"Roman Citizen" was meant to premiere at the W. L. Lyons Brown Theater on February 17th, but winter weather has caused Louisville's Outrider Studios to push the world premiere to Sunday, February 22 at 7 p.m. Attendees will be able to meet the cast and crew while enjoying behind the scenes footage before the film starts at 8 p.m. Free tickets to the event must be reserved on their website.
The 40 minute featurette is a film by Milan, Italy writer and director Luca Elmi. It was produced in Louisville by the local production company, who facilitated the producing (business-end) of the production and handled things like catering, cast, crew, transportation, post production vendors and finishing.
"We met Elmi through the festival circuit where we both had films in the running," said Outrider Producer Drew Ingram. "Elmi expressed interest in filming his next project in the states, and we feel very fortunate that we were able to win him over on the merits of shooting in Kentucky."
According to Ingram, the film is a crime drama that centers around a bank robbery by two masked robbers. After the smoke clears following the robbery, one security guard is dead, the money burned, and the robbers are no where to be found. The two detectives assigned to the case must put the puzzle pieces together to try and figure out what exactly happened within that bank, and most importantly, uncover the true identities of the robbers.
"Roman Citizen" was primarily shot in Louisville as the crew spent five days at the Gillepsie downtown and worked with Louisville authorities and SWAT teams. Even the mayor visited the set to show his support. The production company flew in two actresses from New York and rounded the rest of the cast out with local talent from Alix Adams and Heyman Talent. "It is very much a Louisville film," said Ingram. "We love the local production crew that Louisville has to offer. They are hard working, dedicated to the project, and some of the easiest crew to get along with on set. Apart from the crew,locations, dining, and nice hotels [were the best part.] What’s not to like?"
Drew Ingram and Hunter Curry met in college and decided to form Outrider Studios after working together for ten years to help facilitate the development and production of high-end film and television projects based in Kentucky. Their next project is a television pilot for a series titled "Blackstone," and a two minute teaser will show directly after the "Roman Citizen" premiere. Ingram says the series is a narrative drama filled with adventure, romance and danger. "Think Game of Thrones meets Coal Mining, and you have Blackstone," he said.
The series is about the fictional town of Blackstone, Kentucky in the early 1920s. In the pilot episode, the mine's new operations chief James Keegan (Paul Louis Harrell) arrives to find the entrance to the mine sabotaged, his predecessor six feet under the ground and talk of strikes around every corner.
"The story touches me because workers deserve a voice," said Los Angeles based actor Harrell. "Working with Outrider was fantastic. I felt completely at home in historic Louisville. I believe the world still has some of the issues [addressed in Blackstone] today; that is why I feel the story needs to be told, so that we learn from our history and aren't doomed to repeat it. [These days] if you don't like something a company does you can always tweet about it or bring it to the Better Business Bureau's attention. Thanks to the internet and modern technology, we have a voice... and it's getting louder."
Ingram and Curry certainly seem intent on helping Louisville's creative voice become a little louder. They have big plans, which you can follow on their Facebook page.
"The goal of Outrider Studios is to bring more productions to the state of Kentucky," Ingram stated. "The film and television industry brings a huge economic impact to any state where the industry can take hold: thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue. Kentucky’s current industry is still very young and reliant more on the commercial side of production rather than the narrative. We want to help the movement (already in motion) that is pushing bigger and better projects (like Roman Citizen and Blackstone) to be shot in the state. "Blackstone" could be a game-changer for the state in regards to jobs and national recognition. We’re excited to see what happens with it!"
Photography supplied by Drew Ingram - Header: On set for "Roman Citizen" Top Left: Camera Operator on Set Middle Right: On set for "Blackstone" Bottom Left: Cast and Crew of "Roman Citizen"
