Tag Archives: Fringe

Vancouver filmmaker Matthew Campbell vies for CineCoup’s Million Dollar Prize with his feature film “The Wounded” starring Patrick Sabongui

Film follows Afghani father’s trek to Canada to find revenge against the man who killed his son

Filmmaker Matthew Campbell has submitted his action-packed thriller, The Wounded to the social media platform CineCoup, answering their call for indie filmmakers to post trailers of their projects and navigate their way through the selection process. The final five films (voted by fans) will be optioned for development. Among those five is the $1 million prizewinner.

The Wounded is a story of two fathers. The emotional thriller focuses on Naseer (Patrick Sabongui) an average working-class man from Afghanistan who travels to Canada to seek revenge on the Marine (Rob Hayter) responsible for his son’s death. Meanwhile, Patrick (the marine) is grappling with the effects of war on his mental health while desperately trying to patch things up with his own family upon his return. When Naseer puts a plan into motion hoping for justice, both fathers are pushed to the unthinkable as they come to terms with the effects of violence in their lives.

“Think of the classic American ‘my family is dead, now I will avenge them’ flick, a.k.a. Collateral Damage,” Campbell explains. “But put the twist on a normal Afghani, middle class father who has never willed ill upon anyone, who decides to make the trek to North America to find the man who killed his son believing this will bring him peace.”

For The Wounded, Matthew pulled together a great cast to join Patrick Sabongui (The Flash, Godzilla, 300) who plays Naseer, the Afghan father who wants revenge for Patrick the soldier who killed his son played by Rob Hayter (Falling Skies, The 100). Paula Giroday (Once Upon a Time, Psych) who plays the mother and Madison Guppy (Fringe, Jake and Jasper) plays the daughter. Sasha Proctor (Underworld: Awakening, Arrow) is the Director of Photography and Leif Haydale (The Interview, White House Down) coordinated the stunts.

Over the last eight years, Matthew Campbell has worked on some of Vancouver’s most buzzed-about projects – including hit shows like Arrow, Godzilla, and the upcoming Disney flick Tomorrowland starring George Clooney. Now the young director is gearing up to helm his very first feature, The Wounded, with the potential help of a $1 million prize.

Voting for the Top 60 opens April 6 and runs for the following four days. Campbell hopes to make it all the way to the Top 5. The Wounded trailer has garnered seven pages worth of comments on the movie’s CineCoup page – most of which are overwhelmingly positive. One user wrote it was an “action-packed teaser with great stunts!” Another commented: “Great action and editing, looks like strong acting as well. I’ll be following this one!”

Campbell has been hard at work on this project for more than a year. He’s personally invested nearly $35,000 into the film and received an amazing amount of help from friends in the industry. Next up is a longer ‘investor’s trailer’ featuring visual effects from ILM, the Oscar-winning studio that’s worked on blockbusters such as Star Wars and Transformers.

To vote and share the project, visit www.thewoundedmovie.com.

When to Vote
The three Voting Windows are:
Top 60:
April 6 @ 9 PM ET – April 10 @ 9 PM ET
Top 30:
April 20 @ 9 PM ET – April 24 @ 9 PM ET
Top 15:
May 4 @ 9 PM ET – April 8 @ 9 PM ET

About Matthew Campbell:
Born just outside of Vancouver in Delta, B.C., Matthew Campbell grew up having two strong passions: film and adventure. As a kid, he loved to climb, slide and jump on anything and everything he possibly could. He followed through on both interests by going into film and working on action-packed movies and shows. The young filmmaker landed his first industry gig as a production assistant for the sci-fi drama The Last Mimzy.

Campbell then went on to study Motion Picture Production at Capilano University. He made his directorial debut shortly afterwards with the short film To Save One’s Self (2012). The movie was screened at festivals worldwide and nabbed the “Royal Reel Award” at the Canadian International Film Fstival.

Since then, the B.C. native has worked as a Lead/On-Set Greensman on some of the province’s biggest productions, including Godzilla (2013), Arrow, This Means War and Once Upon A Time.

Campbell is currently working on his feature debut, The Wounded, a dramatic thriller about two fathers from opposite ends of a war.

About Patrick Sabongui:
Patrick’s acting career spans over a decade. Patrick grew up in a 3-language household speaking French, English and Arabic. Patrick earned a BFA in Drama and MFA in Acting. Patrick currently plays Captain David Singh on CW’s The Flash. Patrick has had the opportunity to work with some of the world’s most influential directors including Steven Spielberg, Zack Snyder, Tarsem Singh, John Cassar, Yves Simoneau, Richard Donner, Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard and Roland Emmerich. On television, he has appeared on several hit shows such as “24”, Flashpoint, Covert Affairs, Psych, Smallville and Stargate: Atlantis to name a few. His athletic background and martial-arts training has also landed him work on action films “300”, Immortals, MI:4, A-Team, The Bourne Legacy, Tron: Legacy and more.

