Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli and Face2face host David Peck talk about their unsettling new film Violation, trust and dysfunctional relationships, catharsis, time and the healing of wounds and how the past inform show we see each other.

Find out more about the film here

Synopsis:

Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli’s deeply disturbing debut feature is a chilling, gruesome portrait of trust, loyalty, and sibling rivalry. The film pulls the audience through a dark portal into a PTSD memory smash and untangles a sticky web of trauma and resentment. Combining lush aesthetics and heartbreaking violence, VIOLATION is a turbulent, dreamy, feminist revenge fable that creates an intimate cataclysm of bloody and inevitable retribution.

With her marriage about to implode, Miriam returns to her hometown to seek solace in the comfort of her younger sister and brother-in-law. But one evening a tiny slip in judgement leads to a catastrophic betrayal, leaving Miriam shocked, reeling, and furious. Believing her sister to be in danger, Miriam decides she must protect her at all costs, but the price of revenge is high and she is not prepared for the toll it takes as she begins to emotionally and psychologically unravel.

About Madeleine Sims-Fewer & Dusty Mancinelli – Writers, Producers, Directors:

Madeleine and Dusty met at the 2015 TIFF Talent Lab and experienced an instant convergence of minds, quickly joining forces as a filmmaking team.

Highly focused on a naturalistic performance style and visual aesthetic, their films explore gender politics, selfishness, and abuse of power. Their short film Slap Happy screened at BFI London Film Festival, VIFF and Slamdance, among others. Their second short Woman in Stall won the Jury Award for Narrative Student Short at the Austin Film Festival and the Narrative Shorts Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance, and their most recent short Chubby premiered at Telluride and won an Honourable Mention for outstanding acting at Slamdance and the Silver Dragon for Best Directing at Krakow.

Violation is their first feature film.

Image Copyright and Credit: DM Films.

F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Kate McKenzie, Martin Parnell and Face2Face host David Peck talk about their important new film The Secret Marathon, hope and resilience, gender justice, staying curious, sharing and giving back, and the democracy of running.

Find out more about the film here

Synopsis:

When the first Afghan woman stood up for her freedom and ran in the Marathon of Afghanistan, she started a movement for equality that spread around the world. Zainab’s story inspired legendary marathon runner, Martin Parnell, to imagine what his life might be like if his gender prevented him from going outside to run.

Martin vowed to run in the Marathon of Afghanistan the following year to support Zainab, and partnered with filmmaker and first time marathoner, Kate McKenzie, to tell the story.

To avoid making the marathon a target for terrorist attack, they must train, and travel to Afghanistan in secret, where they will uncover unexpected beauty, incredible hardships, and the amazing people who stand for change.

This is the story of the brave Afghan women who are risking it all for the freedom to run.

About Martin and Kate:

Kate McKenzie is Director & Founder of Worldviews Productions, a digital media production company specializing in stories of hope and innovation through a constructive journalism approach. Her most recent project is the feature length documentary film The Secret Marathon which premiered at Cinéfest Sudbury to a sold our crowd, followed by the Edmonton International Film Festival, also to a sold out crowd, where it won the Audience Choice Award for best documentary.

The film has also inspired The Secret 3K, an annual run/walk in multiple cities across Canada and around the world to promote gender equality and safe and inclusive spaces. Kate is also the Manager of ATB X a business accelerator where Kate helps businesses achieve growth. As a published author, exhibiting fine artist and professional public speaker, Kate is passionate about sharing meaningful stories across a variety of mediums.

Her TEDx talk about the Power of Positive News has had over 10,000 views. Kate has a Masters in Digital Media from Ryerson University and a Bachelors in Education with a specialization in experiential learning from the University of Lethbridge.

In 2010, following a 25-year mining career, Martin Parnell started his Quests for Kids initiative. Over the next five years he completed ten quests. These included running 250 marathons in one year, setting five Guinness World Records in endurance events and summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in 21 hours.

At the end of 2014, he had raised over $1.3 million dollars for the humanitarian organization Right To Play and 27,000 children had been given the gift of hope. Martin is a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator and author, His first book Marathon Quest was published by Rocky Mountain Books and CBC Radio listed him as one of Alberta’s top five authors, for 2014.

His second book, Running To The Edge, was released in November 2016. The final book of The Marathon Trilogy, The Secret Marathon – Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport was published on October 30th 2018.

Martin is also Executive Producer of The Secret Marathon documentary, which had its World Premiere screening on September 22nd 2019 at the Cinefest Film Festival in Sudbury, Ontario to a sold out crowd, and a standing ovation.

