LOS ANGELES, Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Vision Films Inc. (“Vision”) announces the VOD and dvd release of Acquainted on December 8, 2020. The film, from newcomer Director/Writer Natty Zavitz (Edging) was produced by Jonathan Keltz and Giacomo Gianniotti of Fired Up Studios, Peter Harvey, Peter Harvey Productions, Stephanie Sonny Hooker of Hometeam Productions, James O’Donnell of 920 Films, and Aidan Kahn. It will be available on streaming and cable platforms everywhere in the US and Canada, and dvd at major online retailers.

Acquainted is an honest and intimate story, shared with the audience through what seems like private access into a tightly knit group of four young adults. The storyline is loosely based on the experiences of Zavitz and although a fictional story, conveys the real friendships the producers and cast share.

Synopsis: When two old acquaintances (Giacomo Gianniotti, Laysla De Oliveira) see each other for the first time since high school, there is an instant attraction. Although both are in committed relationships, their chance encounter has them wondering, “What if?” Secret meetups that begin as “casual” quickly become romantic and they are forced to look within themselves to determine who they are and what they want in life and love.

Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/AcquaintedTrailer

The film stars Giacomo Gianniotti (Grey’s Anatomy), Laysla De Oliveira (Netflix’s Locke Key and In The Tall Grass), Rachel Skarsten (Batwoman, Lost Girl, Reign) Raymond Ablack (Narcos, Orphan Black, Ginny Georgie), Adelaide Kane (The Purge, Reign, MTV’s Teen Wolf), Jonathan Keltz (Entourage, Reign),  Mouna Traoré (Self Made: Inspired By the Life of Madam C.J. Walker, Umbrella Academy), and Parveen Kaur (Beyond, NBC’s Manifest).

Lise Romanoff, CEO and Managing Director of Vision Films says, “Acquainted is a unique film that takes a very unconventional look at relationships. The intimate moments will resonate with anyone who has ever been in love or simply had a crush, and audiences will be moved and very surprised at the outcome.” 

Director, Natty Zavitz says, “As conversations around monogamy and infidelity are changing, we wanted to capture the excitement, fear, and messiness of falling in love at the wrong time. The performances are nuanced, surprising, and sexy and we’re excited to see how audiences respond.”

Producer Jonathan Keltz adds, “Inspired by the work of Rohmer and Linklater, Zavitz’s Acquainted is honest and real, his voice is unique and defined. He’s brought to life a universal love story told through the millennial lens that I think will deeply resonate with audiences. “

Acquainted will be available on: iTunes, Vimeo, Amazon, GooglePlay, Vudu, and Vimeo, and across hundreds of U.S. cable providers including Comcast, Spectrum, Charter, Cox, Dish, DirecTV and more. dvd retailers include Amazon and all other major online retailers. Canadian cable providers include Rogers, Shaw, and Bell.

Instagram: instagram.com/AcquaintedFilm
Facebook: facebook.com/AcquaintedFilm
Twitter: twitter.com/AcquaintedFilm

About Vision Films
Vision Films is a leading independent sales and VOD aggregator specializing in the licensing, marketing, and distribution of over 800 feature films, documentaries, and series from some of the most prolific independent film producers in the world. Led by Lise Romanoff, Managing Director/CEO Worldwide Distribution, Vision Films releases 2-4 films a month across Theatrical, VOD, dvd, and television platforms. visionfilms.net

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SOURCE Vision Films, Inc.

Photo credit: MTV Documentary Films

The documentary “76 Days” looks to health workers treating patients in the 76 days of Wuhan lockdown.

During the holidays, Hollywood sometimes forces holiday cheer or family films, but here are some streaming options with more challenging content: “Sound of Metal” and “76 Days.”

’76 Days’

“76 Days” (buy your virtual ticket through DGC@Home to support the local Digital Gym Cinema during its physical closure) had its San Diego premiere through the San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF). The film is an amazing document of how health workers coped with the coronavirus pandemic in those 76 days of lockdown in Wuhan. The film plays out without narration as it follows patients, doctors, and nurses from the frantic first days through the exhausting months and to final lifting of lockdown. What is so impressive is how much access the filmmaker got. The footage was gathered by Chinese journalists Weixi Chen and Anonymous (one journalist chose anonymity) and then directed and edited by them and Hao Wu.

The results put you right in the middle of the pandemic chaos as we witness daily battles to care for patients. There is an older man with dementia who insists on wandering the halls, a pregnant woman who must quarantine before being allowed to take her baby, a doctor who has to go through the belongings of patients who have died to call their families, and the constant struggle to fit all the patients into cramped spaces that also need to provide some social distancing.

Wu began the project in anger over the Chinese government’s handling of the pandemic and its silencing of whistleblowers. But as the project progressed and evolved it turned into more of a tribute to the frontline workers who displayed courage, ingenuity, and compassion in the more difficult and trying times. The film is also a reminder of how serious this pandemic is and how it takes a toll not just on people who get the virus but also on doctors and nurses.

Reported by Beth Accomando

‘Sound of Metal’

“Sound of Metal” (now streaming on Amazon Prime Video) also has ties to SDAFF. Actor Riz Ahmed stars as a musician coping with sudden quality of life issues in both “Sound of Metal” and “Mogul Mowgli,” which also had its San Diego’s virtual premiere through SDAFF.

In both films, Ahmed shows off not just his acting chops but also his skill as a musician.

In “Sound of Metal” Ahmed plays Ruben, a drummer in a punkish band. Abruptly he starts to suffer hearing loss yet he refuses to deal with it till he is on the brink of being deaf. This leads him to a deaf community where they address the mental change that has to accompany the physical change of losing one’s hearing.

