May 15, 2019 (Toronto, ON) - Internationally renowned filmmaker Pasquale Marco Veltri’s independent film, Drowning will make its world premiere among this year’s roster of Canadian independent films at the ICFF Film Festival on June 15 at 2:00 p.m. at the TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St W, Toronto). Drowning is a film that examines the psychological effects of being forced into prostitution at a young age.
Veltri’s films have screened nationally and internationally in Canada, USA, Britain, France, Italy, and Egypt. Measuring Tape Girl has screened at the Cannes Film Festival and the Montreal World Film Festival. Words to Remember won the Chris Award for Narrative at the Columbus International Film and Video Festival.
Starring Laura Tremblay (Evil Dead: The Musical) as Anna, a troubled woman trying to reinvent herself after working in the sex trade, and Mark Nuttall (CBC’s Extraordinary Canadians) as Marcus, Anna’s foil, ex-lover and pimp, with supporting performances by Tracy Rowland, Alys Crocker and Pardeep Bassi, Drowning sends a strong message about female empowerment and the cycle of abuse. Tremblay says of her character:
“Anna is a strong, independent, real woman, who fights for what she wants in life. I admire her ability to decide to do something and see it through until the end. She may be stubborn, but she knows what she wants and she takes it, and that's inspirational.”
Filmed in Toronto, Clinton and various sites in the GTA during the Fall of 2016, Drowning is the first feature film by award-winning Toronto-based director, Pasquale Marco Veltri. On what inspired Veltri to embark on this project:
“I’ve always been drawn to characters who have issues with reality. I wanted to explore the inner world of a character that was overcoming trauma in their life. How could a character use their own dreams and delusions to set themselves free from a cycle of abuse? How can we use our need and desire to escape pain in our lives to set ourselves free?”
The film is produced by Veltri, Valerie Laurie and Adam Gowland. The film was edited by Nathan Shields (Living Downstream), with cinematography by Albert Rudnicki (Cavalia), and an original score by Ryan Latham (Breakout, Departures).
Drowning celebrates its world premiere at the ICFF Film Festival on June 15, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available through https://icff.ca or by visiting the box office.
About Pasquale Marco Veltri
Pasquale Marco Veltri is a Canadian writer, filmmaker and photographer whose unique vision crosses the boundaries of culture and language. He is a worldly soul and visual storyteller whose focus on character development is strongly represented in the intelligence and complexity of his works. Veltri’s films have screened nationally and internationally in Canada, USA, Britain, France, Italy, and Egypt. Measuring Tape Girl has screened at the Cannes Film Festival and the Montreal World Film Festival. Words to Remember won the Chris Award for Narrative at the Columbus International Film and Video Festival. pmveltri.com.
About Laura Tremblay
Laura Tremblay is essentially a ‘jill of all trades’ - singer, songwriter, actor, writer, director and producer. She has an array of film and television roles to her credit, including The Expanse (Syfy/Space Channel), Ben-Hur (2016; Paramount Pictures), Fugue (Indiecan Entertainment), The Cocksure Lads (Spiral Entertainment) and many more. Tremblay also had a leading role in the highly-acclaimed touring stage production of Evil Dead: The Musical, joined the case of Legally Blonde: The Musical at Stage West Calgary this past spring, and originated the leading role of “Lori” in the brand new musical Jukebox Hero which is set to tour North America and Europe in 2019. tremblaylaura.com.
About Mark Nuttall
Mark Nuttall is an award winning Actor from Guelph, Ontario. He made his small screen debut in 2010 with a guest appearance in the original series Andy and the Upside. Mark's breakout role thus far was in 2016's Still Closed where he won the award for Best Supporting Actor at the Chatham Film Festival. In the same year, Mark landed lead roles in the CBC television drama Extraordinary Canadians, as well as, a part in the feature film Santa's Castle (Christmas film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum's original short story). actmarknuttall.com.
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