Image Copyright and Credit: Kate McKenzie and WorldViews Productions.

F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Tom Putnam and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his delightful new film The Dark Divide with David Cross and Debra Messing and we chat about poetry, comedy and the journey ahead, relational caretaking, re-evaluating leadership and the difference between searchers and dreamers.

Find out more about the film here.

Synopsis:

The Dark Divide is based on the true story of renowned butterfly expert Dr. Robert Pyle’s (David Cross) perilous 1995 journey across one of America’s largest undeveloped wild lands.

At the urging of his dying wife Thea (Debra Messing), the shy author finds himself in over his head on an epic, life-changing expedition through Washington’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest in search of new species of butterflies. Over the course of his six-week adventure Pyle battles self-doubt, the grueling trail, and the people and creatures who call this forest home.

And, somewhere deep in the heart of The Dark Divide, he makes a discovery that challenges everything he knows about the natural world.

About Tom:

Tom Putnam’s past short films and features have played more than 500 film festivals, from Sundance to Cannes, been released theatrically worldwide, and won more than 40 major awards.

His previous feature, the Detroit firefighting documentary Burn, is one of the most successful documentaries and self-distributed films in history with a domestic box office of $1.1 million. Burn received the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival, was nominated for a Gotham Award, and maintains a perfect 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Prior to Burn, Tom produced the documentary feature Marwencol (PBS/Cinema Guild), winner of two Spirit Awards and Best Documentary at the SXSW Film Festival.

His groundbreaking World War II documentary Red White Black & Blue (PBS) was the opening night film at Critics Week of the Locarno International Film Festival, and was hailed by The American Legion as “the most accurate look at the effects of combat on soldiers ever filmed.” The documentary ultimately led to the locations where it was filmed being declared a National Historic Site.

Tom’s short films include the notorious Bigfoot movie Broadcast 23 (Fox Searchlight), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and Tom Hits His Head (HBO, PBS), an official selection of more than 200 film festivals and one of the most widely-seen short films of all-time.

His upcoming projects include a feature film follow-up to Burn and The United States of Insanity about notorious rap group Insane Clown Posse’s ACLU-backed fight to be removed from the FBI’s gang list. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts as well as the Journalism School, with a Bachelor of Arts in both Cinema-Television Production and Journalism.

Image Copyright and Credit: Tom Putnam and Public House Films Productions.

F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Scott Adkins and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his new sci-fi comedy Max Cloud, inspiration, passion and commitment, growth and uncomfortable situations, and the influence of martial arts on his life.

Now available to rent on: iTunes and YouTube

Synopsis:

Brooklyn. 1990. Teenager Sarah loves playing video games with her best friend Cowboy. One evening after an argument with her father Tony, Sarah finds herself magically propelled into her favorite game, The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud.Embodying the useless character of Jake (the chef), Sarah finds herself immersed in Max Cloud’s world and smack-bang in the middle of a galactic crisis. The ship has crash-landed on the planet of Heinous, a prison for the galaxy’s most evil and dangerous criminals and ruled by the utterly bizarre Revengor and the evil sorceress Shee.

With no pause and only one life, (and sub-average gamer) Cowboy must control Sarah through a wacky, zany adventure as they help Max and his team face Revengor, Shee, and an army of space ninjas in order to escape the planet before the two suns burn them to a crisp! Expect nostalgia and be ready for action, but nothing can truly prepare you for MAX CLOUD.

About Scott:

Scott is known as one of the leading martial arts and action stars of his generation, he has starred in numerous cult-favourite action franchises, including the Undisputed and Ninja series. Scott was born in Sutton Coldfield, England and at 10, he became interested in martial arts when his father took him and his older brother Craig to the local Judo club.

While performing became a major aspiration for Scott, his attraction to martial arts was instant. He later started practicing Taekwondo at age 14, and kickboxing at age 16, all in an effort to emulate his idols Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Scott stars opposite Donnie Yen in the fourth installment to the IP Man franchise, and prior to this he starred in UK feature Avengement and other credits include Marvel’s Doctor Strange, Zero Dark Thirty, Accident Man, The Debt Collector & The Debt Collector 2, Triple Threat, Legacy of Lies, Grimsby, Criminal, The Expendables 2, American Assassins, Wolf Warrior and Undisputed 2, 3, & 4.

(With thanks to tribute.ca)

Image Copyright and Credit: Fae Film & Television.

F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Thomas Balmès and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his beautiful new film Sing Me A Song, Bhutan and the West, universal stories, our addiction to technology and realities that you cannot write.

