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I didn’t run the prom committee so I could stay home and watch The Golden Girls and gorge myself on Hot Pockets.
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WINNER
MCKNIGHT FELLOWSHIP SCREENWRITING 2012
OFFICIAL SELECTION
FLYWAY FLYWAY FILM FESTIVAL
2013 OFFICIAL SELECTION
OFFICIAL SELECTION
MUSIC+FILM FESTIVAL
INDIANAPOLIS LGBT FILM FESTIVAL
2013
2013
SOUND UNSEEN
ILFF
Being different isn’t good, it’s fabulous! Death To Prom is an IFPMN supported, McKnight grant-winning, gay-positive, feel-good, 95-minute feature drama with festival, theatrical and private shows. Online release in 2014. Join the prom committee today and help us deliver the movie. www.deathtoprom.com
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I said he could kiss me if he kissed René first. Just to be fair and stuff.
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SYNOPSIS Two best friends make the most of going to high school by dreaming up high-fashion photo shoots, and bribing their siblings to model for them. René loves his fashion magazines and designing clothes. Frankie lives for her camera and punk rock. The drama they dream up in their fashion shoots becomes very real when they end up fighting over their classmate, Sasha, a shy soccer player with a soft spot for poems by Pushkin. When the three of them are caught between competing invitations to prom, their high-fashion drama could destroy their friendships — along with the entire prom. Death to Prom is a bizarre love triangle loaded with enough glamour and attitude for “Project Runway” & Vogue, but with enough heart to make Molly Ringwald bite her lip with anticipation.
Holly Sasha René Frankie
CAST Ricardo Vázquez : René Castillo / Hina Khan : Frankie Jain Andrew Keives : Sasha Orlov / Catherine Hansen : Holly / Addie Johanson : Kim Andrew Borger : James / Sam Noble : Danny / Jôher Coleman : Mr. Jain Dale Pfeilsticker, Paul Economon, Camilla Hempleman, Ross Destiche, Antonio Duke, John Potter, Kirsten Gregerson, Scotty Reynolds, Tony Czech, Ashawnti Ford, Vincent Balbo, Lexi Duffy, Yumi Nagaoka
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I’m still not going to prom… I’m going to watch a horror movie instead.
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I’m thinking that you think prom is a nerd event, but we could make it fun, and, well... Would you be my date?
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Six Questions with director/screenwriter Matt Stenerson Q: Were there any films or filmmakers that inspired Death to Prom? The biggest influence was obviously John Hughes’ Pretty in Pink. When I sat down, I thought: I want to write a Pretty in Pink/Breakfast Club/ Some Kind of Wonderful, but with a gay character. I loved John Hughes movies while growing up and still love them. I always felt like Duckie (from Pretty in Pink) and Watts (from Some Kind of Wonderful) were really gay characters. I felt I could really identify with them, but they still wound up being straight at the end of the movie. Q: What motivated you to write Death to Prom? I wanted to write a movie where sexuality and ethnicity weren’t really an issue. I wanted the issues to be more about friendships, similarities between people, first crushes, creativity and individuality. I feel like the young people of today are moving on and the adults are the ones who are hanging onto old ideas and boundaries when it comes to gay or race issues. I also really wanted to show the unique bond between gay guys and straight girls. So many movies gloss over that bond. The bullying of gay students was also in the back of my mind while I was writing the script. The film doesn’t focus on bullying, but it does have moments with that tension. I wanted to have a character that was already out and proud, but who still faced the realities of high school pressure. There’s also a straight-gay alliance that is formed in the story that I hope teens can learn from. I know a lot of straight students these days are secure enough in themselves to not have issues with gay students, so I wanted to show that as well. Q: Death to Prom has a unique look. What led you to this aesthetic? I was inspired from everyone from Alexander McQueen to Pedro Almodovar. The biggest thing I wanted for Death to Prom, was for it to be colorful.
I feel like I see teens wearing thrift store clothes just because they’re a great color or pattern. I picked wardrobe from Goodwill and Salvation Army that I loved, but am “too reserved” to wear. In a way, I’m living out my obnoxious fashion dreams through the characters. Q: Are there any real-life elements in Death to Prom? Death to Prom is most definitely all fiction, but some of my close friends inspired a lot of fun lines, looks, and ideas. The René character was mostly based on a friend I met when I lived in Austin, Texas. His irrational commitment to fashion was insane and fun. One fall, he traded in a silver car for a gold one to match his Halloween outfit. He lived (and still lives) for fashion, color, design and fun. He’s a rarity in New York, (where he lives now) but was a SUPER rarity in the middle of Texas! Q: What was your prom experience like? I actually had a pretty mellow prom experience. I was totally exhausted because my friends and I all camped out the night before in Afton, MN and we never went to sleep. I was so tired that I barely made it down the grand march! Q: What was the filmmaking process like? We had a very successful kickstarter campaign and shot the entire film over 19 days in June 2012. Everything went well and we had some special locations most people don’t get access to use. We also had a lot of fun making the initial promo video, but that was super bare-bones. We sold bicycles and furniture to fly our actors back home to Minnesota. Our lead actress had to sleep in the bedroom set we made in my dining room. We begged businesses to let us film in their locations for free, and survived five days of humid 95+ degree weather! As you can tell, we were, and still are, highly motivated.
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You never said anything about setting my outfit on fire.
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Produced and Directed by: Matthew Stenerson & Jeremy Wilker Written by: Matthew Stenerson Executive Produced by: Raoul Benavides, Sim贸n Martinez, Stenerson, Wilker Cinematography by: Jeremy Wilker Editing by: Cassie Wentlandt Gowns designed by: Christopher Straub
Six Questions with director/cinematographer Jeremy Wilker Q: Were there any films or filmmakers that inspired Death to Prom? As a youth of the 80’s I was very keen about alternative music, pop culture, and the films of John Hughes, which were very successful, and they really spoke to me. The characters up on that screen felt so close to me, to my own thoughts and experiences, and I hadn’t seen that same mind-set or heart in recent films so it seemed time to make a new movie in that tone and style. And we apparently weren’t the only ones: now we have Perks Of Being A Wallflower, The Spectacular Now... films for all ages and cliques. Q: What motivated you to make Death to Prom? Probably two things kindled a fire in me to make this film: my sister had recently come out, so my family was thrown into turmoil and for a while I was the only person still speaking to her, which broke my heart. Thankfully, things turned around within a year and have since grown strong. Then there were all the stories about the bullying and suicides in the Anoka school district that made me so hurt and so mad. I’m not really the type to go protest, but I could make a movie that showed a new reality and that kids and families could identify with. Plus, when I read the script I immediately wanted to see it on a screen. I think I asked Matt to make the movie the very next day. It’s a very hopeful story. Q: What led you to the look of Death to Prom? We knew we wanted it a little organic so I shot the entire film hand-held, but I personally don’t like all that shaky-cam stuff, so the fluidity is subtle. It was definitely hot, hard work for the 19 days and my right hand went partially numb. So many current films are monochrome and bleak, what’s wrong with color and lightness? Our crew rocked the sets, wardrobe, and lighting. I just had to film it! And a set of Zeiss lenses doesn’t hurt.
Q: You’ve done several kickstarter campaigns. Is this the new filmmaker reality? Heck yes! Besides the rapid advancement in digital cameras and streaming video, the ability to build your fans and supporters from the very first day and to enable them to take part in the immense task of creating a movie through contributions of all sorts is brilliant! The first in 2010 (for TRIUMPH67) was almost more about educating people about what crowdfunding even was, while for DTP it was merely about meeting our aggressive goal of $45,000. A successful kickstarter campaign, whether in post or in pre-production, gives rapid fan growth, funding, and a huge boost of motivation. You must treat it like a second full-time job, however. We missed a couple days during our campaign and we almost didn’t make our goal. It stressfully came down to the last hour and a half. Q: What was your prom experience like? I attended two of my high schools proms. They were fun nights. To me they were mostly about us as a couple, but in a small town you do feel pressured to attend. And get through all the hair-metal ballads. My date and I spent the remaining night on the beach, waiting for the sunrise, while I was filled with aching dread about her rapidly approaching enlistment. Q: What is the current status of the film? We brought the finished film to a private screening for our cast, crew, and backers first and then premiered it at the Flyway Film Festival, which just won MovieMaker’s 25 Coolest Film Festivals award. Then, Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival and Sound Unseen. We’ve also brought it out to our friends at Family Equality Council and are planning on sharing it with schools. Maybe a bus tour? Would that be crazy? Look for it online shortly. We can’t wait to share it with everyone.
That’s not normal sporto behavior.
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Q: W hat does Death To Prom have in common with Bob Dylan, Project Runway, and the 80’s sitcom Head of the Class? A: Jôher Coleman (HOTC’s Jawaharlal Choudhury) plays Frankie’s father, MN-native Christopher Straub (Project Runway) designed three custom gowns for us, and Bob Dylan’s song “All Along The Watchtower” was supposedly inspired by our water tower location (aka The Witch’s Hat Tower near the U of M).
Jôher Coleman
Christopher Straub
Prospect Park Water Tower (Witch’s Hat)
TECHNICAL DETAILS
PRODUCTION DETAILS
Runtime: 1 hr 35 min (95 min) Sound Mix: Dolby Surround 5.1 Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 Camera: Sony FS100 Lenses: Zeiss ZF.2 Primes Language: English Editing: Final Cut Pro 7 Color: DaVinci Resolve Delivery: DCP, QT, BR, DVD
Shoot length: 19 days Cast & Crew: 60 people Production: June/July 2012 Locations: Twin Cities, Minnesota Funding: Kickstarter, Private Sources Support: IFP MN, MN Film & TV Board Editing & Color: Splice Here Audio Mastering: Undertone Music
I prefer soccer players… better legs.
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THE SOUNDTRACK Featuring all Minnesota bands, the pop-punk-rock music compliments the on-screen attitude and drama perfectly. We included the music we love to listen to, whether on MPR’s The Current or the U of M’s Radio K or live at shows around town. Original soundtrack composed by Chooch.
Cloud Cult / Tapes ‘N Tapes / Pink Mink L’Assassins / Grant Cutler & The Gorgeous Lords Red Pens / Bad Bad Hats / The Pinsch Sleeping In The Aviary / Meme / Elk Lookbook / Chooch
L’Assassins
Cloud Cult
Bad Bad Hats
Red Pens
Lookbook
Pink Mink
Matt Stenerson matt@deathtoprom.com 612-203-9482 Jeremy Wilker jeremy@deathtoprom.com 952-240-1196 To download any of these images, please visit deathtoprom.com/press/
WINNER
McKNIGHT FELLOWSHIP SCREENWRITING
OFFICIAL SELECTION
FLYWAY FLYWAY FILM FESTIVAL
2012
2013
OFFICIAL SELECTION
OFFICIAL SELECTION
MUSIC+FILM FESTIVAL
INDIANAPOLIS LGBT FILM FESTIVAL
2013
2013
SOUND UNSEEN
ILFF
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