Tag Archives: Robert Redford

Brightlight Pictures’ Short film, “GREECE”, heads for colder climate with Whistler International Film Festival Selection

Writer/Director/Actor Sarah Deakins’ award winning short film, “GREECE” is set for its Canadian premiere at the Whistler International Film Festival as a part of the Canadian Short Works Competition. “GREECE” will screen on Thursday, December 4th, 12:00pm at Millennium Place www.whistlerfilmfestival.com

The Promotion People - GREECE

“GREECE” centers on a daughter’s final attempt to connect with her seemingly catatonic mother. Brightlight Pictures president Shawn Williamson saw something in local writer Deakins’ script, and took the project on as a creative labour of love. A recent co-recipient of the inaugural Brian Linehan Actor Award, Deakins also stars in the character driven drama and as a director she was finally able to fully realize her vision, in her hometown of Vancouver.

Already a triple award winner, GREECE continues to garner praise following its debut in October on the US Film Festival circuit. A fresh, local Vancouver crew, all volunteers, worked closely together to produce a short with incredible production value, inspired by a strong creative vision from the film’s writer/director, Sarah Deakins, and captured beautifully by cinematographer Jon Joffin.

The Best Shorts Competition says of GREECE, “A tribute to the complicated relationships between parents and children with moving dialogue and expressions…A deeply personal journey with beautiful cinematography” and film critic David Spaner tweeted,  “…catch director/actor/writer Sarah Deakins’ Greece when you can. Beautifully executed short making festival rounds”.

The Promotion People - GREECE

In response to the three awards before the film has even hit the Canadian festival circuit, Ms. Deakins states, “Everyone who worked  on this film is thrilled to have been recognized by the Best Shorts Competition and The Accolade Global competition judges, and we are most grateful that the film is connecting with people. The whole team worked really hard to bring this vision to life and to know that people are now responding to the artistry that we took such care with is most gratifying. And we’re thrilled to have our Canadian premiere at Whistler!”

Producer Arielle Boisvert says, “We have been very pleased with the response to our film. The subject matter is close to our hearts and we are looking forward to our Canadian premier in Whistler.”

About Brightlight Pictures
Brightlight Pictures develops, packages and produces independent feature films and television projects, and its President, Shawn Williamson, has produced more than 90 productions in the last 15 years and over 35 productions since launching Brightlight in 2001. Recently, Williamson has worked as an executive producer on the feature film THE INTERVIEW (Seth Rogen, James Franco) for Columbia Pictures and the television series WITCHES OF EAST END (Julia Ormond, Jenna Dewan-Tatum) for Fox 21. His recent producer credits include the feature film HORNS (Daniel Radcliffe) for Mandalay and Red Granite Pictures; 50/50 (Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt;) and THE COMPANY YOU KEEP, a Sony Picture directed by Robert Redford and starring Robert Redford and Shia LaBeouf.

For more information regarding “GREECE” please contact Producer Arielle Boisvert, at Brightlight Pictures: (604) 628-3000 or 778-866-1647Arielle@brightlightpictures.com.

For tickets and information, go to http:// www.whistlerfilmfestival.com/

http://prod3.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=96662~065377bc-134d-43b4-bdf6-5c488f454cc8&epguid=c8e308ba-1308-4874-b76e-e3506cb394e3

Social Media Handles

Website: sarahdeakins.combrightlightpictures.com
Twitter: @sarahcdeakins@GREECEthefilm@BrightlightPict
Facebook: facebook.com/GreeceAShortFilm
IMDb: imdb.com/name/nm0212639/

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

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

The Promotion People - Erica CarrollRising 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

Brightlight Pictures Makes “Short” Work of Writer/Director Sarah Deakins’ Labour of Love ‘GREECE’

