 Leading up to the big SNEAK PEAK screening at the Cinetopia Film Festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Sunday, June 23rd, Personae Entertainment Pictures CEO and Producer (p.g.a.)/Director/Writer Heidi Elizabeth Philipsen-Meissner has been busy hitting the Michigan press circuit, spreading the word about #socialimpact film "LOVE & VODKA" to not only fill seats at the 1600-seat Marquee Arts Main Michigan Theatre, but spread the love for Ukraine and Michigan's Ukrainian Diaspora -- both American citizen and newly arrived refugee -- population.
In less than 10 days, Detroit's CBS, NBC, Fox, and ABC TV-affiliate stations aired interviews with Philipsen-Meissner, as did Michigan's Stateside Radio, WEMU Radio and several print papers, including The Detroit Free Press. To watch/read/listen to the interviews, check out the links below: https://www.easternecho.com/article/2024/04/director-heidi-philipsen-meissner-speaks-about-her-film-love-vodka https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/movies/2024/06/13/movie-made-in-michigan-set-in-ukraine-ann-arbor-cinetopia/74056372007/ https://www.yahoo.com/news/michigan-native-makes-solo-directorial-124804159.html https://www.wemu.org/show/cinema-chat/2024-06-20/cinema-chat-cinetopia-2024-continues-with-the-world-premiere-of-love-vodka-plus-much-more https://www.npr.org/podcasts/543652364/creative-impact https://www.michiganpublic.org/show/stateside/2024-06-21/stateside-friday-june-21-2024 WXYZ Detroit Interview -- https://youtu.be/QkKNiy8QnEQ Fox 2 Detroit WJBK's Charlie Langton Interviews Heidi Philpsen -- https://youtu.be/eF-eDK77TxU Detroit Local 4 WDIV's "Reel Talk" with Greg Russell -- https://youtu.be/ZO8RZ0lacQE CBS Detroit's Rachelle Graham Interviews Heidi Philipsen - https://youtu.be/mjQeHrPZVqQ  SNEAK PREVIEW!
LOVE & VODKA JUNE 23, 2024 MICHIGAN THEATER We are so excited for the SNEAK PREVIEW of our film, Love & Vodka, on Sunday, June 23, 2024 at 5:00 PM at the Cinetopia Film Festival! We are also honored to be its Closing Night Film! Join us at 5:00 PM at the historic Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan for our red carpet - World Premiere - of Love & Vodka! After the film, we will be live on-stage for questions and answers with the audience. To close out the film festival, we'll be celebrating with everyone involved with the film and festival attendees at Cinetopia's Closing Night Party after the film and Q&A. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MICHIGAN NATIVE MAKES SOLO DIRECTORIAL DEBUT WITH “LOVE AND VODKA,” PREMIERING AT CINETOPIA FILM FESTIVAL ANN ARBOR JUNE 23, 2024 Ukrainian-American Romantic Comedy Celebrates Transatlantic Friendship Between Two Countries with a Focus on Love and Laughter in a Time of Tragic Loss and War ANN ARBOR, Mich. – June 3rd, 2024 – “Love and Vodka,” an independent film five years in the making, is set to make its debut at the upcoming Cinetopia Film Festival Ann Arbor. The movie, which was shot in Bay City and Grayling, Mich., is directed and produced by University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University graduate Heidi Philipsen-Meissner, Director/Producer/CEO of Personae Entertainment. The movie stars Ukrainian actress Svitlana Kosolapova and American actor Zack Bradley. The film will be the final film screened at Cinetopia Film Festival Ann Arbor on June 23, 2024, at 5 p.m. For more on the screening and festival, visit https://marquee-arts.org/cinetopia/. “Love and Vodka,” which is based on a true story, is about a high school film teacher who recalls the magic of 2018 when he fell in love with a Ukrainian exchange student and impulsively traveled to Ukraine to propose to her and meet her family. Three years later, the war breaks out, as he works to finish the script and save the love of his life. The trials and tribulations in “Love and Vodka” were mirrored in real life during the filmmaking process, as Philipsen-Meissner made a transatlantic move from Michigan to Germany to immerse herself in the European film industry to find coproducing partners in Ukraine and Germany. Plans were then put on hold when Covid-19 emerged, and she experienced several deaths in her family. The film was then set to begin shooting in the summer of 2022 but was put on hold once again with the Russian attacks on Ukraine. The script then had to be rewritten to be respectful of the current times and the location was moved to Michigan. “While I have experienced my own difficulties during this process, it will never compare to what our fellow human beings in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees around the world have been through and are still going through,” said Heidi Philipsen-Meissner of Personae Entertainment. “Being able to tell a heartwarming story about their culture, country, and people has been my way of keeping hope alive.” “Love and Vodka” quickly turned into a passion project for Philipsen-Meissner, as she found her heart pouring out for Ukraine. While making the movie, she simultaneously focused on protesting, giving, and helping whenever and wherever she could. While living in Germany, she helped find homes and language lessons for refugees and donated cartloads of non-perishable items for volunteers. “As an artist-activist who understands the power of storytelling, I started to understand this war was as much about culture and identity as it was about geopolitics,” said Philipsen-Meissner. “This led me to believe that maybe making a film about love and Ukrainian culture wasn’t such an off-kilter idea, after all.” To see a preview of ‘Love and Vodka’ and to support this film as it makes its way to other film festivals across the country and world, please visit: https://www.love-vodka-movie.com. For more on ‘Love and Vodka’ and Personae Entertainment, visit https://www.personaeentertainmentpictures.com/. About Personae Entertainment Personae Entertainment Pictures is a film development and production company that started out as a small collective making short films, local commercials, and production managing low-budget indies in upstate New York. It has evolved into a transatlantic company with offices in Berlin and Detroit, with a singular focus on international feature films. Developing its own IP content, while also partnering with collaborators, Personae Entertainment Pictures is dedicated to collaborating with innovative filmmakers and international co-producers. Media Contact Jason Brown, PublicCity PR, [email protected]; 248-663-6166 ###  Personae Entertainment Pictures will be at the European Film Market this February 15th through the 21st and is currently setting up meetings. If attending, please reach out through Cinando or the EFM registrant site of contacts.