Synopsis:

Sing Me a Song is a new documentary feature by acclaimed filmmaker Thomas Balmès (Babies, Happiness). With Sing Me a Song, Balmès returns to one of the subjects of his award-winning Happiness.A nuanced portrait of a young man’s introduction to the world, the film follows now-teenaged Peyangki, who lives and studies in a picturesque monastery deep in the mountains of Bhutan.

Several years have passed since TV and the Internet have been allowed into the remote country, and now the structured daily rituals of candle lighting and recitation of prayers compete with the powerful lure of smartphones. Privately, Peyangki is passionate about love songs and forms a relationship with a young singer on WeChat named Ugyen, from the capital city of Thimphu.

Disinterested in study and often reprimanded by his masters, he sells medicinal mushrooms to make enough money to leave monastery life in search of “the one he dreams of night and day.” Unexpected and profound, Sing Me a Song provides an eye-opening lens on the effects of technology and challenges us to reassess our own perceptions of relatedness and self-worth in an age of unparalleled connectivity.

About Thomas:

Thomas Balmès (Director; Producer; Cinematographer) has been working as an independent director and producer of influential nonfiction films since 1992.

His film Babies surveys one year in the life of four babies — in Mongolia, Namibia, San Francisco, and Tokyo — and was released theatrically worldwide in 2010 to much success. His next film Happiness was made in Bhutan, and introduced audiences to Peyangki and his village of Laya. Happiness premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Documentary World Cinema Cinematography Award. His initial projects included studies of filmmakers James Ivory and Michelangelo Antonioni.

Mr. Balmès’ first film as director was Bosnia Hotel, about U.N. Kenyan peacekeepers in Bosnia. This was followed by Maharajah Burger, Mad Cows, and Holy Cows; the latter took up the Indian perspective on the mad cow crisis. His, The Gospel According to the Papuans, following the conversion to Christianity of a Papuan Chief, was honored with the Silver Spire Award at the 2000 San Francisco International Film Festival; he would return to Papua for Waiting for Jesus.

Mr. Balmès’ 2004 feature A Decent Factory centered on a Nokia executive who inspects a mobile phone factory in China and was screened at more than 50 film festivals and received honors including a Europa Award. He next directed Damages, a.k.a. How Much Is Your Life Worth? filmed at a Connecticut law firm specializing in personal injury, for worldwide broadcast.

Mr. Balmès has conducted lectures and master classes in France; and abroad at Brown University, the Watson Institute, and the Lisbon International Film Festival.

Image Copyright and Credit: Thomas Balmès and Gravitas Ventures

F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

David Thewlis and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his beautiful, comical and touching new film Eternal Beauty, which also stars Sally Hawkins. They talked art as power, home life and mental health, relationships and being there.

Watch it on Google Play, iTunes or YouTube.

Synopsis:

Jane (Sally Hawkins) was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in her early twenties, when she had a breakdown after being stood up at the altar by her fiancé. After spending time in mental hospitals, where she was given shock therapy, she now hears voices and regularly has paranoid episodes.

Her self-centered family brings her little solace or empathy, so she does what she can to torment them. After she stops taking her medication, she’s meets Mike (David Thewlis), an aspiring musician with his own mental health problems, in the doctor’s waiting room. The two hit it off and begin seeing each other.

They’re extremely happy together, despite Jane’s belief that there’s no happiness, only moments of not being depressed. But when she tells her family they’re getting married, her mother (Penelope Wilton) refuses to accept it and resolves to break up Jane’s relationship

(With thanks to tribute.ca)

About David:

David Thewlis is one of the UK’s finest and most reputable actors. With a career spanning over 30 years, David has worked with some of the world’s leading writers and directors.

David is currently shooting I’m Thinking Of Ending Things for Charlie Kaufman and Netflix opposite Toni Collette and Jesse Plemons. Prior to this David filmed Atom Egoyan’s feature Guest Of Honour and the second instalment in the Avatar franchise from James Cameron. Last year David filmed feature Eternal Beauty written and directed by Craig Roberts opposite Sally Hawkins, Rare Beasts for Billie Piper’s directorial debut and a leading role in Amazon’s new TV series from Channing Powell The Feed alongside Michelle Fairley.

David is also now a firm favourite in hilarious Netflix animation series Big Mouth, in his fantastic portrayal of the Shame Wizard! Recently David also starred in the hugely successful Wonder Woman (Warner Bros), opposite Gal Gadot directed by Patty Jenkins and in James Marsh’s The Mercy, with Rachel Weisz and Colin Firth.

