 45 minutes of his time. Here’s what he had to say… Read More →

‘Bluebird’ Starring Mad Men’s John Slattery & Lance Edmands’ Grand Jury & American Spectrum Prize Winner

BLUEBIRD-iTunes-Full-Key-ArtHaving gone to my fair share of film festivals, it is rare that I agree with the juries who award the prizes for “best of the fest.” They often see far more in films that I dismiss and frequently don’t give enough credence to those that I love, because as anyone knows my opinion is always correct (wink, wink). The one time I attended a fest that got it 100% was the 2004 Chicago International Film Festival when Nimrod Antal‘s mesmerizing Kontroll took home the Gold Hugo. Now, while I didn’t see every film at this year’s Indy Film FestLance Edmands’ Bluebird was far and away my favorite of those that I saw and certainly worthy of the Grand Jury Prize, tops of the fest, as well as the American Spectrum Prize for the best film made by an American director (the Audience Award has yet to be awarded). So, bravo to the jury! Read More →

Jeremy’s Interview: Lance Edmands, Award-Winning “Bluebird” Writer/Director

SFF_BLUEBIRD_Lance_Edmands_press

If you followed my coverage of the Indy Film Fest, you might remember I was able to catch (review here) the Grand Jury & American Spectrum Prize-Winning Bluebird, written and directed by Lance Edmands. You also might remember that it was my favorite of the films that I saw at the festival. I was curious to learn more about the film, its evolution and its journey to the screen so I reached out to Lance and he was kind of enough to give me 45 minutes of his time. Here’s what he had to say… Read More →

Jeremy Goes to the Indy Film Fest: Rory Kennedy’s Documentary ‘Last Days in Vietnam’ Poignant and Fascinating

Last Days in Vietnam-posterWhile I lived through the final gasps of the Vietnam War, I was way too young to recall any of it. This war hangs over our country’s history like a rain cloud and it’s rare that we ever hear of much in the way of good that came from it. Enter Rory Kennedy‘s superb documentary, Last Days in Vietnam, which tells the story of the not-so-secret operation to remove as many of the South Vietnamese who helped the U.S. during the war with the Viet Cong and the communists from the North. This is a tale that has seemingly gone untold in the near 40 years since the end of the war. As our troops that have been engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan are finally being returned home, the time seems perfectly ripe for a film like this one. Read More →

Jeremy Goes to the Indy Film Fest: William MacGillivray’s ‘Hard Drive’ Is a Drive Best Skipped

Plan as you may, every film that you see can’t be a winner. This holds especially true at film festivals where pre-festival exposure to the films playing is sometimes nil. That’s the exciting thing about going to a festival. You may stumble across an unheralded gem or you may find a film that turns you off completely, sort of a film roulette if you will. As I’ve already mentioned in previous posts, the other two narrative films that I caught at the Indy Film Fest (Fort Tilden and Bluebird) were both incredible in their own unique ways and worthy of infinite praise. Perhaps the old adage of third time’s the charm is true because the third narrative film I saw, William MacGillivray‘s Hard Drive, just wasn’t up to par with the others. Being the first narrative film that I was set to see, I had hoped it would set the bar incredibly high for the rest I had ahead. Instead, it did the opposite. Read More →

Jeremy Goes to the Indy Film Fest: Lance Edmands’ Grand Jury & American Spectrum Prize Winner ‘Bluebird’ a Well-Deserving Winner

Having gone to my fair share of film festivals, it is rare that I agree with the juries who award the prizes for “best of the fest.” They often see far more in films that I dismiss and frequently don’t give enough credence to those that I love, because as anyone knows my opinion is always correct (wink, wink). The one time I attended a fest that got it 100% was the 2004 Chicago International Film Festival when Nimrod Antal‘s mesmerizing Kontroll took home the Gold Hugo. Now, while I didn’t see every film at this year’s Indy Film FestLance Edmands’ Bluebird was far and away my favorite of those that I saw and certainly worthy of the Grand Jury Prize, tops of the fest, as well as the American Spectrum Prize for the best film made by an American director (the Audience Award has yet to be awarded). So, bravo to the jury! Read More →

Jeremy Goes to the Indy Film Fest: ‘Fort Tilden’ Is a Hilarious and Poignant Snapshot of Privileged Millennial Discontent

Many are the films that depict the haze that young people are in once they graduate from college. Few are the films that depict that haze in a convincing and fresh way. To me, Noah Baumbach‘s Kicking & Screaming has always been the bellwether in this cinematic realm. Many have tried and mostly all have failed to capture what he, his cast and crew did with that film. Now, enter Fort Tilden, a quirky film about two women, Harper (Bridey Elliott) and Allie (Clare McNulty), who make a plan to go to the beach at Fort Tilden, New York City, to meet up with two boys they met the night before. It treads on this same cinematic terrain and succeeds admirably. Read More →

July Film Festivals In New York City & Beyond

July-Film-Festivals

It’s truly how amazing how many film festivals are going on at any given time throughout the year. At first I just compiled those for New York City, but then I dug further and found the others across the country too! So here’s July in order of when they are starting in the month. Please comment if you know of any others and I’ll add them to the calendar. Read More →