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Savage twist on 19th century voyeur tourism.

Timothy O’Brien’s Los Angeles-based sales company Oration Films has signed all-rights deals on Yedidya Gorsetman’s black and white sci-fi thriller Empathy, Inc for Turkey and the UK.

Arrow Films will release the film in the UK in 2020, and the Turkish release will be through Fabula Films.

Empathy Inc tells of Joel, a tech-sector venture capitalist, who is presented with a ground-breaking but morally challenging Vr proposal soon after one of his ventures has collapsed in disgrace.

In a twist on the 19th century’s voyeuristic tourism of mental hospitals and slums,...

Chicago – A film that made its world premiere in Chicago – at the 2018 Cinepocalypse Film Festival – is making its way into the national consciousness. “Empathy, Inc.,” directed by Yedidya “Jed” Gorsetman, has a theatrical run in the first half of September, (including Chicago) before the release with Video-On-Demand on 9/24.

Jed Gorsetman collaborates with screenwriter Mark Leidner for the second time, after they debuted with “Jammed” in 2014. “Empathy, Inc.” came out of their workshopping of ideas, and combines science fiction, ambition and relationships in a skewered black and white world. The tone of the film is dark and funny, as a start-up company called Empathy, Inc. goes a bit farther with their product than anyone can imagine.

‘Empathy, Inc.’ in Theatres and VOD in September

Photo credit: Dark Star Pictures

In the following podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com from 2018, director Jed Gorsetman goes into detail on the origins of “Empathy,...

Hotshot venture capitalist Joel has a multimillion-dollar deal go up in smoke, and he and his actress wife Jessica are forced to move in with her parents and start from scratch. At the lowest and most desperate moment in his life, Joel meets old friend Nicolaus and his business partner Lester, who are seeking investors in a new technology known as Xvr-Xtreme Virtual Reality-from their company Empathy, Inc., which is said to offer the most realistic and moving experiences for users by placing them in the lives of the less fortunate. Joel gets the startup its funds but soon discovers that the tech's creators have far more sinister uses in store for their creation and that the reality it provides its customers isn't virtual.

What's it like to walk a mile in someone else's shoes? In Yedidya Gorsetman's imaginative new sci-fi thriller Empathy, Inc. is in theaters today from Dark Star Pictures (L.

Director Yedidya Gorsetman and scenarist Mark Leidner’s first feature “Jammed” was a well-reviewed (if little-seen) comedy set in the twirlydancing stoner universe of a jam-band festival. Their sophomore effort does an about-face from that rainbow tie-dye milieu to the monochrome severity of a black-and-white neo-noir. But surface aesthetics are hardly the only factor that shifts in “Empathy, Inc.,” a clever indie suspense that draws on fantasy-tinged notions of virtual reality and identity exchange to create an ingenious tale more in the realm of an intimately-scaled thriller than sci-fi. Opening on a single Los Angeles screen on Sept. 6, with more cities added Sept. 13 and VOD launch on the 24th, this arresting tale should not only prove a career leg-up for all involved, it might also attract remake offers.

Venture capitalist Joel (Paul Rudd-looking Zack Robidas) begins the film at a serious low ebb: He’s had to take the fall for a high-profile,...

Dark Star Pictures will release the critically acclaimed Empathy Inc in theaters (9/13) and VOD (9/24) this fall. Yedidya Gorsetman’s sci-fi thriller tells of an investor in a Vr startup discovers that the reality the company provides isn’t virtual. Hotshot venture capitalist Joel has a multimillion-dollar deal go up in smoke, and he and his …

The post Empathy Inc. From Visionary Director Yedidya Gorsetman In theaters and On Demand this September appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.

Sci-fi Empathy Inc Gets Theatrical, Digital Release This September Dark Star Pictures will release the critically acclaimed Empathy Inc in theaters (9/13) and VOD (9/24) this fall. Yedidya Gorsetman’s sci-fi thriller tells of an investor in a Vr startup discovers that the reality the company provides isn’t virtual. Hotshot venture capitalist Joel has a multimillion-dollar …

The post New Trailer for Sci-fi thriller Empathy Inc – in theaters and On Demand this September from Dark Star Pictures appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.

The transfer of consciousness from one body to another has long been a popular trope of science fiction and horror but in the realm of science fiction, that trope is often tied into some distant future where the tech is almost just a side plot in a larger story. That's certainly not the case in Yedidya Gorsetman's Empathy, Inc..