 Actress Gus Birney as "Darcy" opposite Johnathan Tchaikovsky as "Luke" in "Darcy." Good news! "Darcy" - the multiple award-winning indie film that launch actress Gus Birney's career - is now for rent or purchase on Amazon! If you haven't seen it yet... or even if you have... check it out, again, and support true, grass-roots independent film.
Click HERE to be taken to the "Darcy" page on Amazon. Darcy, This is Nowhere from Heidi Eli. Philipsen-Meissner on Vimeo. On the cusp of her sixteenth birthday, in order to break away from her confining, dreary life, a young teen must seek help from an outsider with a murky past. Whew! Are we out of the pandemic yet?
Here at Personae Entertainment Pictures, we've been busy behind the scenes as we prepare to ramp up and bring our content to a higher level. Not that we don't stand behind our previous works -- but as with many a film production development and production company, as you move forward, you grow into bigger concepts, larger budgets and more defined goals. We aim to take our time making projects that truly reflect our brand and mission in an ever-evolving industry front and altering facets of focus in storytelling. We're excited about the next steps which include seeking out and building solid working relationships with European industry partners, all while increasing our footing in our United States foundation. We welcome you to reach out and look forward to partnering with you! for immediate releasePersonae Entertainment’s Debut Feature ‘DARCY’ Co-Directed by Heidi
Philipsen-Meissner and Jon Russell Cring now streaming on HerFlix Starring Gus Birney As Darcy New York City (January 2021) – Personae Entertainment Picture’s first feature film, a coming-of-age drama, DARCY, is now streaming online at HerFlix.com. HerFlix showcases exceptional independent cinema and international films focusing on women’s stories and the filmmakers telling them. DARCY marks the feature film debut for Gus Birney (TV’s "Dickinson” and “The Mist) in the title role, an idealistic fifteen-year-old, living on the edge of town in her family's down-and-out motel where the justice system dumps its trash. The prostitutes, the addicts, the malcontents inside each room have their own stories and secrets and Darcy’s fate is interwoven with theirs. Frustrated by her life yet feeling too powerless to change it for the better, Darcy finds hope in Luke, a mysterious and alluring stranger who checks into the motel and encourages her to explore her dreams. She then finds herself with a choice: remain in the world she knows or move forward into an unknown future. DARCY is the feature film debut by co-directors Heidi Philipsen-Meissner and Jon Russell Cring, which brought together Executive producers Niko Meissner, Stephanie Dillon (“Stay, Then Go”), Kathryn McDermott (“Spiderman”), and Director of Photography Tracy Nicole Cring (“The Night We Met”). The ensemble cast includes Johnathan Tchaikovsky (“Keep The Change”), Paulina Singer (“The Intern”), David Thornton (“The Notebook”), Bernadette Quigley (TV’s “Mr. Robot”), and Heidi Philipsen (“Her Telling Heart”). DARCY also features original music from Gus Birney as well as composers Brian Gallio, Connor Noetzel and Shane Noetzel. Online streaming is now available worldwide to the general public for rental/purchase via Vimeo-on-Demand and Herflix. Film critics and members of the press are invited to stream DARCY upon request. Co-directors and cast are available for interviews; please contact Heidi Philipsen for further information. Run Time: 92 min; Genre: Drama; Rating NR; Year: 2020; Language: English; Country of Origin: United States; Format: Red 4k; Sound: Dolby. Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7RDJEdnkYg The official website for DARCY is at www.DarcyMovie.com. Press kit available upon request. Follow along on social media: TW @DarcyMovie; FB @DarcyMovie; IG @DarcyMovie Behind-the-scenes short videos available on @DarcyMovie YouTube channel: DarcyMovie Join Personae Entertainment in celebrating our first independent feature film, DARCY, as we partner with Herflix.com to stream one who week for free!
In honor of this event, we'll be sharing new interviews, clips from the film and a series of incredible posters - created by our lead actor and all around talent, Johnathan Tchaikovsky. 1/13/2020 Personae Entertainment Pictures development launch party of indie feature film LOVE & VODKARead Now Personae Entertainment Pictures officially launched the development of its next film, LOVE & VODKA, at the Ann Arbor Distilling Co. in Downtown Ann Arbor on Thursday, October 10th, and it was a true success! For more info on this fun, adorable RomCom indie, click on the link: Love&VodkaMovie |
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