News

Exclusive: Qasim Basir’s Sundance Film Festival feature To Live and Die and Live is getting a theatrical release on May 16 in AMC multiplexes from AuthentiQ Films & CinemaStreet Pictures.

Samuel Goldwyn Films picked up digital rights to the movie, which will land in the home later this year.

Basir’s feature, and ode to Detroit, was lauded by top critics at its Sundance Film Festival debut in 2023 with 89% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Hollywood filmmaker Muhammad returns to his home city (Amin Joseph) to bury his stepfather and settle his accounts. But as he is thrust into old and new relationships his struggles with addiction and loss may finish him before he finishes the task.

The pic also stars Skye P. Marshall, Omari Hardwick, Cory Hardrict, Maryam Basir and Dana Gourrier. To Live and Die and Live is a AuthentiQ Films, Significant Productions, CinemaStreet Pictures and Confluential Films production. Producers are Nina Yang Bongiovi,...

Exclusive: New York-based indie film company CinemaStreet Pictures is launching the New Voices in Horror slate of films, company CEO Dana Offenbach has confirmed.

The slate will champion queer, female identifying, immigrant, and Bipoc voices and will consist of four-six films annually. Dhruv Sud, CinemaStreet’s Head of Development, will oversee the slate and report to Offenbach.

Offenbach is repped by Ramo law, whose Stu Arbury and Tiffany Boyle are advising on the slate, project packaging and sales.

The first project in production is I Am Very Lonely, a genre-bending thriller from writer-director Anika Benkov (The Binding of Itzik) and starring Colin Bates (Queer) and Benkov. Dhruv Sud is producing, with Dana Offenbach executive-producing.

In the film, a non-binary Jewish game designer (Benkov), living a secret double life as an online ‘sub’ (submissive), goes down the rabbit hole when they discover their internet dom is a real-life fascist.

#23. The Girl is in Trouble - Julius Onah We can bet that this picture is a lock --- a 2012 debut was probably a more accurate prediction for a festival premiere to Julius Onah's debut feature. I predicted that The Girl Is in Trouble and the Filmmaker Mag 25 New Face Onah would be in Park City -- that production still stands. If this has an edgy, mean streak in it, a Park City at Midnight showing would be welcome. Gist: Written by Mayuran Tiruchelvam and Onah, August’s one night stand with beautiful Signe turns ugly when he discovers footage of a murder on her phone. He knows the dead guy – Jesus Guzman, a dealer. And the killer – Nicholas Feinman, son of New York’s most powerful investment banker. There’s a knock on the door - It’s Angel, Jesus’ brother and feared drug enforcer. Maybe August knows where Jesus is?...

#98. The Girl is in Trouble Director: Julius OnahWriter(s): Onah and Mayuran TiruchelvamProducers: Mark W. Campbell, Jen Gatien, Dana Offenbach, Robert Profusek and Ryan SilbertDistributor: Rights Available. The Gist: This follows a Lower East Side bartender who unravels a mystery that connects a desperate young woman (Bachleda) to a missing drug dealer and the scion of New York's most powerful stockbroker.....(more) Cast: Columbus Short, Wilmer Valderrama, Alicja Bachleda, Jesse Spencer and Paz de la Huerta List Worthy Reasons...: I bet you this is the only "thesis" film in the Top 100 list. Among Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film people of 2010, the first of several first-time filmmakers on our list, Julius Onah' debut is backed by executive producer Spike Lee and comes carrying an eclectic combination of young players in Columbus Short, Wilmer Valderrama and Alicja Bachleda. This could be the great indie thriller that no one saw coming.

