Caylee Cowan Boards ‘Double Exposure’; Buffalo 8 Acquires ‘Wildflower: The Documentary’; Leslie Small Producing ‘For The Love Of Inkster’ – Film Briefs

EXCLUSIVE: Caylee Cowan (Divinity) has signed on to star opposite Alexander Calvert in Double Exposure, a new indie from writer-director Howard Goldberg, who also produces alongside Laura Nickowitz and Julia Verdin.

Set to begin shooting later this year, the film follows a struggling artist (Calvert) grappling with profound guilt stemming from a past love. Cowan portrays Sara, a charismatic and hopeful young woman who’s just starting out in a modeling career. As time goes on, she gets pressured into a toxic lifestyle and exploited by those around her, seeing her journey get ever darker as she struggles with addiction, low self-esteem, dark thoughts and resentment over abuse she’s been subjected to.

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Most recently starring in the sci-fi thriller Divinity, which world premiered at Sundance, Cowan will also soon be seen in the family film Holiday Twist with Neal McDonough and Sean Astin, among other projects. The actress is repped by Buchwald and Luber Roklin.

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EXCLUSIVE: Buffalo 8 has landed worldwide rights to Wildflower, the award-winning doc directed by Matt Smukler that served as the basis for his acclaimed Kiernan Shipka dramedy of the same name, which world premiered last year in Toronto and recently found an audience on Hulu. Specifics as to the release plan are still being worked out, though the film is expected to debut on TVOD and/or SVOD platforms next year.

Produced by Brian Weidling of Arm and Leg Productions, Wildflower: The Documentary follows the true story of promising high-school track and field star Christina Stahl, who, from the age of 9, had to raise herself… and her parents. As Christina’s senior year of high school nears, she is faced with navigating her endearing but complicated family dynamics as she makes the difficult choice of whether to stay at home and continue to be a caregiver to her neurodivergent parents or move out to go to college.

“At some point in your life you will either be the person receiving care or the person facilitating care, yet stories around caregiving lack diversity,” noted Smukler and Weidling in a joint statement. “There are a reported 53 million people in the U.S. providing unpaid care to an adult loved one. It’s not surprising that Christina’s story struck a chord with so many. We are grateful to partner with Buffalo 8, who shares our passion for elevating an accurate narrative around neuro-diversity and caregiving.”

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EXCLUSIVE: Leslie Small has boarded Winter State Entertainment‘s doc For The Love of Inkster as a producer. He comes to the project after being set by the company to direct the forthcoming films The Raid and Happy V-Day. Additional producers on the doc project include alongside Bishop Ira Combs, Marcia McKenna, Robert Turley, Hamid and Camille Torabpour, and Winter State Entertainment.

Scripted by two-time Emmy winner Marcia McKenna, the film currently in production takes a nostalgic look back and an optimistic look forward at a city that most people haven’t heard of but whose history will resonate deeply. While just six square miles in size, Inkster, Michigan has played a big part in exemplifying what happens when the American dream becomes a nightmare. What began as a small village and a stop on the Underground Railroad seemingly became a boon town for African Americans working at Henry Ford’s River Rouge auto plant. But like many other Black labor cities dependent on a single industry, Inkster spiraled into decay when deindustrialization swept through. The film celebrates the resilience of its residents and examines strategies for reestablishing Inkster’s employment, education, and housing systems for future generations.

Best known for his work with Kevin Hart on projects like Hart 2 Heart, along with numerous comedy specials, Small is repped by IAG. Winter State’s Hamid and Camille Torabpour are repped by Karen Gottlieb at Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks.

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