Tag Archives: world premiere

Award Winning Local Film ‘Lawrence & Holloman’ Opens in Theatres in Vancouver July 18th presented with The First Weekend Club

“The laughs just kept coming in this must see dark comedy. Perfectly cast … so well written .. audiences are going to love it. Put it on your calendars and get ready for those belly laughs!”
– The Cinequest Film Review, San Jose

“A kind of comic apocalypse … the unlikeliest best buds in the history of buddy comedy.”
– Edmonton Journal

The feel-bad comedy of the year …

LAWRENCE & HOLLOMAN

Directed by Matthew Kowalchuk based on the play by Morris Panych
Starring Ben Cotton, Daniel Arnold, Katharine Isabelle, Amy Matysio

Having swept North America with “must-see” reviews and 11 awards in 11 festivals, this darkly twisted buddy comedy – currently nominated for 4 Canadian Comedy Awards — is now making its theatrical premiere …

Synopsis:
Lawrence is an ever-optimistic suit salesman for whom everything always goes right. That is until he meets Holloman, a cynical and suicidal credit collector, and everything starts to go wrong. Very wrong. Is happiness determined by our outlook on life? Or can our destiny be changed … by another.

PREMIERE: FRIDAY JULY 18
VIFF VANCITY THEATRE
1181 Seymour Street
Reception at 6:45 | Screening at 7:45.
Presented with First Weekend Club
Reception with live musical performance by Jessica Harvey and Daniel Doerksen

Film followed by Q&A with filmmakers and after-party at Subeez
THEN:
July 19 @ 6:30 | July 21 @ 6:30 | July 22 @ 8:30 | July 23 @ 6:30
Tickets & Info: viff.org/theatre/films/fc8165-lawrence-holloman | 604 683 3456
Join the FB event at: facebook.com/events/851610758257396

CONTINUED RUN @
THE RIO THEATRE
1660 E Broadway @ Commercial
Thursday July 24 @ 9:30pm
Friday July 25 @ 7pm
Tickets & Info: www.riotheatre.ca | 604 878 3456

“A must-see! … the sleeper hit of the entire festival.” – The Gazette, EIFF
“Dark, twisted, and really very funny … a multi-dimensional screamer. One of the events top flicks.” – The Province
“Debuted to waves of laughter… a darkly funny, sometimes insane buddy comedy.” – YVR Shoots
“The writing is witty … the actors’ comedic timing is fantastic.” – The Examiner, Washington DC
“Clever, witty, and playful … This film is just dark enough that I feel a bit guilty about having enjoyed it as much as I did!” – AlienatedinVancouver
“Enjoyable to anyone … this film will please. It could also inspire you to choose to be optimistic and happy!” – Reellife
“Morbidly hilarious! … and that is sickly awesome.” – JasonWatchesMovies
“BEST BC FILMS AT VIFF” List – Vancouver Magazine
“TOP CANADIAN FILMS TO SEE AT VIFF” – The Huffington Post
“Rich humor … appealing performances … and something remarkable happens: the story starts to resonate in your heart — and when the dust settles this richly dark film may very well force you to re-examine your perspective.” – GayVancouver.net

Awards
Best Feature Comedy – RxSM
Best Canadian Feature – EIFF
Rising Star: Filmmaker – EIFF
Rising Star: Actor (Ben Cotton) – EIFF
Best Emerging Director – VIFF
Best Director of a Comedy – VTXIFF
Best Actor in a Comedy (Daniel Arnold) – VTXIFF
Best Canadian Film – BNFF
Best Comedic Acting (Ben Cotton) – BNFF
Excellence Award – Rincon, Puerto Rico
Best Casting – Leo Award

8 more Leo Award nominations (BC Film Awards):
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay
Best Lead Actor (Daniel Arnold), Best Lead Actor (Ben Cotton), Best Supporting Actress (Katharine Isabelle)
Best Editing, Best Sound Editing

4 Canadian Comedy Award nominations:
Best Feature, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay

Cast & Creatives
This debut feature from director Matthew Kowalchuk is based on the highly successful stage play by two-time Governor General’s Award winner Morris Panych. Adapted for the screen by Daniel Arnold & Matthew Kowalchuk, the script received story editing from Kyle Hunter & Ariel Shaffir (Seth Rogen’s co-writer/producers on 50/50, This is the End), and story consultation from Daniel Petrie Jr (Academy Award nominated writer of Beverly Hills Cop and The Big Easy).

Starring: Ben Cotton, Daniel Arnold, Katharine Isabelle, Amy Matysio
The film stars four-time Leo Award-nominated BEN COTTON (Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, The Killing) who for this role has won Rising Star Actor (EIFF) and Best Comedic Acting (BNFF); Gemini and Leo Award-winning KATHARINE ISABELLE (American Mary, Ginger Snaps) who was also nominated for a Leo Award for this role; 7-time Canadian Comedy Awards nominee AMY MATYSIO (Single White Spenny, inSAYSHAble); and introduces the internationally acclaimed theatre actor DANIEL ARNOLD in his debut starring role in a feature film, for which he has been nominated for “Best Actor” (Leo Awards) and won “Best Actor in a Comedy” (VTXIFF).