#10. The Girl Is in Trouble - Julis Onah This Sundance edition should be a vintage one for 2010 members of Filmmaker Magazine 25 New Faces and this could possibly include, Julis Onah's The Girl Is in Trouble. A Graduate Film Program at Nyu and supported by Spike Lee, he if quickly assembles his feature film debut, which also counts as his thesis film (Onah comes across as a workaholic) then Park City becomes a strong possibility. Columbus Short, Wilmer Valderrama, Alicja Bachleda, Jesse Spencer and Paz de la Huerta topline the thriller written by Mayuran Tiruchelvam and Onah, this follows a Lower East Side bartender who unravels a mystery that connects a desperate young woman (Bachleda) to a missing drug dealer and the scion of New York's most powerful stockbroker. Park City at Midnight slot or a SXSW birth likely. * Producers: Mark W. Campbell, Jen Gatien, Dana Offenbach, Robert Profusek and Ryan Silbert(Ioncinema.

Producer Dana Offenbach and former Wall Street investment banker and venture capitalist Mark W. Campbell said Thursday that they are partnering to form the indie production company CinemaStreet, which will focus on pictures with low to mid-range budgets.

CinemaStreet, which said it will fund its slate from various sources, has several projects in development:

-- "The Pale Horseman," a supernatural thriller based on the graphic novel of the same name, which would mark the directorial debut of Kevin Grevioux, who has "story by" and "characters by" credits on the "Underworld" movies. Grevioux also wrote the screenplay for the film, which Shane Walker is co-producing and Wme is packaging.

-- "Original Provisionals," a drama about inner-city youth sent to an exclusive summer camp in the '70s,' written by Christopher Scott Cherot.

-- "The Untitled Shelly Waxman Story," based on the true story of the Assistant U.S. Attorney who...

A Hollywood filmmaker is looking for a few good men -- and women -- with military backgrounds who want to break into the entertainment industry.

Larry Meistrich, best known for producing the Oscar-winning film "Sling Blade," is soliciting movie and TV pitches from active members of the military, veterans and their family members with the intent to choose at least one project per year to produce and finance.

Beyond pitching, GI Pictures wants the projects to be made entirely by current and retired military personnel and family members, including writing, directing, producing acting and all crew members. Those with potential but no experience, he'll train.

"My management team fits because we all have parents who were in the military," Meistrich said.

"The skills acquired during a military career are very complementary to production," he said. "The way a set runs is similar to a chain of command, but we're obviously not risking our lives.

NEW YORK -- Larry Meistrich's new Nehst Studios has unveiled its 2008 lineup, including six indie features and four Web/TV series.

The projects set to reach the starting gate first are Priyanka Kumar's dramatic feature The Flicker's Dance, Wayne Chesler's darkly comic horror film Fright Fest and the Little Rascals-style Web series Dribble Kick Throw.

Other features in the pipeline are Sridhar Reddy's India-based martial arts flick The Killing Moon, writer Rene Ashton's road movie Boy's Name, the gang war actioner Blood Stripe and the mining tragedy drama And One For All.

Planned Web series, which may be developed into TV projects, include the animated superhero serial National Triumph League and the college cooking showcase Cook U.

Most projects were brought to Meistrich through online pitches from its Web site PitchNehst.com, and others were developed from relationships through his years running the indie production outfit Shooting Gallery.

One of the latter projects is Dance, brought to Nehst by Steven C. Beer of GreenbergTraurig.

Nehst's Dana Offenbach will oversee production for the studio.

CANNES -- Shooting Gallery founder Larry Meistrich is launching production, financing and distribution outfit Nehst Media Enterprises, focusing on features, television and direct-to-Web content.

Meistrich will head the company with entrepreneur Ari D. Friedman and will be drumming up new projects at Cannes. The executives lead a team that includes production group president Dana Offenbach, president of production William Keys and Web content and consumer network head Jeff Silverstein Films, USA Films and Artisan Entertainment. Silverstein founded interactive video company Fusion Media, working with such companies as Sony, AT&T and IBM.

Meistrich served as a producer of Sling Blade, You Can Count on Me, Laws of Gravity and Croupier. He also launched and sold the food delivery Web site HomeDelivery.com.

