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Rotten Tomatoes has become an indispensable guide among Hollywood studios and distributors, however independent filmmakers should not attach much significance to the reviews aggregator, an opening day panel at the inaugural American Film Convention (AFC) heard on Tuesday.

“Rotten Tomatoes is a serious metric in some people’s view,” Peter Ambrosio, co-owner of arthouse chain Lumiere Cinema, told the ‘New Era Of Distribution’ panel at The Music Box in Downtown Los Angeles. “If you have [social discovery platform] Letterboxd it’s much more effective as a film conversion metric… People are talking about movies but on different forums. I’m not saying a...

American Film Convention (AFC) organisers have announced further details of the 40-strong panel programme at the inaugural event scheduled for October 15-17 in Downtown Los Angeles.

Distribution expert Peter Broderick of Paradigm Consulting will kick off the AFC Talks sessions at Magic Box on October 15 with the keynote, Supercharge Your Distribution!

That day’s sessions will include an examination of the exhibition space featuring Neil Williams from event cinema company Gathr and Christie Marchese from social cinema platform Kinema, alongside Peter Ambrosio of arthouse chain Lumiere and Evan Saxon of distribution, marketing and rights management specialist Abramorama.

Filmmaker Keith Ochwat...

Directed by Christian Schultz from a screenplay co-written with Peter Ambrosio, Presence relocates the haunted house setting to a luxury yacht. The extreme isolation of being at sea provides fertile ground to explore what makes a haunting; is it a product of a fractured mind or something supernatural? Presence attempts to straddle the line between psychological and supernatural, but its vague approach to storytelling casts its horror adrift.

Jennifer (The Kominsky Method’s Jenna Lyng Adams) struggles to piece her life back together once leaving New York after a mental break. She’s plagued by horrific dreams in which she kills Keaton (Octavio Pisano), prone to panic attacks, and suffers further anxiety from being unable to reach her friend and business partner Sam (Alexandria DeBerry) for months. Then Sam reappears out of the blue with a lucrative business proposition from billionaire David (Dave Davis) that has the pair set off...

Presence: "XYZ Films is proud to announce that Christian Schultz's Presence will land on North American VOD on November 17th, following a thrilling festival run that included Popcorn Frights and Panic Fest.

After leaving New York after a mental breakdown, Jennifer (The Kominsky Method's Jenna Lyng Adams) is contacted by her best friend about good news concerning their joint business venture. Within the hour, Jennifer is boarding a private plane and walking down the dock to a billionaire’s private yacht.

All seems well, except that Jennifer is plagued by violent, unsettling visions. Is her unchecked anxiety attempting to self-sabotage her once again... or has a sinister presence latched onto her?

Directed by Christian Schultz from a screenplay co-written with Peter Ambrosio, the film is produced by Donny Broussard, Thomas Johnston, Isaiah Laborde, Murray Anthony Roth, and John Paul Summers. The ALLaBorde Films production stars Jenna Lyng Adams (The...

After leaving New York after a mental breakdown, Jennifer (The Kominsky Method's Jenna Lyng Adams) is contacted by her best friend about good news concerning their joint business venture. Within the hour, Jennifer is boarding a private plane and walking down the dock to a billionaire’s private yacht.

All seems well, except that Jennifer is plagued by violent, unsettling visions. Is her unchecked anxiety attempting to self-sabotage her once again... or has a sinister presence latched onto her?

Directed by Christian Schultz from a screenplay co-written with Peter Ambrosio, the thriller is produced by Donny Broussard, Thomas Johnston, Isaiah Laborde, Murray Anthony Roth, and John Paul Summers.

The ALLaBorde Films production stars Jenna Lyng Adams (The Kominsky Method), Dave Da...

Watch the Trailer for Presence: "After leaving New York after a mental breakdown, Jennifer (The Kominsky Method's Jenna Lyng Adams) is contacted by her best friend about good news concerning their joint business venture. Within the hour, Jennifer is boarding a private plane and walking down the dock to a billionaire’s private yacht.

All seems well, except that Jennifer is plagued by violent, unsettling visions. Is her unchecked anxiety attempting to self-sabotage her once again... or has a sinister presence latched onto her?

Directed by Christian Schultz from a screenplay co-written with Peter Ambrosio, the thriller is produced by Donny Broussard, Thomas Johnston, Isaiah Laborde, Murray Anthony Roth, and John Paul Summers. The ALLaBorde Films production stars Jenna Lyng Adams (The Kominsky Method), Dave Davis (The Vigil), and Alexandria DeBerry."

Available on VOD November 17th from XYZ Films

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Sweet Molly: "Salt Lake City - Utah filmmaker, award nominated director and writer,...

Presence Trailer — Christian Schultz‘s Presence (2022) movie trailer has been released by XYZ Films. The Presence trailer stars Jenna Lyng Adams, Dave Davis, Alexandria DeBerry, Major Dodge, and Octavio Pisano. Crew Peter Ambrosio and Christian Schultz wrote the screenplay for Presence. “Produced by Dave Davis, Isaiah Laborde, John Paul Summers.” Plot Synopsis Presence‘s plot synopsis: “After leaving [...]

Continue reading: Presence (2022) Movie Trailer: A Sinister Presence May Have Attached itself to Jenna Lyng Adams...

The Lumiere Music Hall is up and running again after coming within hours of closing for good earlier this year Los Angeles’ film community is still crossing its fingers that the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood might be able to find a second life, but just a few miles away, another historic cinema, the Lumiere Music Hall, is back up and running after nearly joining the Dome on the list of institutions knocked out by the pandemic. As recently as February, operators Peter Ambrosio, Lauren Brown and Luis Orellana were on the verge of giving up the theater, but are now among hundreds of cinema owners that have enjoyed a rapid reopening process in Los Angeles thanks to plummeting Covid infection rates. The story of the Lumiere’s survival is similar to thousands of theaters owners nationwide, filled with frantic phone calls, hours of number-crunching, a labyrinth of government aid programs,...

Lumiere Cinema has been able to negotiate a longer term on its lease at the Music Hall’s Beverly Hills theater due to Covid tenant protections, and has reopened the three-screen venue with a program of independent films.

Distributor Blue Fox Entertainment, headed by James Huntsman, had hoped to begin renovations on the historic Wilshire Boulevard theater and reopen next October. But while Blue Fox was in the process of negotiating the handover, theaters were allowed to reopen and Lumiere was able to take advantage of Los Angeles County coronavirus support measures for small businesses and remain in the theater. The county’s temporary eviction moratorium for commercial and residential tenants expires June 30, 2021.

“We’re disappointed but we have engaged with theaters in other locations, and our strategy to expand into theatrical is still in play,” Huntsman said. “The Music Hall was the right fit, but there are other locations...