What the film does brilliantly is use sound design to convey Ruben’s audio world. Sounds grow muffled and words become indistinct as his hearing deteriorates and we hear that downward progression. It is an effective way to really put us in Ruben’s place and let us experience the terror of losing one’s hearing but then appreciate the stillness of the silence.

In some ways I wish Darius Marder (who makes his feature directorial debut here) had committed more fully to this approach. He uses it well but he gives us relief by allowing us to hear the world in its full audio spectrum. I suppose he or the studio was concerned about how unconventional that would be for an audience but imagine how compelling it could be to have the audio slowly fade from us and by the end we are hearing the world solely through Ruben’s ears.

The film occasionally slips into the disease of the week formula. Plus there are places where it leaves some narrative gaps that prove frustrating. When Ruben opts for surgery he seems to do it in a vacuum and when he deals with the aftermath of the surgery he seems stunned by the results, It would seem that a doctor performing an $80,000 surgery would have better explained what to expect. The film tries to be respectful of the deaf community as well as to Ruben who makes decisions based on trying to keep his previous life intact despite the changes he is going through.

“Sound of Metal” is a film well worth listening to and the benefit of viewing it from home is that you can watch with headphones on to fully appreciate the audio.

These films join Shudder’s Holly ‘Gialli’ Christmas programming that just launched and offer escape from holiday cheer.

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By Diksha Madhok, CNN Business

Updated 11:06 PM ET, Sat March 27, 2021

Constantin Films’ new Resident Evil movie reboot will be released on September 3, according to one of its actors.

Chad Rook, who plays Richard Aiken in the upcoming film, revealed the release date on Twitter.

The film is the first in a completely new franchise, and has no relation to the six Resident Evil movies released between 2002-2017, which were written by Paul W. S. Anderson and starred Milla Jovovich.

The new movie, which is being written and directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down), will be faithful to the story of the first two Resident Evil games, and takes place in Raccoon City in 1998.

It will also star Kaya Scodelario (Maze Runner) as Claire Redfield, Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Jill Valentine, Robbie Amell (Upload) as Chris Redfield, Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy) as Albert Wesker, Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap) as Leon S. Kennedy, and Neal McDonough (Yellowstone) as William Birkin.

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“With this film, I really wanted to go back to the original, first two games and the associated terrifying experience that I had when I first played them,” Roberts said when the film was first announced in October.

“And at the same time, I am telling the story of a small, dying American town that will appear both familiar and relevant to today’s audiences.”

Constantin Film producer Robert Kulzer, who also worked on the six previous Resident Evil movies, added: “After a dozen games, six live action films and hundreds of pages of fanfiction, we felt compelled to go back to 1998 to explore the secrets that lay within the walls of the Spencer Mansion and hidden from Raccoon City.”

Netflix announced a live action series based on Resident Evil in August, which is also developed by Constantin Film. According to the Netflix‘s synopsis, the show will feature “the Wesker kids” as they uncover secrets inside of New Raccoon City. Albert Wesker is one of the primary antagonists in the Resident Evil games.

Memphis-based Malco allows up to 20 people to hire a screen at its 36 cinemas across Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. The prices for service, which is called Malco Select, are $100 for two hours or $150 for three.

They will be joined by fellow award presenters Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cynthia Erivo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Richard E Grant, Felicity Jones, Asim Chaudhry, James McAvoy, David Oyelowo, Pedro Pascal and Jonathan Pryce.

By Marianne Garvey, CNN

Updated 11:17 AM ET, Tue June 23, 2020

The next Dungeons Dragons film appears to still be alive—and has rolled a crit on its first major casting decision ahead of plans to finally start filming early next year.

According to Deadline, the combined powers at paramount Pictures and DD owner Hasbro have landed Chris Pine (Wonder Woman, Star Trek) for the film’s lead role. This follows reports from 2019 that a solid writer-director duo was attached to the project: Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who co-directed the surprisingly solid dark comedy Game Night (which revolves around Hasbro board games, but in a far-from-family-friendly way) and co-wrote the Ars-approved film Spider-Man: Homecoming.

If Daley’s name rings a nerdy bell, that might be because one of his breakout acting roles—on NBC’s short-lived, critically acclaimed Freaks Geeks—included one of TV’s all-time best takes on Dungeons Dragons. In a pop-culture era when DD references were usually derogatory or one-note, Freaks Geeks‘ DD episode took special care to frame the game accurately and amusingly—and it showed how ridiculous ideas like “Carlos the Dwarf” fit perfectly into Wizards of the Coast’s classic tabletop series.

That episode aired months before New Line Cinema dumped a stinker of a film, titled Dungeons Dragons, into theaters worldwide—arguably to cash-in on Lord of the Rings fever, though not successfully. As Roger Ebert wrote in a December 2000 review: “Imagine a kingdom that looks half the time like a towering fantasy world of spires and turrets, castles and drawbridges—and the other half like everyone is standing around in the wooded area behind Sam’s Club on the interstate.”

On a pure series-nerd level, the 2000 film didn’t even bother leveraging decades of existing DD lore and canon. Instead, it invented a facsimile of the Alphatian Empire for its very odd tale, starring Jeremy Irons as the big bad for some reason.

Whether Goldstein, Daley, and Pine join forces to deliver a nerd-perfect DD interpretation, or they play fast and loose with the source material, we’re already optimistic enough to expect something better than what New Line produced 20 years ago this month… although we’ll go ahead and request some sort of sweet Beholder recreation, preferably in stop-motion or puppet form, please.