Absence

Our feature film Absence, starring Margaret Laney, Eron Otcasek and Stuart Durdin, received VOD (video on demand) distibution earlier this year with Gravitas Ventures.  As a result, it had its premiere on North American TVs (On Demand, that is) on February 6th and will be playing until May 6th.  If it does well enough, it will be renewed for another cycle and may even 'graduate' to larger operaters such as Comcast, Time Warner and Optimum Cable.  

For now, if you have any of the below cable operators, there's a chance if you switch on your TV right now, navigate to the On Demand section and select New Releases, you'll see 'Absence' at the top of the list.  If so, please let us know.  We'd love to hear from you.  And better yet, if you like the film, go rate it on its IMDB page.

Here are the operates in North America showing 'Absence:'  » Read more

This is something I completely forgot existed. Last year, while attending the Action on Film Festival in Pasadena, CA, I was interviewed by the staff.  This was one of the cool things the fest did actually, in interviewing all the filmmakers who attending with movies in competition.  The interview was very thorough and I got to talk a lot about the production and inspiration for Absence.  I only discovered it was online by accident.  So pardon me if this seems like old news.

In our ever expanding attempt to gain distribution for our feature film Absence. every lit bit of exposure we can attain helps.  So when reviewers contact us for screener copies of the film, I always jump at the chance to send them a DVD asap.  Sometimes that may not pan out too well, as a bad review may hurt our chances of getting the film out to the masses.

So when Joel Harley contacted me, requesting a screener of Absence to review for his awesome movie site Porkehad's Horror Review Hole (how's that for a title?), I knew we may be taking a risk.  After all, Absence isn't typically classified as a horror film... but like I said, you go for it in order to try and help your chances to get the film to that crucial next step.  Well, I'm glad to say that the risk paid off.   Joel gave Absence a 4 out of 5 star rating as well as a great write up.  Here's a sample:

A low-budget feature written & directed by Kevin Kölsch & Dennis Widmyer, Absence plays to its strengths. The plot is simplistic but gripping; the violence comes in short, powerful bursts – and the climax is, simply put, excellent, largely avoiding the pitfalls of melodrama. And whilst none of the characters are especially likeable, they’re well-rounded and engaging.

 So a big thank you to Joel for these awesome words.  And if anyone else reading this maintains a movie review site or a blog, you can contact us for a screener copy.

Read the full review of Absence here!

'Absence' had its screening at the 2009 Action On Film International Film Festival on Tuesday, July 28th.  I want to thank everyone who came and got to finally see the movie.  I think we had about 25-30 people, and about 90% of them were friends of mine.  I'm not trying to be self-deprecating, nor am I necessarily taking a shot at the festival.  If there's one thing I've learned from being an independent filmmaker, it's that many of these festivals require you to be your own PR machine.  And, being in NY right up until almost the screening date, I just didn't have the time to plaster posters and postcards all around Pasadena, nor do I think I would have.  AoF was a fun experience, but I was pretty sure there weren't going to be any industry people there... or anything related towards helping us get distribution for the movie.  So it was really just about having close friends of mine get to see and hopefully appreciate the movie.  And I think we scored well on that front.  » Read more

Okay, folks.  Action On Film just posted their 2009 schedule for their film festival.  'Absence' will be screening:

The Academy
Theater 3
July 28, 6pm
More info on the theater here:  http://www.regencymovies.com/main.php?theaterId=8

The full schedule of films playing the festival is here:  http://aoffest.com/pdf/Official-Film-Schedule%20-AOF-2009.pdf  

Check out the trailer for 'Absence' here:  http://www.parallacticpictures.com/absence/trailer

We're hoping to really pack the house, as this is a big premiere for us.  So if you are interested in going, please contact me at Dennis@parallacticpictures.com.

Thanks, and hope to see ya there!

Wow, this is a big one.  We almost didn't even bother joining this festival because we assumed we wouldn't get in.  MovieMaker Magazine has it as one of the top 25 film festivals worth the fee.  But Kevin and I have been feeling pretty good lately about this final cut of 'Absence', so we rolled the dice with a number of festivals of this caliber.

Action On Film is noted festival in Los Angeles due to the turn-out it gets.  Not to mention, they screen their films in two of the nicest, largest theaters in Pasadena.  The festival runs from July 24 - July 31st.  They don't have a schedule posted yet, so I don't have a screening date for you.  But contact me closer to the festival dates if you're interested in attending.

For now, keep an eye on the website:  http://www.aoffest.com/

For all of you that have wondering when the hell our debut feature film Absence was finally going to see the light of day... the wait is almost over.  Kevin and I have gone back to the editing bay for a few last minute tweaks.  We're mainly prepping a new master with the finished color correction. 

Once we have this done (probably a few weeks from now), the film will be listed with CreateSpace.com, a wonderful new service that allows indie filmmakers to get their films placed on Amazon.com. 

So stay tuned for that.  I'll be posting a big news item here once the film is available to purchase.