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Written and directed by Gabriel Rhenals, For My Sister follows Evie (Stephanie Maltez) as she tries to help her sister Tris (Cristina de Fatima), who has “an ever-worsening case of depression”, to avoid their mother’s tragic fate. The independent film co-stars Natalie Ramirez, William Guevara, and Mireya Kilmon.
The movie came out last year and is currently available to watch on Amazon Prime Video (free with a Prime membership or is available to rent or purchase from Amazon).
We had a chance to talk with writer/director Mauro Ferritto, whose latest film The Pre-Drink hit Amazon last year. Learn more about his comedy about feuding best friends.
Who?
The cast of The Pre-Drink includes Paul Rabliauskas, Jared Story, Mike Campbell, Nick Christie, Jessina Cheffins, Andrea Ginter, and Georgianna Oakley. Our director of photography was Zach Wolf, sound was Mathew Riediger, and I produced, wrote, directed, and edited it.
I knew I wanted to shoot a comedy feature, so I approached a few comedians in Winnipeg who I’ve been watching live and have been following for a few years now. I approached Paul first to see if he wanted to be in the movie, and he gave me a quick yes, to which I was surprised and elated. His close friend is Jared Story and I knew if he had a familiar face on set with him, the acting would come out more naturally and be a win-win. Jared is also a hilarious comedian and they played off each other well. Mike and I went to the University of Winnipeg together taking film. and we have kept in touch ever since. He nailed the part of Noah. I auditioned Nick for the lead and Jessina, Andrea, and Gerogrianna auditioned and it was an easy yes from my end as they’re all funny in their own ways with great acting chops.
Farmery Brewery were immensely kind and generous enough to give us free beer to use in the shoot. Which I was really happy about because I hate seeing water in beer bottles in movies, or worse yet, every label of every beer ripped off. It was great to have a real beer company (and real beer) in the film.
What?
The story is about the complications of friendships. It touches on power struggle, deception, coming of age, and letting go of what you can’t control. The movie centers around four friends, two of which are fighting due to rumors that one slept with the other’s girlfriend, and one friend is in the middle trying to hash things out. Noah (Mike) is there as a buffer and a close acquaintance. Nick’s character, Dean, attempts to mend things, in his own way, and have everything be back to how they were – and all of this an hour before his wedding, where he also needs to pick one best man.
It’s a (mainly) one location comedy, so it’s something of a pressure cooker in one home with moments of humor peppered throughout. This movie was financed by my Visa, so using my house was really the only option. Having comedians as my actors, and writing something that had high conflict to keep the story moving and interesting, was informed by the budget, and was a great filmmaking experience.
Where?
Most of the movie takes place in a house (Dean’s house). We filmed outside at Assiniboine Park, and over the Moray bridge, to grab a few exterior scenes, but the bulk of the movie is several rooms in a house.
When?
We started shooting in April 2016, set in present day, and it was released in January of 2020. We shot every weekend for about 6 months, then came the edit. And I’ll admit, it took an embarrassingly long time to edit – not so much the actual cutting and sound and color grading (although that is a time consuming task, and I now have a new respect for editors), but for me to be courageous enough to finish the edit instead of giving up. At the time, and I think many filmmakers go through this, when you’re in the editing suite with your movie and you see a first cut, it can be tough to look at every frame you decided was good at the time. Now you have fresh eyes thinking “what the hell is this?” Scorsese has said that if you’re not physically ill when you’re editing, something’s wrong – and now I totally get that.
Why?
Why I made this film? I was itching to shoot a feature film and direct- no matter what that entailed. So you start looking at what you can’t do and what you can do, and that informs the kind of movie you’re going to make. I had access to some really great comedians, I had my house, and I had a friend with a decent DSLR, and a lens we split for. That all pointed to a one location comedy. So with that in mind, I started working on the screenplay and a story within that frame.
Why are the characters doing what they’re doing? Dean loves nothing more in his life than his friends, and he’s on the verge of losing his two best friends. I think we can all relate with having a falling out with a friend in your group, and you can’t all hangout any more. You almost have to pick sides, or at least schedule your hang outs separately, and Dean is doing everything in his power to avoid this. So he lied, cheated, fought, and manipulated his way to try and fix things. Of course that never works out.
