Currently watching: Mary Pickford in A POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL (1917).
Mary is at her best here, as the tiny (5'1") actress plays a sweetly rambunctious 11-year-old girl (Mary was actually 25) who craves love and attention while her wealthy parents have no time for her and household staff abuse her.
Highlights include Mary inviting some street urchins in for a mud fight in the greenhouse, and a disastrous playdate with a snooty, spoiled rich girl.
Very well made with a realistic setting that looks like an actual mansion, sharp direction and photography, and nice special effects and color tinting during the climactic dream sequence as Mary's character fights for life after an accidental "sleep medicine" overdose.
She imagines herself on a fairyland quest for happiness that resembles "The Wizard of Oz", with three people from her real life--a plumber, an organ grinder, and a sympathetic servant--as her fantasy companions.
The sequence contains some very surreal touches, some of which even have a David Lynch quality.
The print used for the Alpha Video DVD is of very good quality for a film made in 1917. A POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL is essential viewing for Mary Pickford fans.
FREESTYLE DIGITAL MEDIA ACQUIRES “THE TOUCHED ONE” FOR FEBRUARY RELEASE
Supernatural-Horror Dramatic Feature Film Sets Digital Debut on North American VOD Platforms on February 15, 2022
Los Angeles, CA – January 24, 2022 – Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios, has acquired North American VOD rights to the supernatural-horror dramatic feature film THE TOUCHED ONE. THE TOUCHED ONE will be available to rent and own on global digital HD internet, and satellite platforms on February 15, 2022 through Freestyle Digital Media.
THE TOUCHED ONE follows Chinaza, a woman anointed by a sacred ram to do good deeds, as she goes in search of a gang of men who did her wrong in order to correct them of their evil ways. One morning, Chinaza and two others board a local bus. Four men posing as passengers promptly abduct and take them deep into the woods for blood sacrifice. Chinaza is resigned to her fate when a mysterious ram appears and sets her free. Grateful to be alive, she pets it.
Safe at home, she discovers that the hand with which she pet the ram corrects anyone she touches of their sinful ways. She is thus convinced this is the reason she is the sole survivor of the tragedy. Thereafter, she determines to find the kidnappers to guide them onto a righteous path. The families of the two other victims who did not make it that day have other ideas to exact their own brand of street justice on the men.
WATCH THE TRAILER:
Written and directed by Vigil Chime, THE TOUCHED ONE was produced by Happy Julian Uchendu and Vigil Chime. The ensemble cast includes Grace Ijeoma Agu (‘Chinaza’), Kenneth Okolie (‘Odinaka’), Emeka Amakeze (‘Lead Kidnapper Tochi’), Amaechi Muonagor (‘Chinaza’s Father’), Prince Nnanna Ndukwe (‘Paul’), and Clemson Cornel Agbogidi (‘Dibia Agbarakata’).
“I made THE TOUCHED ONE because I wanted to, primarily, make a story that mostly takes place outside,” said filmmaker Vigil Chime. “We are living in a very changed world now, with the whole world on lockdown. I thought it a breath of fresh air to set the events in the expansive space of a deep forest. At the same time, I wanted to tell a story about forgiveness. That a grave wrong could be done to someone and have her recover to forgive the very people that had wronged her. That is powerful.”
Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire THE TOUCHED ONE with Vigil Chime of Breakfast Pictures Entertainment and Halle Mariner at APA.
The digital distribution unit of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, Freestyle Digital Media, is a premiere multi-platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, digital and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record and a veteran sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a true home for independent films. Recent releases include BEST SUMMER EVER the teen musical featuring a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities, produced by Jamie Lee Curtis, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson, THE WEDDING YEAR starring Sarah Hyland and Anna Camp, THE LAST PHOTOGRAPH starring Danny Houston, BERSERK starring Nick Cannon, UNTOGETHER starring Jamie Doran, Jemima Kirke, Ben Mendelsohn, Alice Eve and Billy Crystal. Other Freestyle titles include the action-comedy BETTER START RUNNING starring Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons and Maria Bello, THE BACHELORS starring Academy Award-winner J.K. Simmons, Julie Delpy and Odeya Rush, the award-winning documentary HONDROS produced by Jamie Lee Curtis and Jake Gyllenhaal, horror documentary DEMON HOUSE starring Zak Bagans, host of Travel Channel’s highest rated show Ghost Adventures, sci-fi thriller THE RECALL starring Wesley Snipes, MILES starring Molly Shannon and Paul Reiser and the animated feature HELL & BACK starring Nick Swardson, Mila Kunis and Bob Odenkirk.
With a mandatory sleep schedule enforced worldwide, one outlier invents new ways to connect with his sleeping family
AVAILABLE ON AppleTV, Amazon & Altavod JANUARY 18, 2022
On January 11 2022, Saul At Night, a sci-fi drama and feature debut by Cory Santilli, written by Daniel Miska (Froth and Bubble), will release on AppleTV and Altavod.
A legally imposed curfew and mandated sleeping schedule has been forced upon citizens, except Saul, the one person who rests during the day and spends his waking hours in the eerie and lonely night. Alienated from his family, Saul begins to invent ways to continue sharing his life with his wife and daughter, but things take a turn when he encounters a mysterious woman on one of his nightly wanderings.
WATCH THE OFFICIAL TRAILER HERE:
Synopsis: As a result of a bizarre experiment, Saul Capgras is forced to become acclimated to a life of isolation at night, while the rest of the city is restricted to sleep and a mandated curfew. Saul is the only person left awake at night, and, while still living with his wife and daughter, he must discover inventive ways to experience their lives.
Saul at Night is a carefully drawn study of human nature and the nature of connections to both loved ones and strangers.
Co-founded by Robert Schwartzman, Utopia is a sales and distribution company known for feature films including the breakout TIFF comedy, SHIVA BABY; the Cannes selected MICKEY AND THE BEAR; the forthcoming Cannes 2021 selection VORTEX, Gaspar Noe’s sixth feature; Sundance selection, EL PLANETA; and documentaries including Academy Award winner Errol Morris' AMERICAN DHARMA; the Ross Brothers’ Sundance charmer, BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS; and the forthcoming doc on the artist Dash Snow, MOMENTS LIKE THIS NEVER LAST from Cheryl Dunn and Vice Studios.
Co-founded by filmmaker Robert Schwartzman in 2018, Utopia is a film distribution and sales company that specializes in bold and daring independent cinema. With a hands-on approach to creative risk-taking, Utopia builds tailor-made releases that champion their audience and the voices behind them. Recent Utopia titles include the TIFF breakout comedy Shiva Baby by Emma Seligman; The Ross Brothers’ Sundance 2020 selection Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets; Academy Award Winner Errol Morris’ American Dharma; Annabelle Attanasio’s Cannes breakout Mickey and the Bear, starring Camila Morrone; and, the 4K restoration of Hal Needham’s 1986 cult-classic, RAD. Upcoming releases include the Gaspar Noe’s sixth feature and Cannes 2021 selection Vortex, Sundance and New Directors/New Films 2021 selections El Planeta and We’re All Going To The World’s Fair; Dasha Nekrasova’s Berlinale premiere The Scary of Sixty-First in partnership with Shudder and the Dash Snow documentary Moments Like This Never Last from Cheryl Dunn and Vice Studios.
Utopia has since launched Utopia Originals, a division dedicated to the development, packaging, and sales of original film and television content. Its most recently announced project is in partnership with Norman Reedus’ bigbaldhead Productions And Shout! Studios for a ‘Sorority House Massacre’ TV Series, based off of the cult classic of the same name.