As a creative artist he has also written, directed and produced several short films. Patrick is also the co- director of the not-for-profit mentorship program, Fulfilling Young Artists: an organization dedicated to helping young actors and actresses find fulfillment in their pursuit of a positive, sustainable acting career. As a father, artist, actor, director, producer, mentor and athlete he is the embodiment of a renaissance man in today’s entertainment industry.

Social Media Handles

Website: thewoundedmovie.com
Twitter: @thewoundedmovie, @greensman, @patricksabongui, @cinecoup
Trailer: cinecoup.com/the-wounded/trailer

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People
Instagram: @thepromotionpeople

In demand Erica Carroll keeps busy with recurring roles on the CW’s Supernatural and Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart

Rising star Erica Carroll, best known for her recurring role on the long-running CW series Supernatural and Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart.

Always busy, the Canadian actress can currently be seen in the new season of CW’s Emmy-nominated and cult-favorite series Supernatural with her next episode airing on Tuesday, November 25th. She plays Hannah, a not-so-graceful angel occupying a human body. “I am quite proud of Hannah who I play on Supernatural,” says Erica. “Although she may be an ethereal being, she certainly doesn’t navigate the human world with the utmost finesse, which leads to awkward yet endearing moments and some seriously bad-ass altercations too.”

About Erica:
Erica is proud to be the first member of her family to be born in Canada, with deep roots running back to Dublin, Ireland. Born, in an ambulance headed to Fraser Lake, she split her childhood between Fort St. John (Northeastern B.C.) and Duncan, B.C, on Vancouver Island. Today, the homegrown talent calls East Vancouver home.

Reflecting her Irish roots, Erica began taking Irish dancing lessons at the tender age of five, where she discovered both a passion and a fear of being on stage. “I knew in my heart I wanted to perform in some capacity, but the thought of it terrified me,” she admits. “I watched Airplane and Beetlejuice repeatedly, loving bizarre comedy and weird and wonderful characters.”

Erica caught the acting bug years later as a teen after attending a performance of The Phantom of the Opera at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre with her family. A self-professed Saturday Night Live super-fan, she would make silly home videos trying out characters with a friend who owned a camera. But it was only in her 20s that she decided to give acting a serious shot. She studied drama at three schools, including Canadian College in Victoria, The Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, and the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. The latter has graduated the likes of Anne Hathaway, Robert Redford and the late Lauren Bacall.

Erica has been featured in countless Vancouver-shot TV shows, including Motive, Alcatraz, Fringe, Spooksville, Caprica, Smallville, Almost Human, Battlestar Galactica, and the list goes on. She’s also appeared in many independent films; Erica received a Leo nomination for her performance in the short film When Jesse Was Born. That same role nabbed her a Best Female Performance award at the Sacramento Film Festival. One of her latest features, Afterparty, premiered at last year’s Whistler Film Festival to critical praise.

“The film was entirely improvised, which is a thrilling experience for any actor and it was a really wonderful cast of local actors,” Erica shares. “Let’s just be honest, filming Afterparty was like being at summer camp with your best friends.”

When she’s not acting, Erica can be found coaching and motivating up and coming young talent, advocating safe technology, and pursuing a year long fitness program commitment to rehabilitate from several car accidents.

A true animal lover, Erica supports the SPCA and the Vancouver Humane Society. She has a Bullmastiff named Bella who has survived two bouts of cancer through the use of naturopathic remedies.

Social Media Handles

Twitter: @divinepigeon
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Erica-Carroll/90087671831
IMDb: www.imdb.com/name/nm1264633

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People

Peter and Julia Benson’s Horror Feature Film ‘Death Do Us Part’ is being released on DVD in the United States and Canada on April 15th

The film will screen at Vancouver’s Rio theatre on April 6^th at 6:30 p.m.

The married duo of Peter and Julia Benson are pleased to announce the release of their horror feature film ‘Death Do Us Part’ on DVD in the United States and Canada on April 15^th, 2014. Along with starring in the film, Julia and Peter also wrote and produced ‘Death Do Us Part’ with Ryan Copple. Anchor Bay Entertainment is distributing the film in the U.S. and Raven Banner Entertainment is handling the Canadian release. The film will also play at the Rio theatre on April 6^th at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $10 at the door and $8 in advance.