Paul’s character, Gabe, and Jared’s character, Zach, are on the outs. Gabe is accused of sleeping with Zach’s girlfriend, Alyssa, and Zach wants nothing to do with this friendship anymore. When drunken secrets spill they deal with their issues and do hash things out, but things are never the same. People grow up, you grow out of your friends, and we all move on in one way or another. In a way, this is a coming of age movie for guys in their 30s, with ambiguous morals but grounded in reality.
How?
You can watch The Pre-Drink now on Amazon:
And you can follow The Pre-Drink on Social Media:
Learn more about Chasing the Win in our spotlight article about the movie and you can watch it online for free at IMDbTV. The documentary is directed by Chris Ghelfi and Laura Sheehy.
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When the Fever Breaks is an indie thriller/horror movie directed by Tymaine Clay. In the movie, a mother fights “to keep the only remaining house left during a zombie apocalypse,” and she “must come to terms when she is infected with only two hours left to live and a daughter she must protect at all cost.“
Starring Genevieve Gearhart, Shaun Piccinino, Kruiz Mauga, Chadwick Armstrong, Ryan T. Husk, and Violet Smith. Click here to watch the zombie flick for free on Tubi TV or you can watch it on Amazon with a Prime membership.
We’re always excited to present a new mix of independent movies that you can watch for free online. These four movies are all dramas, but are all very different types of dramas! Check them out then come back and share your thoughts!
CALL FOR DREAMS
Directed by Ran Slavin
Description: In rainy Tokyo the lives of a Japanese girl and an Israeli police detective intertwine. Eko complicates her life by publishing a ‘Call for Dreams’ ad in a Tokyo newspaper. With her scooter visiting strangers in the city, who leave descriptions of their dreams on her analog answering machine and for a fee acts them out. As dreams seep into reality and a parallel police investigation of a murder in Tel Aviv unfolds, what is real and what is not is hard to distinguish. (Source: Official Website)
Watch for Free on IMDB TV
SUMMER OF ’67
Directed by Sharon Wilharm
Description: Two sisters live in the shadow of their mother’s suicide, struggling to live their lives and protect their loved ones in the face of the Vietnam war. (Source: Producer)
Watch for Free on IMDB TV
NINETEEN SUMMERS
Directed by Rod S. Scott
Description: The time taken by the planet to make its revolutions around the sun. A point of time as measured in hours and minutes, a paradoxical transition from boy to man. Each summer the gang violence heats up in South Los Angeles. Born in the generational Los Angeles Street culture, his parents from the hood, a 19-year-old father seeks a better life in the midst of a turf war. (Source: Producer)
Watch for Free on IMDB TV
EKAJ
Directed by Cati Gonzalez
Description: A film packed with real life drama and a real sense of humor. The film capture’s a naive teen’s runaway journey to one of the most difficult city’s to survive in, New York City. (Source: Producer)
Watch for Free on TUBI TV
Let us know what movies you have watched online for free recently! A lot of stuff that was only available with an Amazon Prime membership is now free (with commercials) on IMDB TV!
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Unlawful is an indie crime drama by director Chris Baxter. The movie follows “a financially struggling LAPD officer relentlessly works to meet an unspoken arrest quota for a promotion, he’s thrown on a deadly collision course with an inner-city teenager determined to escape poverty at all costs.“
The movie stars Emmanuel Vega, Jezabel Montero, and Lelia Symington, and was distributed by Indie Rights Movies. You can watch it free on Tubi or on Amazon with an Amazon Prime account.
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Before you go all in with horror movies for Halloween (we will have more horror suggestions soon!), why not try an indie romantic comedy? What Love Looks Like is an anthology movie with “five interwoven love stories that explore the ups and downs of finding love.” The movie was directed by Alex Magaña and stars Josh Gilmer, Nathan Kohnen, Connor Wilkins, Kyle Meck, Jack Menzies, Kate Durocher, Taylor Alexa Frank, and Ana Ming Bostwick-Singer. The movie was released online by Indie Rights Movies.
You can watch What Love Looks Like for free on TubiTV or Amazon (with Prime), and you can follow the movie on Facebook to learn movie about the cast & crew.
