Posted by Larry Gleeson
Short Comedy by Director Kevin Asch (Holy Rollers) Stars Danny A. Abeckaser (The Irishman), Lukas Haas (The Revenant) & Sara Foster (Barely Famous)
Los Angeles, April 10, 2020 — In celebration of short film and short-form content worldwide, French Riviera Film Festival (FRFF) is pleased to present the online world premiere of the comedy Characters, by director Kevin Asch (Holy Rollers) and starring Danny A. Abeckaser (The Irishman), Lukas Haas (The Revenant) and Sara Foster (Barely Famous). Characters will premiere at 4PM PST/7PM EST on Saturday, April 11, 2020, as part of FRFF’s online screening room (www.
In response to the growing concern worldwide about the covid-19 pandemic, FRFF producers recently unveiled its ‘screening room,’ running through April 30th, where the festival’s 2019 winning and finalist films are available for viewing to enjoy online while on the go or from the comfort of one’s home.
“FRFF’s online screening room was extremely well received by our audience,” comments co-founder Nicole Muj. “So much so, we decided to add Characters, which will also have its world premiere theatrical screening at our 2020 festival. We wanted to give film fans a sneak peek of the entertaining, star-studded content that will be spotlighted later this summer.”
In Characters, a psychologically troubled sporting goods store clerk (Abeckaser), obsessed with Al Pacino’s gangster characters is set-off into his old pattern of acting out like them when he hears about his ex returning to Long Island to get married. At the same time, his current love (Foster) is giving him an ultimatum to leave with her to California at the end of the summer, all the while pushing his relationships, including his mother and best friend (Haas) to the limits with his Pacino impressions.
“I’m thrilled people will finally get to see Characters. I loved playing this character not only because of my love and admiration for Al Pacino, but because I feel that we all have a little bit of Sandy in us,” says Abeckaser.
FRFF also recently announced that the second annual edition of the festival has been
rescheduled for later this summer with screenings at Laemmle Film Center in Santa Monica, California, the ‘Riviera West,’ with exclusive parties and an award ceremony at S Bar Brentwood.
First launched last year during the time period of the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, the exclusive, intimate festival fêtes short-form content created for film, television, Web and all digital platforms. FRFF invites filmmakers from around the world to participate in the two-day, by invitation only event. Attendees and participants include filmmakers, industry executives, celebrities, media and influencers.
“In 2019, we presented a special, out-of-competition screening of the Oscar-winning short Skin, in association with Salaud Morisset,” adds co-founder Gotham Chandna. “We are delighted that Characters will be this year’s special screening title.”
FRFF’s prestigious jury selects Best Drama Short, Best Comedy Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Animation Short, Best Experimental Short, Best Sci-Fi/Horror Short, Best Music Video, Best Lifestyle Content, Best Fashion Content, Best Director Award, Best Actor Award, Best Actress Award, as well as a Special Industry Award.
Filmmakers and content creators can submit their films for FRFF 2020 at a 20% discount, using code FRFF20A through April 30, 2020 at: https://filmfreeway.com/
Festival media partners include Azure Azure, Cinémoi USA, Close Up Culture, Destination Luxury, Indie Entertainment Magazine, Informer Media, Gothamology, The Hype Magazine and Marie Westwood Magazine.
Event sponsors include Bel-Air Fine Art, Chateau de Berne, filmfestivals.com, The Good Gin, NurtriVsta, S Bar Brentwood and Weed Cellars.
*please note, actual festival dates are tentative, due to the ongoing health crisis.
(Source: FRFF Press Release)
I wanted to write something to do with women’s psychology. So, I created a character who has a very complex psychology that allowed her to have power over men by using her sexuality. And, I wanted the audience to get to know my character. I spent the first phase of the process writing dialogue that would express the psychology of my characters. I wanted Elaine to be from the Golden Age of Film where intelligent women characters are interesting to learn about while getting to know who they are as people. I ended up cutting much of the other characters dialogue in the editing process.