Executive Producers Mary Anne Waterhouse & Andrew Currie of Quadrant Motion Pictures have produced numerous features including Donovan’s Echo starring Danny Glover, The Thaw starring Val Kilmer, and FIDO starring Carrie Ann Moss, while producer Paul Armstrong of Ameland Films, Crazy8s Film Event and the Celluloid Social Club has produced the multi award-winning features See Grace Fly, Ill Fated, and Moving Malcolm starring Elizabeth Berkley, and co-producer Robyn Wiener has co-produced or line produced numerous films including Amazon Falls, The Wingman, and American Mary. Don Thompson of Finale Editworks is the Associate Producer.

The film was funded by Telefilm Canada, Super Channel and OUTtv and developed with the participation of Creative BC, Astral the Harold Greenberg Fund and Movie Central. Support also from Finale Editworks, Bridge Studios and William F White.

Distributor John Bain of Search Engine Films is the former Senior VP of Distribution at Lions Gate Films and Maple Pictures, and has overseen the Canadian release of movies such as Drive, Our Idiot Brother, Winter’s Bone, Hurt Locker, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Hunger, and Biutiful.

Search Engine will be releasing Lawrence & Holloman theatrically in at least 3 Canadian cities, starting in the film’s hometown of Vancouver.

We encourage you to get your tickets, and invite your friends! If you saw it at VIFF, try seeing it again for the very first time …

Social Media Handles

Website: lawrenceandholloman.com, firstweekendclub.ca, searchenginefilms.com
Twitter: @LHthemovie
Facebook: facebook.com/lawrenceandholloman

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

Vancouver Feature Film LAWRENCE & HOLLOMAN at THE 2013 EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Vancouver Feature Film
LAWRENCE & HOLLOMAN
Directed by MATTHEW KOWALCHUK
based on the stage play by MORRIS PANYCH

AWARDED
THE CANADIAN FEATURE AWARD
& THE RISING STAR AWARD: FILMMAKING
to MATTHEW KOWALCHUK
& THE RISING STAR AWARD: ACTING to BEN COTTON
at
THE 2013 EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL
FILM FESTIVAL

STARRING
BEN COTTON & DANIEL ARNOLD
with KATHARINE ISABELLE & AMY MATYSIO

Ameland Films and Quadrant Motion Pictures are proud to announce that the Telefilm Canada funded dark comedy LAWRENCE & HOLLOMAN which premiered October 1^st to a sold out audience at the Vancouver International Film Festival has received the Canadian Feature Award; The Rising Star Award: Filmmaking to director Matthew Kowalchuk and The Rising Star Award: Acting to Ben Cotton at the 2013 Edmonton International Film Festival. The film will screen in Edmonton on Friday, October 4^th at 6:30pm and again on Saturday October 5^th at 12:00pm at Empire City Centre 9.

The film will screen again at the 2013 Vancouver International Film Festival on October 9 at 3:45 pm at SFU Woodwards.

At the BC Spotlight Awards, VIFF was thrilled to present the BC Emerging Filmmaker Award ($7,500 cash prize sponsored by UBCP/ACTRA and AFBS and $10,000 equipment rental credit from William F. White) to LAWRENCE & HOLLOMAN, directed by Matthew Kowalchuk.

Lawrence & Holloman in this darkly ridiculous buddy comedy, Lawrence, an ever-optimistic suit salesman, lives a happy-go-lucky, charmed life, in which everything goes right — until he meets Holloman, a cynical and pessimistic credit collector, and everything starts to go wrong. Very wrong.

Is happiness determined by our outlook on life? Or can our destiny be changed … by another.

Based on the play ‘Lawrence & Holloman’ by two-time Governor General Award-winning Canadian playwright Morris Panych (Vigil, Girl in the Goldfish Bowl), the screenplay was co-written by Daniel Arnold (The Janitors) and Matthew Kowalchuk (The Janitors, Penguins). This is Kowalchuk’s feature film directorial debut whose short films and stage direction have garnered him several awards.

“Lawrence & Holloman is the culmination of a lot of hard work and sacrifice, from an amazing team. And when you start out on this journey to make a film, you never know how or even IF you’ll find an audience. To be recognized in this way, in my hometown, is an incredible honour. Growing up in Edmonton, the community of artists and audience taught me to take risks and to follow my heart; lessons I haven’t forgotten, and that have helped make this film a reality.” –Director Matthew Kowalchuk

The film stars Ben Cotton (Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome, Cinemanovels) and Daniel Arnold (The PI Experiment, Penguins) with Katharine Isabelle (American Mary, Ginger Snaps, Cinemanovels) & Amy Matysio (inSAYSAble, Single White Spenny).

Heading up the Producing team are Paul Armstrong (Moving Malcolm, See Gray Fly, Ill Fated), Daniel Arnold & Matthew Kowalchuk. Mary Anne Waterhouse (Fido, The Thaw, Donovan’s Echo, That Burning Feeling) & Andrew Currie (Fido, The Delicate Art of Parking, Mile Zero) of Quadrant Motion Pictures serve as Executive Producers. Completing the team are Co-Producer/Line Producer Robyn Wiener (American Mary, The Wingman, Amazon Falls) & Associate Producer Don Thompson of Finalé Editworks.