Set in the present, the movie centers around a down-on-his-luck venture capitalist named Joel who invests in some new technology being developed by a company called Empathy, Inc..

Known as Extreme Virtual Reality or Xvr, the tech is said to offer the most realistic Vr experiences by placing users in the lives of the less fortunate but Joel soon comes to realize that the company co-founders have far more nefarious plans in mind for their cutting edg...

"Walk a mile in the shoes of the less fortunate, and when you wake up, no matter what problems you have in your real life – feel that much better." Dark Star Pictures has debuted an official trailer for a rad indie sci-fi thriller titled Empathy, Inc., from writer/director Yedidya Gorsetman (of Jammed previously). This first premiered at Cinepocalypse last year, and also played at the Brooklyn Horror Festival, plus Austin and Philadelphia Film Festivals. Empathy, Inc. is about an investor in a Vr startup – using a technology called "Xtreme Virtual Reality" – who discovers that the reality the company provides isn't so virtual. Not entirely original, but a cool idea anyway. Starring Zack Robidas, Kathy Searle, Jay Klaitz, Eric Berryman, Aj Cedeno, Charmaine Reedy, Fenton Lawless, Anthony Mangano, and Karen Lynn Gorney. This has such a nifty, lo-fi look and feel – like Pi or Primer, mashed up together with virtual reality and startups.

Dark Star Pictures will release the critically acclaimed Empathy Inc. from Yedidya Gorsetman and Mark Leidner in North American cinemas (9/13) and on VOD (9/24) this Fall. Screen Anarchy has been asked to debut a new trailer for the thrifty sci fi thriller. Find it below. Hotshot venture capitalist Joel has a multimillion-dollar deal go up in smoke, and he and his actress wife Jessica are forced to move in with her parents and start from scratch. At the lowest and most desperate moment in his life, Joel meets old friend Nicolaus and his business partner Lester, who are seeking investors in a new technology known as Xvr—Xtreme Virtual Reality—from their company Empathy, Inc., which is said to offer the most realistic and...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Autumn theatrical roll-out planned for Us.

Los Angeles-based Oration Films has bulked up its Cannes slate and acquired international rights to Yedidya Gorsetman’s sci-fi thriller Empathy, Inc, which Dark Star Pictures has picked up for North America.

Oration will launch international sales and festival promotion on the Croisette next week on the story of Joel, a tech venture capitalist presented with a ground-breaking virtual reality proposal shortly after one of his ventures collapses in disgrace.

The proposed technology would allow the wealthy elite to spend time in the shoes of those less fortunate than themselves. As Joel leans more about the Vr,...

Yedidya Gorsetman and Mark Leidner's nifty sci-fi thriller Empathy Inc. is screening at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival this weekend. By sheer coincidence Screen Anarchy also has an exclusive clip to share with you from that very film today. Have a look below.    The clip takes place very eary on in the story. Joel has bumped into an old friend Nicolaus back in the old home town and they have grabbed a drink somewhere to catch up.    Hotshot venture capitalist Joel has a multi-million dollar deal go up in smoke, and he and his actress wife Jessica are forced to move in with her parents and start from scratch. At the lowest and most desperate moment in his life, Joel meets old friend...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Chicago – The buzz of the Chicago film week is the 2018 Cinepocalypse Film Festival at the Music Box Theatre. And there is no better excitement than a World Premiere, and director Yedidya “Jed” Gorsetman is doing just that with his new film, “Empathy, Inc.” For complete information about the screening, click here.

World Premiere of Jed Gorsetman’s ‘Empathy, Inc.’ at Cinepocalypse

Photo credit: Rigel Films

Jed Gorsetman is working with screenwriter Mark Leidner for the second time, after they debuted with “Jammed” in 2014. “Empathy, Inc.” came out of their workshopping of ideas, and combines science fiction, ambition and relationships in a skewered black and white world. The tone of the film is dark and funny, as a start-up company called Empathy, Inc. goes a bit farther with their product than anyone can imagine.

In the following podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, director Jed Gorsetman goes into detail on the origins of “Empathy,...

