Henrick Vartanian
The number of brand new indie films screening at this year’s Dances with Films 18 Festival will make any reviewer and film lover’s head spin. And if you are a fan of fresh new cinema, especially American made, that’s a good thing.
One of the films that came our way early, thanks to its proactive publicity team (filmmakers, the right PR matters), is Welcome to Happiness. First time writer and director Oliver Thompson brings to us a visual, fantastical tale of an author, greeting random strangers at his apartment, and a mysterious door in his closet they all want to enter.
Getting ready for its Los Angeles premiere on June 7, 2015, at 5:00 PM, at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, a DWF18 debut, Welcome To Happiness is a mystical drama about a children’s book author, Woody (American Sniper’s Kyle Gallner), who is secretly the gatekeeper to a magical door in his closet.
Why we think you should see it?
Casting! A dream ensemble of cool, versatile actors including:
Kyle Gallner, Goat-Winston in Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper.
Olivia Thirlby, 2012’s Dred, among other films, more recently The Wedding Ringer, and soon to be seen in Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s The Stanford Prison Experiment.
Nick Offerman, talk about very busy! Aside from his TV gig on Parks and Rec role, to the upcoming Knight of Cups, and opposite Robert Redford in A Walk in the Woods, or that other buzzy indie Me and Earl and The Dying Girl, this will be the appetizer to more Offerman starrers heading our way this year.
Keegan-Michael Key, seen currently as Hugo, in Tomorrowland and soon in Pitch Perfect 2.
Brendan Sexton III: from a wide range of indie films to edgy crime drama The Killing (on Netflix) to Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths.
Josh Brener, perhaps best known as the clueless tech geek, Nelson on the HBO’s hit comedy, Silicon Valley
Molly C. Quinn, Texan beauty best known as the daughter of the title character, in ABC’s Castle, and 2013’s hit comedy We’re The Millers, opposite Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis.
Paget Brewster, Francesca ‘Frankie’ Dart on NBC’s Community, and Special Agent Emily Prentiss on CBS’s Criminal Minds
Frances Conroy award winning actress, best known for her memorable role as Ruth Fischer, in TV series Six Feet Under and Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story.
Style: visually rich with potent colors and equally colorful characters fueling the mystery, and the comedy.
Promising: a triumph so far! Took home the Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking award at this year’s Newport Beach Film Festival.
To give you a better idea, here’s a look at the teaser trailer for the film. You decide!
[videos file=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em-Gx-UAnw4″ width=4″” height=8″”][/videos]
