One Last Festival & Awards Ahead of DVD Release

Carlo Fiorletta and Tara Westwood

Surviving Family had its (probably!) last festival screening at the Northeast Film Festival, where we were thrilled to pick up 6 awards.  Tara Westwood received the Breakout Performance award for her great work as Jean Malone Fulton; she's pictured at left with our Executive Producer Carlo Fiorletta.  The two will co-star in the upcoming feature About Us, shooting fall 2014, and are also on board as producers.

We were also delighted to receive awards for Best Feature, Best Director (Laura Thies), Best Screenplay (Mara Lesemann, who is also the screenwriter for About Us), Best Actress (Sarah Wilson), and Best Supporting Actor (Vincent Pastore).

We'll be out on DVD via Redbox (those red kiosks in your supermarket, bank branch, and pharmacy!) later this fall, and will announce the official release date as soon as it's available.

We'll Hit Redbox This Fall!

After 18 festivals over the past year, and numerous awards (you can see the full list here), we're thrilled to announce that we've signed a world-wide distribution deal with Digi Distribution AND Surviving Family will be available on DVD at Redbox kiosks this fall!  They have over 42,000 kiosks at more than 34,000 locations around the US, so this is a great opportunity for us. 

More information - including the DVD release date and other distribution plans - will be posted as soon as they're available.

A NYC Award

Following our terrific screening at the Manhattan Film Festival on June 22, we were thrilled to receive their Best Family Film award!  Director Laura Thies was on hand to receive it.

Wonderful NYC Premiere at the Manhattan Film Festival

Lots of the cast & crew were on hand for the event.

Our NYC premiere at the Manhattan Film Festival on Saturday night June 22 was tremendous: lots of cast and crew on the red carpet, a full house at the Quad Cinema on 13th Street, and an after-party at Le Midi.

Check out the photos for a peek at the evening.

Tara Westwood and Phyllis Somerville on the red carpet.

Director Laura Thies

3 June Festivals - in NYC, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh

As we head into summer, we're gearing up for 3 festival screenings this month: 

The Pittsburgh Independent Film Festival, where we'll screen on Sunday June 16 at 6:40 PM at the Father Ryan Arts Center.  The screening will be followed by a q&a with writer/producer Mara Lesemann.

The Manhattan Film Festival, screening on Saturday June 22 at 7:15 PM at the Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th St. in Manhattan.  The screening will be followed by a q&a with director Laura Thies, writer/producer Mara Lesemann, and several cast members.

The Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, screening on Saturday June 29 at 4:00 PM at the Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts, 118 North Broad St., Philadelphia.  The screening will be followed by a q&a with director Laura Thies and writer/producer Mara Lesemann.





You can contact us at info@survivingfamily.us with questions on these or any other screenings!

Great Time at Trail Dance

Writer/Producer Mara Lesemann

Festival Director's Award &

Sarah Wilson's Best Actor Award

Surviving Family had a great screening at the Trail Dance Film Festival in Duncan, Oklahoma!  We had a large and (very) enthusiastic audience, which included many local film lovers in addition to the filmmakers who were attending the festival.  Their questions and (very) positive feedback extended through the q&a session and into the adjoining snack bar.

At the Saturday night awards ceremony, it was great to receive the Best Actor Award for Sarah Wilson (Trail Dance gives one award among both the men and women) as well as the Festival Director's Award, which goes to his choice for best combination of high quality movie plus audience buzz.

This is definitely a festival that will be on the list for the next movie project.

Next up:  the Green Bay (Wisconsin) Film Festival the first weekend in March, followed by Los Angeles Women's Film Festival , sponsored by the Alliance of Women Filmmakers, which takes place March 21-24.

A Fest, 3 Nominations, & a Trailer for the New Year!

We're delighted to kick off 2013 at the 7th annual Trail Dance Film Festival in Duncan, Oklahoma.  Surviving Family will screen there on Saturday January 26 at 2 PM, at the Simmons Center Theater.  To make the occasion even better, we've been nominated for 3 awards:  Best Feature Drama, Best Actor (male or female) - Sarah Wilson, and Best Director - Laura Thies.

To mark the occasion, we're rolling out a new trailer this week; you can check it out here: