StarFruit Productions will be screening their new short film “The Couch” at Downtown Sarasota’s Home Resource on March 9th at 6:30pm. Local filmmaker and StarFruit President, Sage Hall, directed “The Couch” and will be present for a Q&A following the screening along with actors and crew members. Its an outing that is sure to make you smile, cry, laugh, reflect and rejoice.

The Couch is centered around a woman Joy, who has lost her job at the prime of her career and is faced with the bland reality of the world she has created. When her cat pees on her couch and she discards it in the alley. She gains a deeper understanding of the world around her, living vicariously through the people that encounter the couch and the scenes that unfold.

The film features five female writers who collaborated to create a cohesive short film: Korryn Day, Debby Hall, Mary Brown, Sage Hall and a familiar Sarasota community name: Jenny Beres.   Beres won “The Play’s the Thing” play writing competition two years in a row and her work has be featured around the country including NYC and LA.

Home Resource is the leading contemporary furniture showroom in Sarasota and Southwest Florida, showcasing their creative house solutions by day and entertaining the community by night. They have taken on a European concept of fringe theatre that performs in not-so-common locations, finding success and providing quality entertainment to the Sarasota area.

This Screen Actors Guild (SAG) production features many local acting talents including Emmy-nominee Kim Crow, Jamie Day, Jason Kimball, Chris Greene, Jesse Kozel, Thomas Noel Smith and Travis Weston Garner.

The composer of The Couch’s soundtrack, Abornml Injustice, will be spinning original tunes before and after the screening. DJ Abnorml has performed with The Roots, at SXSW and Sundance Film Festival, his musical talent is an integral to the film’s tone. Complimentary white wine will also be served and the film’s star will be ready for photo opportunities.

StarFruit Productions is a local production company that recently showcased their film “Candy.” at the Screen Actors Guild boardroom in NYC , which was selected from thousands of submissions.

Take a moment to glimpse the world around you. Join this team of local talents for a special screening of “The Couch” at Home Resource on Central Avenue in the Rosemary District. Doors open at 6:30pm, screening at 7:00pm. $10 cash at the door. RSVP your spot at 941.527.9522 or sage@starfruitproductions.com – this is a limited engagement! More information at http://thecouch.starfruitproductions.com.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Foundation has selected the short film Candy, produced by Sarasota and Bradenton-based filmmakers, to be part of its Short Film Showcase, February 9th, 2011, in the SAG Boardroom in Manhattan. This honor is to showcase the talent of independent filmmakers and their ability to cast professional actors from the Screen Actor’s Guild.

The SAG Foundation’s mission is to help union members achieve jobs and stability from their talent.  It also gives actors the opportunity to meet and collaborate with each other.  SAG is proud to showcase top notch talent from the guild, while demonstrating to their members that creativity and success can be achieved as part of the union.

Director, editor, and co-executive producer Sage Hall is also the lead actress and title role in Candy. Hall’s StarFruit Productions is also known for creating award winning wedding films, winning the Bride’s Choice Award for 2010 & 2011 from WeddingWire.com, as well as best wedding video on The Knot.com’s second annual wedding awards.

Jesse Kozel serves as creator, co-executive producer and lead actor of Candy.  He recently received a best actor nomination from NerdRemix.com for his role of Marcus, Candy’s son.  Kozel is the owner of Bloody Unique Entertainment, creating the Neo-Noir Halloween flick Candy. with StarFruit Productions and bringing it to many events around the country since Fall 2010, while continuing to push the short film to film festivals around the globe.

The Candy. script was created by Los Angeles-based writer Jenny Beres, who is also no stranger to the Sarasota community.  Her plays Hay Day, If the Devil Could Fall in Love, Draft and Lost & Found have been featured performances at the Sarasota Players Theatre and Home Resource.  She is an accomplished journalist, playwright and now screenwriter.

Candy. was an official selection of Sarasota’s Hallowscreen Film Festival and the short film made it’s premiere in Sacramento, CA at the SAC Sci-Fi/Horror Convention‘s Film Festival.

The SAG Foundation’s Short Film Showcase will screen only 9 films on February 9, 2011 for selected guests and local union members. Director Sage Hall and producer Nikki Kostyun will be in attendance for a Q&A session following the screening.

To learn more about Candy. please visit http://Candy.StarFruitProductions.com

Official “The Couch” website
http://thecouch.starfruitproductions.com

on Facebook:
http://Facebook.com/thecouchfilm

We are fortunate enough to have a tremendously talented cast featuring: 2010 Emmy Nominee Kim Crow , Gene Costa, Jenny Beres,  Jamie Day,  Michael Ellison, Travis Weston Garner, Chris Greene, Sage Hall, Jason Kimball, Jesse Kozel, Thomas Noel Smith,  Justin Irwin, Rod Rawlings, Korryn Day and graffiti artist Enlo Enlone.

We have a wonderful location in Sarasota, Florida called HOTEL RANOLA.

It is a wonderful boutique hotel nestled right off Ringling Blvd in Downtown
and it is the perfect setting for The Couch.

Director: Sage Hall
Producers: Sage Hall & Jesse Kozel
Writers: Jenny Beres, Mary Brown, Debby Hall, Korryn Day & Sage Hall
Cinematographer: Wheat
And many other talented crew members!

Expect more updates as they become available. But trust that this little drama is going to be thought provoking, gritty and beautiful.

Constant updates available on “The Couch” Facebook page.

This past weekend “Candy.” screened for an packed house at the Hallowscreen Film Festival in Sarasota, FL which is part of the Chalk Festival.
The audience loved it and many of them stopped myself or Sage to talk about what they saw when the film was over.

I’m still so surprised by the wonderful response and I just love the fact that in a little over 8 minutes, we can make them gasp, laugh & want more!  I am so happy with everything that has occurred thus far with “Candy.” and I can not wait to develop the project further & take it to new levels.

Thank you all for coming out and supporting us and thank you to Lori Bowen, the director of the Hallowscreen Film Festival, for everything she has done to help promote our short film.  We appreciate you Lori!

If you haven’t seen “Candy.” yet, check it out HERE.