More information about the film fund, launch partners and initial properties will be announced in the next few weeks.

Durga Films

Bearing a comic premise more suited to the unlamented sitcom "Coupling" than to a feature-length film, this debut effort concerns a woman's infatuation with her vibrator and her efforts to pretend to her girlfriends that it's actually her new boyfriend.

The provocatively titled "Love & Orgasms" ultimately tries too hard to combine farcical comedy with the projection of modern attitudes about female sexuality. The results, while occasionally funny, are more than a little strained. The film, currently seeking distribution, recently had its premiere at the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) International Film Festival.

Written and directed by Dana Offenbach, the picture concerns the romantic travails faced by Donna Greenberg (Anyssa McAleer), an attractive advertising executive who has recently broken up with a boyfriend who turned out to be bisexual. Donna is immediately pressured by her friends to get back into the dating game, especially her engaged Latina friend Regina (Carmel Renee Macklin).

Discovering the liberating sexual benefits of her vibrator, Donna pretends that her newly sunny disposition is actually the result of a relationship with a guy named "Bob Starr", who she teasingly describes as being bald, not too tall, and an electrician. Unfortunately, she's expected to produce "Bob" on social occasions, most importantly Gina's wedding party.

Much of the film's humor comes from an extended sequence set at the party, for which Gina has solicited a boorish co-worker to pose as her boyfriend, with the inevitable farcical complications. Adding a further wrinkle is the fact that Gina, despite being in a longtime relationship with her fiance, has never actually had an orgasm with him and is beginning to wonder whether she's making a mistake.

Offenbach peppers the film with humorous touches, some of which work, others of which, like the visual cutaway from an act of masturbation to a spouting fountain, are far too obvious. There are also sly feminist touches, such as having the attractive Donna constantly ordering fattening food, thereby sending the desired message about body image. Generally, the funniest moments come not from the main character, but rather from the supporting characters Gina, who is given the best acerbic lines, and her clueless, macho fiance.

Tech aspects are rough-hewn, to say the least.

Durga Films

Bearing a comic premise more suited to the unlamented sitcom "Coupling" than to a feature-length film, this debut effort concerns a woman's infatuation with her vibrator and her efforts to pretend to her girlfriends that it's actually her new boyfriend.

The provocatively titled "Love & Orgasms" ultimately tries too hard to combine farcical comedy with the projection of modern attitudes about female sexuality. The results, while occasionally funny, are more than a little strained. The film, currently seeking distribution, recently had its premiere at the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) International Film Festival.

Written and directed by Dana Offenbach, the picture concerns the romantic travails faced by Donna Greenberg (Anyssa McAleer), an attractive advertising executive who has recently broken up with a boyfriend who turned out to be bisexual. Donna is immediately pressured by her friends to get back into the dating game, especially her engaged Latina friend Regina (Carmel Renee Macklin).

Discovering the liberating sexual benefits of her vibrator, Donna pretends that her newly sunny disposition is actually the result of a relationship with a guy named "Bob Starr", who she teasingly describes as being bald, not too tall, and an electrician. Unfortunately, she's expected to produce "Bob" on social occasions, most importantly Gina's wedding party.

Much of the film's humor comes from an extended sequence set at the party, for which Gina has solicited a boorish co-worker to pose as her boyfriend, with the inevitable farcical complications. Adding a further wrinkle is the fact that Gina, despite being in a longtime relationship with her fiance, has never actually had an orgasm with him and is beginning to wonder whether she's making a mistake.

Offenbach peppers the film with humorous touches, some of which work, others of which, like the visual cutaway from an act of masturbation to a spouting fountain, are far too obvious. There are also sly feminist touches, such as having the attractive Donna constantly ordering fattening food, thereby sending the desired message about body image. Generally, the funniest moments come not from the main character, but rather from the supporting characters Gina, who is given the best acerbic lines, and her clueless, macho fiance.

Tech aspects are rough-hewn, to say the least.