CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES" RECEIVES TWO NOMINATIONS FOR
FOR 2003 IFP INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDs
Los Angeles, CA; December 12, 2002 - Nominations for the 2003 IFP Independent
Spirit Awards were announced yesterday. Among indie giants "Lovely
and Amazing," "Far From Heaven," and "The Good Girl"
were two surprising nominations for a micro-budget Asian American film
called "Charlotte Sometimes."
Eric Byler (writer/director/producer) and Marc Ambrose (producer) were
nominated for the JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (given to the best feature made
for under $500,000), and Jacqueline Kim was nominated for BEST SUPPORTING
ACTRESS.
Byler, who is half Chinese, wrote, directed, produced and edited the
feature, which takes a boldly realistic approach to sex, loneliness, and
race in examining four Asian Americans whose lives intersect in a Silver
Lake duplex. The Hawaii native received congratulatory phone calls at
his hotel room in Honolulu, where "Charlotte Sometimes" screens
tonight as the Closing Night Film of Cinema Paradise.
"It's sort of odd and really wonderful that I happened to be in
Hawaii when this came out," Byler said. "There are so many people
here who've supported me all my life. It's a great honor to be recognized,
and really kind of a shock."
Last month at the Hawaii International Film Festival, the hometown director
and his film became the toast of the Islands when renowned critic Roger
Ebert published a glowing review in the Chicago Sun-Times, declaring "Charlotte
Sometimes" best of the fest.
Even so, industry insiders were surprised to see "Charlotte Sometimes"
among the nominated films. Greg Williams, CEO of Lot 47, Inc. called the
two nominations, "a well-deserved and wonderful achievement, and
an exceedingly rare occurrence for a film that has yet to reach audiences
beyond the festival circuit."
Talks with distributors have heated up since yesterday's announcements.
The Sundance Channel selected "Charlotte Sometimes" for a festival
called "New Voices for the New Year." The cable exhibition deal,
brokered by the film's executive producer John Bard Manulis, CEO/producer
of Visionbox Media Group, provides a window for theatrical distribution
following the two festival airings.
Jacqueline Kim's feature credits include "Brokedown Palace,"
"Volcano," and "Disclosure." "Charlotte Sometimes"
also stars Michael Idemoto, Eugenia Yuan, and Matt Westmore. "Charlotte
Sometimes" is a Visionbox Pictures production, executive produced
by John Bard Manulis ("Tortilla Soup", "The Basketball
Diaries") and Michael Kastenbaum, with Chris Miller, Brooke Dammkoehler,
and Lara Lyon serving as co-producers. The musical voice of the film is
rising African-American singer-songwriter Cody Chesnutt ("The Headphone
Masterpieces"), currently on "Rolling Stone's" and Nick
Harcourt's Top 10 Newcomers list.
Byler is currently in talks to direct the feature film "American
Knees," also an Asian American love story, set to go into production
this spring. Producers Lisa Onodera ("Picture Bride," "The
Debut") and Paige Orloff, with financial backing from Starz/Encore,
commissioned Byler to adapt the Shawn Wong novel earlier this year. Byler
is represented by Brant Rose of The Brant Rose Agency and David Guc of
Vanguard Management.
Visionbox Pictures is a production company and creative incubator that
produces and acquires feature films and episodic series driven by provocative
concepts and distinctive creative voices. It is the production division
of Visionbox Media Group, a leading production, post-production and solutions
company using digital technology to produce and distribute films and television
content less expensively and with greater creative freedom.
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