Gravitas Ventures Lands ‘Meander’ & ‘Miss Angela’; Molly Bernard-Starrer ‘Milkwater’ & ‘Monuments’ Release Dates; Palm Springs ShortFest All In-Person – Film Briefs

Patrick Hipes
·4 min read

Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to Meander, a horror thriller written and directed by Mathieu Turi. It will now get a July 9, 2021 release date in theaters and on on-demand platforms.

The film stars Gaïa Weiss, Peter Franzen and Romane Libert. Weiss plays Lisa, who after getting a car ride from an unknown man wakes up in a tube. On her arm is strapped a bracelet with a countdown. She quickly understands that every 10 minutes, fire burns an occupied section. She has no choice but to crawl into safe sections to survive. To know why she’s there and how to get out, she will have to face the memories of her dead daughter.

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“Gravitas is thrilled to be able to present audiences with one of the best new additions to the sci-fi and horror genres in the past decade,” said Brett Rogalsky, Gravitas Ventures’ acquisitions manager. “What Mathieu has been able to craft with a small cast and a singular, claustrophobic location is truly spectacular. Meander is a film you do not want to miss.”

Rogalsky negotiated the deal with Gregory Chambet from WTFilms on behalf of the filmmakers.

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Gravitas Ventures has also acquired Miss Angela, the documentary following the first concert of Cuban-born Angela Alvaraz. Paul Toogood and Lloyd Stanton directed and produced the film, which was narrated by Andy Garcia who executive produced with Bruce Evans and Jonathon Komack Martin. It will get a VOD and digital release May 18.

A story of the American Dream, Alvarez was a child in pre-revolution Cuba who told her family she wanted to be a singer and songwriter but was forbidden to do so by her father and grandfather. She was relegated to writing her songs in secret, got married and had kids children before eventually getting out of the country in the mid-1960s. Decades later her music found renewed life, culminating in a concert at the historic Avalon in Hollywood hosted by Garcia.

Here’s the trailer:

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Row House Films has acquired theatrical and virtual rights to Monuments, an indie road-trip comedy written and directed by Jack C. Newell that marks the nascent distributor’s first theatrical release. It will begin in-person and virtual-cinema screenings June 4 before begin available on-demand beginning August 3 via 1091 Pictures.

The plot centers on college professor Ted (David Sullivan), whose world is shattered by the sudden death of his wife Laura (Marguerite Moreau). As he journeys on a cross-country trip to Chicago where he hopes to lay her to rest, he’s followed both her eccentric, bickering family – and by visions of Laura herself. Javier Muñoz, Paulina Olszynski, Shunori Ramanathan and David Pasquesi also star.

Newell also produced with Angie Gaffney, and Charles Leslie and Ed Toolis are executive producers.

Here’s the trailer:

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Wolfe Releasing has acquired rights to Milkwater, written and directed by Morgan Ingari and starring Younger‘s Molly Bernard. It will get a digital release May 21.

Bernard plays Milo, a directionless twentysomething living in New York who is confronted with the inertia of her adult life after attending her best friend Noor’s baby shower. She eventually meets Roger (Patrick Breen), an older gay man hanging out at her local bar who she learns has had multiple adoptions and surrogacies fall through. As the two get closer, she decides to become his surrogate.

Candice Kuwahara is producer of Ingari’s feature debut. Ash Christian, Margaret Sullivan, Joe Alvarado and Bernard are executive producers.

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The Palm Springs ShortFest said it will be the the first film festival in California to hold all of its screenings in-theater for its 2021 edition, which it said will run June 22-28 at the Camelot Theatres (Palm Springs Cultural Center).

Theatregoers will be required to wear masks, and screening capacity will be determined by city, county and state guidelines at the time of the event, which is put on by the Palm Springs International Film Society. Last year’s ShortFest was virtual only, with a selection of its 332-film lineup available on its website for free.

This year, awards and cash prizes worth $25,000, including five Oscar-qualifying awards, will be unveiled June 27.

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