FILM
WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN
Word Premiere: South By Southwest 2023
91 minutes
Director: Kim Albright
Writer: Julia Lederer
Producer: Madeleine Davis, Common Knowledge Films
Distributor: Circle Collective
Cast: Anna Maguire, Hamza Haq, Veena Sood, Donna Benedicto
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23464394/
In a world where hearts are made of objects and suppressing emotions is basic self-care, a woman rips out her own heart and sends it to the man she loves, only to discover that he has run away with it.
WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN is inspired by Julia Lederer's acclaimed play of the same title. It premiered to great acclaim at SXSW, and went on to have a huge festival run that has included: Fantasia, BiFan, and the Santa Fe International Film Festival, where it won “Best Feature”. Other awards include: “Best Feature” wins at the Canadian Film Festival; Reelword; and Boston Underground, and a nomination for “Best Screenplay” at the Vancouver Film Critics Award. It was also one of Mashable’s “Best movies out of SXSW 2023."
“Julia Lederer’s script is like a more optimistic Charlie Kaufman, but comparisons for this film to any other entities stop there… This movie has so much wisdom.”
Film website: www.withloveandamajororgan.com
IT'S NOTHING
16 minutes | Drama
Director: Anna Maguire
Cast: Cara Gee, Emily Piggford, Niahm Wilson
Premiere: Toronto International Film Festival
Travelling Distribution
Recent graduate, Robin, returns to her parents’ house and obsessively starts to dig a hole, encouraged by an impossibly perfect girl; but as she digs, she heads further down a path of self-destruction.
Themes: Eating disorders, mental health, isolation
Official Selection: TIFF; Palm Springs Film Festival; Rouen Nordic Film Festival; MOTELX (Lisbon); POFF Black Nights (Estonia);
Thessaloniki (Greece); London Short Film Festival; Sun Valley Film Festival; Cucalorous; Abertoire Horror Festival (Wales); Gandhara Film Festival; St. Louis International Film Festival; Festival du Nouveau Cinéma; Montreal Feminist Film Festival; Final Girls (Berlin), ETC.
See it here:
Short of the Week
Omeleto
CBC Gem
Some Press:
Director's Notes: Interview
She Does the City
TIFF '19: "It's Nothing Excavates my Experience With an Eating Disorder"
SPOONING
8 minutes | Comedy | Mockumentary
Director: Rebecca Appelbaum
When Judith was cast as the spoon in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST on Broadway, she thought her dreams had come true. Now, after 21 seasons, her dream has become a nightmare.
Selection: Cinequest; Canadian Film Festival; Aesthetica Film Festival (York); Breakthroughs Film Festival; Bath Film Festival, etc.
Streaming: CBC GEM
EAT YOUR HEART OUT
11 minutes | Comedy | Magic Realism
Director: Abby Pierce
Written with: Abby Pierce
Wallace and Douglas exchanged hearts years ago. Now, Wallace is getting married and she needs hers back. When Douglas confesses that he has left pieces of it in all their old places, they need to retrace the steps of their relationship and put it back together.
Selection: Newport Beach Film Festival; Golden State Film Festival, Burbank International Film Festival, Midwest Film Festival, Oregon Film Festival, Austin Revolution; New Filmmakers New York, San Francisco Indie Shorts, Beloit International Film Festival, etc.
Awards:
Winner: "Best Comedy" - New York Shorts International Film Festival
Winner: "Audience Choice" - Elevated Film Festival
Winner: “Best Script” - Deep Focus Film Festival
When Judith was cast as the spoon in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST on Broadway, she thought her dreams had come true.
Now, after 21 seasons, her dream has become a nightmare.
Selection: Cinequest; Canadian Film Festival; Aesthetica Film Festival (York); Breakthroughs Film Festival; Bath Film Festival, etc.
Streaming: CBC GEM
Spooning
8 minutes | Comedy | Mockumentary
Director: Rebecca Appelbaum
Selection: Newport Beach Film Festival; Golden State Film Festival, Burbank International Film Festival, Midwest Film Festival, Oregon Film Festival, Austin Revolution; New Filmmakers New York, San Francisco Indie Shorts, Beloit International Film Festival, etc.
Awards:
Winner: "Best Comedy" - New York Shorts International Film Festival
Winner: "Audience Choice" - Elevated Film Festival
Winner: “Best Script” - Deep Focus Film Festival
Eat Your Heart Out
11 minutes | Comedy | Magic Realism
Director: Abby Pierce
Written with: Abby Pierce
Wallace and Douglas exchanged hearts years ago. Now, Wallace is getting married and she needs hers back. When Douglas confesses that he has left pieces of it in all their old places, they need to retrace the steps of their relationship and put it back together.
TV
KIM'S CONVENIENCE
Selected by open call from over 800 applicants, Julia took part in CBC’s emerging writers room, working on the multi-award winning series, KIM’S CONVENIENCE (Netflix). She was also a part of a development room for the spinoff, STRAYS.
UPSTAGED
In the tradition of SLINGS & ARROWS and WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, this single camera mockumentary follows a community theatre group as they attempt to stage a controversial production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. This independent pilot, produced by Great Lake Films and directed by Jacquie Pepall, won “Best TV Pilot” at the 2013 LA Comedy Festival. It features Michael Yerxa, Kathering Barcsay, and Mae Martin. It is currently streaming on Highball.TV .
SAFE SPACE
A dark comedy set in a Technology Addiction Rehab Facility.
When a scandal leaves her super-cancelled, tech-icon SAMANTHA ALT-DELETE is forced to save face by leaving the company she’s spent her life building to spend time at SAFE SPACE, an alternative treatment center for technology addicts. Here, she lives alongside gamers, gamblers, cult leaders, ex-content moderators, trolls, and other addicts and outcasts, while discovering just how dependent on technology she really is. ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK meets COMMUNITY.
WITCH OFFICE
A half-hour comedy about a very powerful woman joining the workforce.
To save her family’s livelihood, a powerful witch gets a job as an office temp and has to learn to survive in a society where women aren’t empowered at all.
Witches’ be working. BEWITCHED meets KIMMY SCHMIDT.
Shortlisted for the Sundance Film Festival Episodic Lab, and the Austin Film Festival’s Pilot Competition.