‘Death Do Us Part’ is a horror feature film that tells the story of six friends who go to a remote cabin in the woods to celebrate a ‘Jack and Jill’ bachelor party. Things take a horrifying turn when members of the group are brutally picked off one by one. What starts out as a celebration, quickly descends into a bloody nightmare. Friendships are ripped apart and accusations fly in this blood filled psychological horror with a whodunit twist. The film was nominated for three Leo awards and stars Julia Benson (Stargate Universe, That Burning Feeling), Peter Benson (What an Idiot, Leap 4 Your Life), Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary, Arctic Air), Christine Chatelain (Sanctuary, Fringe), Kyle Cassie (Lost Boys: The Tribe, True Justice), Benjamin Ayres (Saving Hope, Less Than Kind), Dave Collette (Leap 4 Your Life, What an Idiot), Viv Leacock (Almost Human, Continuum) and Aaron Douglas (The Killing, Battlestar Galactica). Nicholas Humphries (The Little Mermaid) directed the feature film.

Peter and Julia are two well-known Canadian actors who are rapidly establishing themselves as a successful writing/producing/directing team with their company Married to the Boss Productions. Six years ago the married couple realized that they wanted more out of their careers and developed a passion for creating their own work. Their first project was a series that they co-created called ‘Kits’ which was accepted into the prestigious NSI Totally Television program. The script that Peter wrote garnered them a development deal with City TV and they served as Executive Producers on the project when a pilot episode was ordered.

Julia is best known for her Leo Award winning role as Vanessa James on ‘Stargate Universe’. Julia’s recent credits include MOWs ‘Nobody’s Fool,’ ‘Secret Liaison’, ’Chupacabra Vs. The Alamo’ and feature films ‘That Burning Feeling’ with Tyler Labine and ‘Kid Cannabis’ which is being released across North America on April 18^th. Peter’s recent credits include feature films ‘Black Fly’, ‘Afterparty’, ‘Hasting Street’, ‘The Wingman’, ‘Leap 4 Your Life’, MOWs ‘Nobody’s Fool’, ‘Baby Bootcamp’, ‘Mystery Cruise’, and television series ‘Motive’, ‘Supernatural’, and Continuum’.

Up next, Julia and Peter are in post-production on their second feature film; a romantic comedy entitled ‘What an Idiot’. Peter wrote and directed the film and Julia produced it with the support of Telefilm Canada. Peter and Julia star in ‘What an Idiot’ along with Lochlyn Munro (Scary Movie) and Kerr Smith (Dawson’s Creek).

Social Media Handles

Website: deathdouspartthemovie.com, juliabenson.net, riotheatre.ca/events
Twitter: @DDUPMovie, @Julia_Benson, @RioTheatre
Facebook: facebook.com/DeathDoUsPartTheMovie
IMDb: Death Do Us Part, Julia Benson, Peter Benson

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People

Award Winning Actor/Director Juan Riedinger Wins Again–Taking Home Two Leo Awards Over the Weekend

Multi-award winning actor Juan Riedinger can add two new wins to his resume; taking home two Leo Awards at this year’s awards ceremony. Juan won the ‘Best Performance in a Web Series’ award for “Pavement”-Wake Up, and ‘Best Performance in a Youth or Children’s Program or Series’ award for his role in “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour”-Coat Rack Cowboy. The Leo Awards were distributed to the best in B.C. film and television this past weekend in Vancouver.

Juan took home the Best Performance awards for his leading role in the exciting new web series entitled “Pavement”. Set on the streets of LA, Juan plays Mitch, a Meth-addicted father who is desperately trying to keep his family together. Juan was the only Canadian actor in the production, working alongside ER Ruiz (Sons of Anarchy).

On TV, Juan won Best Performance in a Youth or Children’s Program or Series’ for R. L. Stine’s “The Haunting Hour” – Coat Rack Cowboy. He played John ‘Mad Dog’ McCoy, an Old West gunslinger who comes back to haunt two brothers he believes cut down the tree he was hanged from. Juan worked alongside the youngest of the Jonas Brothers – Frankie Jonas. Juan was also nominated in the same category at last year’s Leos for a different character on the same show.

Juan took home two out of the three awards he was nominated for this year. He was also nominated for ‘Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama’ for the feature film “Havana 57″. The film was the first ever Canadian-Cuban co-production and was shot entirely on location in Havana, Cuba. “Havana 57” follows Rubén Velez (Juan Riedinger), a newly appointed homicide detective in the Havana police force in 1957, just before the Cuban revolution.

These past few years Juan has been extremely busy filming in Los Angeles, Cuba, Mexico, Montreal, Toronto, Rhode Island, Vancouver, and even in his hometown of Banff. Juan and his wife Agam Darshi played a couple for the first time in the short dramatic film “Reunion”. The film was shot in Sayulita, Mexico (where the real-life couple were married) and in Los Angeles earlier this year.

Juan just completed filming a supporting role in a feature film entitled “Broken Horses”, by Bollywood legend Vidhu Vinod Chopra (Three Idiots, Parinda), where he worked alongside Vincent D’Onofrio, Anton Yelchin, and cinematographer Tom Stern (The Hunger Games, Mystic River). He is also a lead character in the horror feature “Alice D.”, also starring horror legend Kane Hodder. Juan also has the leading role of Jess in the post-apocalyptic web series called “Breakers”, currently in production.