Coming courtesy of a Bloody Disgusting exclusive, the first trailer has premiered for Yedidya Gorsetman's micro-budget techno-thriller, Empathy, Inc., which will have its World Premiere at Cinepocalypse on June 24, 2018. The film, which was shot in and around new York on a shoestring budget, follows an investor in a Vr startup who discovers that the reality the company provides may not be as virtual as advertised. Starring Zack Robidas, Kathy Searle, Eric Berryman, and Jay Klaitz, it features a wonderfully unique, black and white aesthetic that feels nostalgic and haunting all at once. Empathy, Inc. is the second film from Yedidya Gorsetman, writer Mark Leidner, and producer Josh Itzkowitz. Check out the trailer below:...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Next month, between June 21st and 28th the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, Illinois will be invaded with all manner of beasts and terrors. In only its second year Cinepocalypse is making a strong move to becoming a key go-to destination on the festival circuit for international fantastic cinema.      With an amazing nine World Premieres the chi-town audience will be the first to see opening night film The Domestics, the Pa action debut from Mike P. Nelson. There is a bat-wielding, masked killer in Brad Michael Elmore's Boogyman Pop. Virtual reality gets a little too real in Yedidya Gorsetman's Empathy Inc. Indie darling Lauren Ashley Carter stars in Adam Krause's clown-roaming horror flick, Gags. Michael Winnick's Malicious will likely stress out couples looking...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Sherlock and Doctor Who director among filmmakers with projects at Amsterdam forum which is a partnership between the Cannes Marché and Montreal’s Fantasia.

A total of 12 projects will participate in the inaugural Frontières Finance & Packaging Forum, set to take place February 16-18 in Amsterdam.

Initiated as part of the recent partnership between Fantasia International Film Festival and the Cannes Marché du Film, the event is an offshot of the Frontières International Co-Production Market (which takes place at Montreal’s Fantasia festival in July).

The forum will see industry experts assessing the dozen genre projects from a packaging perspective, analysing finance, marketing and distribution strategies.

Among the selected projects is a feature from Sherlock and Doctor Who director Rachel Talalay, House Of Stairs, and works from producers including Jonathan Bronfman (The Witch), Katie Holly (Love And Friendship) and Phyllis Laing (The Haunting In Connecticut).

The projects originate from eight different countries: Canada, France, Ireland...

Director Yedidya Gorsetman and co-writer Mark Leidner wanted to be the next Duplass Brothers.

Inspired by the micro-budget mumblecore films they’d seen coming out of SXSW, they made “Jammed,” a $17,000 feature about a couple trying, and failing, to relive their youth by going to a jam band festival.

After screening the film at smaller film festivals, Gorsetman came to an important realization: he wanted to continue pursuing his career as a filmmaker, but that making micro budget indies wouldn’t be a path to career sustainability.

Read More: Why Indie Horror Films Are Doing Better Than Ever

“I want to make films that were accessible to a larger audience, in part because it would allow me to make more movies” said Gorsetman.

Gorsetman and Leidner quickly started on their horror script “Room Service.” Based on lessons from working with limited resources on “Jammed,” they wrote a film with a...

Two hot TV projects, an environmental zombie and an unhinged park ranger were among highlights at the eighth edition of the horror market.

Frontières International Co-Production Market continued to showcase its growth at Fantasia International Film Festival as it kicked off its eighth edition on Thursday [July 21].

Earlier this year, the genre market announced a new partnership with the Marché du Film at Cannes, and the popularity of its pitching session at Fantasia meant that it moved to the festival’s bigger venue to accommodate the growing industry interest.

This edition’s 20 projects also saw the market’s remit expand to include two television projects for the first time.

House Of Psychotic Women from Rook Films, behind the likes of Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers and Peter Strickland’s The Duke Of Burgundy, is based on horror critic Kier-La Janisse’s acclaimed memoir.

Centred on 15-year-old Carly as she navigates Winnipeg’s child welfare system, each episode...

New projects from Rook Films’ Andy Starke and Paz Brothers [pictured] among first wave of projects unveiled for sixth edition of Fantasia’s co-production market.

Frontières International Co-Production Market will include TV shows for the first time at its upcoming edition.

Following its third European edition at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifff), Frontières returns to Fantasia International Film Festival for its sixth edition, running July 21-24 in Montreal.

The first wave of projects announced include two TV series: House Of Psychotic Women and Untold Horror.

House Of Psychotic Women is based on the book by Canadian author Kier-La Janisse, who will also produce alongside Rook Films’ Andy Starke (Sightseers, The Duke Of Burgundy). Sean Hogan has written the pilot episode.

Untold Horror from Rue Morgue magazine editor-in-chief Dave Alexander will be an eight-part documentary series about the greatest horror movies never made. Directed by Bob Barrett, the series is written by Alexander and Mark Pollesol.

New...