'Mary Marie' Debuts at the Brooklyn International Film Fest

"Mary Marie," a new feature film from actor-filmmaker's Alexandra Roxo and Alana Kearns-Green, will make its world premiere at the Brooklyn International Film Festival on June 4. Roxo and Kearns-Green co-star, co-wrote, and co-produced the project, with Roxo helming.

Notably, actress Alana Kearns-Green is an avid Back Stage reader. Make sure to visit www.tinyurl.com/AlanaKearnsGreen to check out her Multimedia Resume on BackStage.com.

Kearns-Green says, "The process of making one's own work is challenging from start to finish, but immensely rewarding in the long run. Now more than ever before there are resources for actors, writers, and directors to make their own projects and get them out in the world. I believe this is becoming the 'new normal' in filmmaking, and as actors I think we should embrace it."

Rather than just being "at the mercy of a casting director or agent," she points out that "when you look at the resources around us, we are all two or three steps away from simply getting some people together and shooting over a long weekend." (For advice on making your own films and creating your own opportunities, see Back Stage's new "Do It Yourself" collection of articles for actors.)

However, being an actor-producer or actor-director on a low-budget film is far from easy. Kearns-Green notes, "If you are the producer, and you need some extra beds for your crew to sleep on and it's 11 o'clock at night, guess who's going to have to find some spare mattresses? If you are the producer and the actress, guess who is ordering lunch in-between takes and taking people's sandwich orders? You.

"But I am very grateful for the experience, and to have been pushed to my potential by some wonderful people like director Alexandra Roxo and producer Rachel Earnest. Thanks to that creative bond and friendship, the whole process was worth the many challenges."

And since completing "Mary Marie," she's been "inspired to direct, write, and star in my first short film, 'The Glass,' shot in March of this year by 'Mary Marie' cinematographer Magela Crosignani. I have also continued my work with [producer] Rachel Earnest, who is directing her own feature, shooting on-location in France, 'Le Sejour Paradisiaque.' 'Mary Marie' showed me that it was possible to make your own movies, and I intend to keep doing so."

For more info about the film, see the official press release and movie trailer below. The Brooklyn International Film Festival will showcase 101 films in 10 days (June 3-12, 2011) in Brooklyn, NY.

 

PRESS RELEASE:

Mary Marie To Make World Premiere at Brooklyn International Film Festival June 4

 Sexy Summertime Love Triangle Tests the Bonds of Kinship 

Brooklyn-based filmmaker Alexandra Roxo, known for her edgy experimental films, art and fashion photography, and her fellow NYU Tisch School of the Arts alumnus Alana Kearns-Green co-wrote and co-star as young women who bare both body and soul as they become entangled in a steamy summertime love triangle in their sizzling debut indie feature Mary Marie, which makes its World Premiere June 4 at indieScreen Cinema during the Brooklyn International Film Festival (BFF).

"As a Williamsburg resident, I am very happy to have Mary Marie premiere at BFF," said Roxo. "Mary Marie is a love story above all- it's the story of a love between two girls that is hard to categorize, and that transcends boundaries."

Two sisters, Mary (Alana Kearns-Green) and Marie (Alexandra Roxo), return to their childhood home after their mother's death to enjoy one last summer together there. The heat and isolation of the countryside blossom and blur the girls' growing physical and emotional intimacy. When the local handy man, Peter (Tim Linden), shows up, he threatens to reveal their secrets. The girls' bond becomes dangerously competitive as the sexual tension builds...and the summer takes an unexpected turn.

Magela Crosignani's lushly atmospheric cinematography is a steamy summertime dreamscape that vividly captures the moments of the two girls' lost innocence. Crosignani previously lensed Zeina Durra's The Imperialists are Still Alive!, which premiered at Sundance in 2010. She's been interviewed about her process in American Cinematographer Magazine, and Movieline proclaimed of the film, "Elements gorgeously come together through cinematographer Magela Crosignani."

ALEXANDRA ROXO – DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/CO-WRITER/CO-STAR:

Alexandra Roxo is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker, artist and photographer who graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 2006, and has exhibited her work at festivals and galleries around the world, winning multiple awards. Roxo began collaborating immediately with Kearns-Green when they met at NYU where she cast her in her short experimental film Out of the Blue and her play This Little Light of Mine. Since making Mary Marie, Roxo wrote and directed her own narrative short film, Bemvindo, which debuted in May at the Maryland Film Festival, and the short fashion film, DRIFT, which premiered at Lincoln Center Fashion Week in February and was featured on NBC NY. Her fashion photography and commercial for vintage clothing line, Vintage Mavens, has been featured on Urban Outfitters and countless other fashion blogs. She also shoots photographs for musicians, designers, and artists. In addition to narrative and fashion work, Roxo is curating a film screening series at the New York non-profit for teen girls, GEMS.

ALANA KEARNS-GREEN – PRODUCER/CO-WRITER/CO-STAR:

Alana Kearns-Green has been acting in Los Angeles since her graduation from NYU in 2006. Drawing on her multi-lingual skills and interests, Kearns-Green has had great success with the short film, Le Retour (directed by Mary Marie producer Rachel Earnest) following the film to over 50 film festivals worldwide. She has been nominated for two Best Actress awards for Le Retour and gained much praise for the performance. Kearns-Green has collaborated with filmmaker Alexandra Roxo for over six years now, with one short film, Out of the Blue and one feature screenplay, In Pursuit of the Pomegranate, under their belt. In Pursuit of the Pomegranate drew Kearns-Green much attention on YouTube for her intimate improvisations with actor Jackson Rathbone. Her present work includes: The feature Le Sejour Paradisiaque, (also directed by Earnest) shooting on location in Cannes, France; Alana's first short film The Glass (self-written, directed and produced); And the psychological suspense short 4EVR, (directed by Donnybrook's Sergio Pinhero and written by Flashfilm's Joe Fordham), currently in pre-production.

RACHEL EARNEST - PRODUCER:

Rachel Earnest is a filmmaker whose credits include the short film, Le Retour, which premiered at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood and has played in 50 films festivals both domestically and abroad. Trevor Groth, the Director of Programming at the Sundance Film Festival, called Le Retour, "intelligent, emotional and truthful." It has won numerous awards including Best International Short (Kerry Film Festival) and Best Short (SENE Film Festival). Additionally, Earnest did pre-production work at Muse Films for the feature The Killer Inside Me starring Casey Affleck and Jessica Alba. She has also worked for Radical Media and on the television shows Heroes, The Event, and C.S.I. Earnest is currently preparing to direct her debut feature, Le Sejour Paradisiaque in Cannes, France, later this year.

ABOUT THE BROOKLYN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:

The Brooklyn International Film Festival is a competitive event that will take place from June 3-12 at indieScreen Cinema and Brooklyn Heights Cinema. The festival will present over 100 film premieres and will award the winners with prizes totaling over $50,000 in film services and products sponsored by Panavision NY, Abel Cinetech, Xeno Lights, Cinecall Soundtracks, Avid, Script Pipeline, and Media Services.

To purchase tickets online in advance of the festival and to view the schedule, visit www.brooklynfilmfestival.org/films/detail.asp?fid=1174.

For more information on Mary Marie, visit www.marymariefilm.com/.

For press inquiries, contact Brian Geldin at www.briangeldin.com.

 

- Luke Crowe, National Casting Editor, Back Stage