EMPTY SPACE
Southern California Premiere

“Tom, an overweight young man, takes refuge at his grandmother’s cabin in rural Protection, IL, in an attempt to bury the years of being bullied and feeling rejected.  While in town, he meets a precocious blind girl named Lilly, who shows him how to be accepted and loved.  Tender, funny and dramatic, the film shows characters not often depicted onscreen as leads, in a unique coming of age story.”  …  emptyspacethemovie.com

Director:  James Choi
Writers:  Paul Boring, Judith Krant
Genre:   Drama
Running Time:  76 min
Distributor:  Beachwood Pictures
Country:  USA
Language:  English
Rating:  N|R
Starring:  Merrick Robison, Elizabeth Stenholt, Madysen Frances, Ryan David Heywood, Suzanne Johnson, David McLauchlan

FESTIVALS:  USA: Mostra BR de São Paulo, Chicago; Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, IA; Lighthouse International Film Festival, NJ; Indy Film Fest, Indianapolis; New Hope Film Festival, PA; Tallgrass Film Festival, Wichita; Korean American Film Festival, New York; SF IndieFest, San Francisco; Windy City Film Festival, Chicago; Tupelo Film Festival, MS

AWARDS:  AUDIENCE AWARD at Lighthouse International Film Festival; BEST FEATURE FILM at The Windy City International Film Festival  (Chicago); BEST ACTOR, BEST ACTRESS, BEST INDIE SPIRIT DRAMA at Twister Alley International Film Festival.

“Filmed on a modest $8,000 budget with a crew of three, Empty Space is the kind of film that one expects to find at an indie film festival with its intelligent, thoughtful story and performances that are devoid of the usual histrionics one expects to find in this type of film.”  …The Independent Critic

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..SHOWING WITH A SHORT FILM:

THE MANY SAD FATES OF MR. TOLEDANO (26 min)
Director: Joshua Seftel

THE NEW YORK TIMES OP-DOC |

In his latest project, photographer Phil Toledano has become obsessed with his own future.  Director Josh Seftel follows as Toledano uses DNA tests, fortune tellers, and a prosthetic makeup artist to envision the many dark possibilities that might await him, including obesity, desolation, stroke, isolation, suicide, and violent death.  Over the course of three years, Toledano becomes dozens of characters and captures these bleak possibilities in a series of haunting photographs.  Meanwhile, his wife and daughter worry that this project will leave Toledano unable to ever imagine a positive future. While on this journey, Toledano’s obsession alters him and his family forever.