Juan has received a long list of industry accolades for his performances. He won a 2012 Leo Award for Best Performance by a Male in a Short Drama for his leading role in the film “blood/sweat/tears”. He was given the ‘Best Actor’ award at the 2011 Indy Horror Film Festival for his leading role in “On a Dark and Stormy Night,” which was also awarded ‘Best Feature.’ He also recently became the only two-time recipient of the A&E Short Filmmaker’s Award for his short films “Shark Out of Water” and “Birth Day”. Riedinger’s role in the independent film Zero Hour also won him two best actor awards at festivals in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Juan was also nominated for Best Actor in the 2012 Chicago Horror Film Festival for his leading role in the acclaimed feature-length thriller Spades.

Juan’s other list of notable credits include: playing Peter Whyte from a teen until his death in “Drawing Home”; a supporting role in the horror-comedy, “Jennifer’s Body” alongside Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried and Adam Brody; a supporting role in “Hardwired”, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Val Kilmer; a role in “Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem”, as the ill-fated stoner, Scotty; and shared the screen alongside Jennifer Connely in “The Day the Earth Stood Still”.

Multi-talented Riedinger made his directorial debut on the film entitled “Shark Out of Water”, which he also wrote and received four Leo Award nominations for, including Best Short Film and Best Direction in a Short Film. The film deals with two poker-obsessed young men who must come to terms with their addiction, and includes a cameo appearance by internationally renowned poker champion Phil Hellmuth. The official website for Juan’s Leo Award-nominated directorial debut is now live at: sharkoutofwater.com.

“Float” is a 35mm short film which Juan directed with a grant from Bravo!FACT, and made its Canadian premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival. There Juan received the award for ‘Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film’. The film also made its world premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Riedinger, originally from Banff, Alberta, moved to Vancouver to pursue acting full time. Soon after, he won a nationwide casting call for a recurring role in Showcase’s “Godiva’s”. He also landed a supporting lead in “Shred” alongside Tom Green, and guest starred in such television shows as “Smallville”, “Fringe”, and “Continuum”.

Social Media Handles

Website: juanriedinger.com
Twitter: @JuanRiedinger

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Jasmyn Pozzo – Publicist
jasmyn@thepromotionpeople.ca
705.255.6887

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People

Award Winning Actor/Director Juan Riedinger is nominated for three awards at the 2013 Leo Awards

Multi-award winning actor Juan Riedinger has been nominated for three Leo Awards: ‘Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama’ for “Havana 57”, ‘Best Performance in a Youth or Children’s Program or Series’ for “R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour”- Coat Rack Cowboy, and ‘Best Performance in a Web Series’ for “Pavement” – Wake Up. The Leo Awards take place at the spectacular Westin Bayshore Vancouver on June 7th and 8th.

Juan’s first nomination is for his starring role in the feature film “Havana 57”. The film was the first ever Canadian-Cuban co-production and was shot entirely on location in Havana, Cuba. “Havana 57” follows Rubén Velez (Juan Riedinger), a newly appointed homicide detective in the Havana police force in 1957, just before the Cuban revolution. His brother, a university professor named Luis, is actively involved in the student uprisings prevailing in Havana at the time. Velez is caught between two worlds – the crooked police force he belongs to, and the student rebels, who his own brother supports. After being seduced by Juliana (Elisabetta Fantone), a Cuban dancer with ties to the mob, Velez must decide where his allegiances lie.

Juan is also nominated for his leading role in an exciting new web series entitled “Pavement”. Set on the streets of LA, Juan plays Mitch, a Meth-addicted father who is desperately trying to keep his family together. Juan was the only Canadian actor in the production, working alongside ER Ruiz (Sons of Anarchy).

On television, Juan has been nominated for Best Performance in a Youth or Children’s Program or Series’ for R. L. Stine’s “The Haunting Hour” – Coat Rack Cowboy. He played John ‘Mad Dog’ McCoy, an Old West gunslinger who comes back to haunt two brothers he believes cut down the tree he was hanged from. Juan worked alongside the youngest of the Jonas Brothers – Frankie Jonas. Juan was also nominated in the same category at last year’s Leos for a different character on the same show.

Juan resides with his wife Agam Darshi in both Los Angeles and Vancouver. Juan is available for interviews and photos upon request.

Social Media Handles

Website: juanriedinger.com
Twitter: @JuanRiedinger

Contact The Promotion People

Lesley Diana – Founder, President and Publicist
lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca
604.726.5575

Jasmyn Pozzo – Publicist
jasmyn@thepromotionpeople.ca
705.255.6887

Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People