Screens at the Sunscreen West, LA Femme International & Hollywood Film Festivals 

The Promotion People - GREECE

Sarah Deakins’ short film, “GREECE,” already an Accolade Global Competition 2 time Award Of Excellence Winner, and a Best Shorts Film Competition Award Of Excellence winner is set to premiere in LA with 3 festival selections in October at the Sunscreen West Film Festival (supported by the Academy of Motion Pictures), the LA Femme International Film Festival and the Hollywood Film Festival

Brightlight Pictures president Shawn Williamson saw something in local writer Deakins’ script, and took the project on as a creative labour of love.  A fresh, local crew, all volunteers, worked closely together to produce a short with incredible production value, inspired by a strong creative vision from the film’s writer/director, Sarah Deakins, and captured beautifully by cinematographer Jon Joffin.

A successful actor for decades in Vancouver, Deakins had been living in LA and was on a trip home to visit family when Williamson requested the script, and a creative partnership was born. Having written the film, Deakins also stars in the character driven drama. As a director she was finally able to fully realize her vision, in her hometown of Vancouver.

In response to the three awards before the film has even hit the festival circuit, Ms. Deakins states, “Everyone who worked on this film is thrilled to have been recognized by the Best Shorts Competition and The Accolade Global competition judges, and we are most grateful that the film is connecting with people. The whole team worked really hard to bring this vision to life and to know that people are now responding to the artistry that we took such care with is most gratifying.”

“GREECE” centers around a daughter’s final attempt to connect with her seemingly catatonic mother.

Producer Arielle Boisvert says, “We have been very pleased with the response to our film.  The subject matter is close to our hearts and we are looking forward to kicking off our festival run.”

Tickets to the October 11th 12:15pm screening at the Sunscreen Film Festival can be purchased online at www.sunscreenfilmfestival.com (Narrative Shorts Block #5, Drama – Families These Days)

Tickets to the October 16th 11:30am screening at the Hollywood Film festival can be purchased at www.hollywoodfilmfestival.com/ (SHORTS program #1: On the Battlefield)

Tickets to the October 16th 6pm screening at LA Femme F.F. can be purchased online at www.lafemme.org  (Shorts, Venue #2)

The Promotion People - Brightlight Pictures Brightlight Boilerplate

Brightlight Pictures develops, packages and produces independent feature films and television projects.  Brightlight’s President, Shawn Williamson, has produced more than 90 productions in the last 15 years and over 35 productions since launching Brightlight in 2001 including WHITE NOISE (Michael Keaton) which has grossed over $100 million since its world-wide theatrical release in 2005.  Recently, Williamson has worked as an executive producer on the feature film THE INTERVIEW (Seth Rogen, James Franco) for Columbia Pictures and the television series WITCHES OF EAST END (Julia Ormond, Jenna Dewan-Tatum) and RUSH (Tom Ellis) for Fox 21.  His recent producer credits include the feature film HORNS (Daniel Radcliffe) for Mandalay and Red Granite Pictures; 50/50 (Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt); and THE COMPANY YOU KEEP for Sony Pictures Classics directed by Robert Redford and starring Robert Redford and Shia LaBeouf.  Other feature producing credits include THE POSSESSION (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick) for Mandate Pictures and Lions Gate Films; WHITE NOISE 2: THE LIGHT (Nathan Fillion, Katee Sackhoff) with Gold Circle Films; IN THE NAME OF THE KING (Jason Statham); 88 MINUTES (Al Pacino); WICKER MAN (Nicolas Cage) for Nu Image/Millennium Films and Emmett Furla Films; SLITHER with Gold Circle Films and Universal and APOLLO 18 for the Weinstein Company.  Williamson is currently producing the feature film THE 9th LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX (Jamie Dornan, Aaron Paul) with Miramax.

Social Media Handles

Website: sarahdeakins.combrightlightpictures.com
Twitter: @sarahcdeakins@GREECEthefilm@BrightlightPict
Facebook: facebook.com/GreeceAShortFilm
IMDb: imdb.com/name/nm0212639/

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