The project attracted a talented team including story editors Kyle Hunter & Ariel Shaffir (producer/story editors on 50/50, Goon, This is the End), story consultant Daniel Petrie Jr (Academy Award nominated writer of The Big Easy and Beverly Hills Cop), and award winning twin Cinematographers Nelson Talbot & Graham Talbot (Primary), Production Designer Guy Roland (Backmask), Costume Designer Jojo MacDowall (The PI Experiment), Composer Don Macdonald (Camera Shy, Kissed) & Editor David Legault (Kink). The film was cast by Emmy-nominated Candice Elzinga Casting.

The film received production funding from Telefilm Canada and development funding from The Astral Media Harold Greenberg Fund, Corus Entertainment & Creative BC. Super Channel & OutTV will broadcast the film following a film festival run and a theatrical release.

Social Media Handles

Website: lawrenceandholloman.com
Twitter: @LHthemovie
Facebook: facebook.com/lawrenceandholloman

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

Lawrence & Holloman to Premiere at the 2013 Vancouver International Film Festival

Telefilm Canada funded Feature Film
LAWRENCE & HOLLOMAN
to PREMIERE at
THE 2013 VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Directed by MATTHEW KOWALCHUK
based on the stage play by MORRIS PANYCH

STARRING
BEN COTTON & DANIEL ARNOLD
with KATHARINE ISABELLE & AMY MATYSIO

Ameland Films and Quadrant Motion Pictures are proud to announce that the Telefilm Canada funded dark comedy LAWRENCE & HOLLOMAN which filmed November 5-28, 2012, in Vancouver, Mission, Maple Ridge & Abbotsford, BC, Canada will have its world premiere at the 2013 Vancouver International Film Festival on October 1 and screen again Oct 9, 2013.

The film will also screen at the Edmonton International Film Festival Oct 4 and 5, 2013.

Lawrence & Holloman In this darkly ridiculous buddy comedy, Lawrence, an ever-optimistic suit salesman, lives a happy-go-lucky, charmed life, in which everything goes right — until he meets Holloman, a cynical and pessimistic credit collector, and everything starts to go wrong. Very wrong.

Is happiness determined by our outlook on life? Or can our destiny be changed … by another.

Based on the play ‘Lawrence & Holloman’ by two-time Governor General Award-winning Canadian playwright Morris Panych (Vigil, Girl in the Goldfish Bowl), the screenplay was co-written by Daniel Arnold (The Janitors) and Matthew Kowalchuk (The Janitors, Penguins). This is Kowalchuk’s feature film directorial debut whose short films and stage direction have garnered him several awards.

“We are very excited to premiere Lawrence & Holloman to the ‘hometown’ crowd first at the Vancouver International Film Festival. We shot the film here, nearly all our cast and crew are all local, Morris Panych (who wrote the play) lived in Vancouver; it’s homegrown in every way. With our industry in crisis, now is a time more than ever to showcase our own work. And with so many high quality productions coming out of Vancouver right now, we are honoured to be chosen among them.” – Director Matthew Kowalchuk

The film stars Ben Cotton (Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome, Cinemanovels) and Daniel Arnold (The PI Experiment, Penguins) with Katharine Isabelle (American Mary, Ginger Snaps, Cinemanovels) & Amy Matysio (inSAYSAble, Single White Spenny).

Heading up the Producing team are Paul Armstrong (Moving Malcolm, See Gray Fly, Ill Fated), Daniel Arnold & Matthew Kowalchuk. Mary Anne Waterhouse (Fido, The Thaw, Donovan’s Echo, That Burning Feeling) & Andrew Currie (Fido, The Delicate Art of Parking, Mile Zero) of Quadrant Motion Pictures serve as Executive Producers. Completing the team are Co-Producer/Line Producer Robyn Wiener (American Mary, The Wingman, Amazon Falls) & Associate Producer Don Thompson of Finalé Editworks.

The project attracted a talented team including story editors Kyle Hunter & Ariel Shaffir (producer/story editors on 50/50, Goon, This is the End), story consultant Daniel Petrie Jr (Academy Award nominated writer of The Big Easy and Beverly Hills Cop), and award winning twin Cinematographers Nelson Talbot & Graham Talbot (Primary), Production Designer Guy Roland (Backmask), Costume Designer Jojo MacDowall (The PI Experiment), Composer Don Macdonald (Camera Shy, Kissed) & Editor David Legault (Kink). The film was cast by Emmy-nominated Candice Elzinga Casting.

The film received production funding from Telefilm Canada and development funding from The Astral Media Harold Greenberg Fund, Corus Entertainment & Creative BC. Super Channel & OutTV will broadcast the film following a film festival run and a theatrical release.

Social Media Handles

Website: lawrenceandholloman.com
Twitter: @lawrenceholoman
Facebook: Lawrence & Holloman

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