In 2017, David starred in the third instalment of Noah Hawley’s critically acclaimed Fargo. A tour de force performance which earned him an Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award nomination. The series cast also included Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon and Michael Stuhlbarg.

David won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival and several other awards that year for his unforgettable performance in Mike Leigh’s Naked. Other past features range from Charlie’s Kaufman’s Oscar nominated animation Anomalisa, the highly acclaimed cult hit The Big Lebowski, Justin Kurzel’s new take on Macbeth in which David plays King Duncan alongside Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard for See-Saw Films and Working Title’s Kray-twin gangster thriller Legend with Tom Hardy, directed by Brian Helgeland.

David’s other recent credits include the BBC adaptation of JB Priestley’s classic An Inspector Calls directed by Aisling Walsh for Drama Republic in which he plays the title role of The Inspector, Terrence Malick’s New World, Roland Emmerick’s Anonymous, Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, Luc Besson’s The Lady, Dean Parisot’s RED 2, Terry Gilliam’s Zero Theorem, John Boorman’s final feature film of his career Queen And Country, the heart-breaking The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, Ridley Scott’s Kingdom Of Heaven, Bernardo Bertolucci’s Besieged opposite Thandie Newton and of course the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory Of Everything directed by James Marsh for Working Titles Films with Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones.

David is of course known to many for playing the enchanting Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter franchise.

Image Copyright and Credit: Cliff Edge Pictures.

F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Dieudo Hamadi and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his new film Downstream from Kinshasa, resilience over resistance, responsibility and reality, politics and the human condition and a desire for life and a better tomorrow

Synopsis:

Dieudo Hamadi returns with his latest portrait of his native Congo, honouring survivors of his country’s Six-Day War in 2000. Since making his feature documentary debut in 2013, Dieudo Hamadi has produced an unparalleled body of work that captures glimpses of contemporary Congolese life.

In examining elections (Atalaku, 2013), schools (National Diploma, which played TIFF in 2014), violence against women and children (Mama Colonel, 2017), and political mobilization (Kinshasa Makambo, 2018), Hamadi has told individual stories that speak to collective experiences and histories. With Downstream to Kinshasa, Hamadi perfects this approach as he follows a group of victims of his country’s Six-Day War in 2000, who are seeking reparations from the government.

In June 2000, Kisangani became a battleground. In this northeastern city on the Congo River, Rwandan and Ugandan forces clashed in a conflict that was part of the bloody Second Congo War. Though a devastating conflict — so much so that it’s sometimes called the African World War — 20 years later survivors are still fighting for compensation and recognition of the atrocities they endured in this siege.

Here, Hamadi’s focus isn’t on past geopolitics but rather on the present and very personal: a group of Kisanganians who were maimed by the heavy shelling and gunfire. Through musical theatre, the victims have reclaimed their voices. But having never had official acknowledgement or financial compensation for their pain, they decide to journey down the Congo River to the capital in a bid to finally make their stories heard.

(With thanks to TIFF)

About Dieudo:

Dieudo Hamadi was born in Kisangani (Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1984 and studied Medicine in 2005-2008. He then attended several documentary workshops. Dieudo is author of two short documentaries Ladies in Waiting and Zero Tolerance that caught the attention of several festivals in Europe and Toronto. Ladies in Waiting received the ”Pierre and Yolande Perrault” scholarship at Cinema du Réel in 2009.

In 2013, with Atalaku, his first feature documentary he won the Jory Ivens Award in the Festival du Réel in Paris, the best Foreign film Prize at the San Diego Film Festival and the Jury Prize in Fidadoc. In 2014, National Diploma received the International Prize of the SCAM and the Potemkine Prize at the Festival du Réel. The film is shown at the TIFF in Toronto and travels to 60 festivals around the world.

In 2017, Mama Colonelle is presented at the Berlinale and wins two awards – Best Film, Tagesspiegel Prize, Forum Section. After that it wins the Grand Prix at Cinema du Réel in Paris. The movie keeps on traveling in many festivals and an award for best documentary – AMAA 2017.

In 2015, Dieudo created Kiripifilms, his own production company. In 2019 Dieudo Hamadi has been attributed the McMillan-Stewart Fellowship in Distinguished Filmmaking by the Film Study Center of Harvard University.

Image Copyright and Credit: Kiripi Films and Dieudo Hamadi

F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Hao Wu and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his beautiful, brilliant and important new film 76 Days, similarity through difference, united healthcare workers and hope, community and commonality that lead to understanding and personal, powerful, human stories.

Website

Watch in a Virtual Cinema

Synopsis:

On January 23rd, 2020, China locked down Wuhan, a city of 11 million, to combat the emerging COVID-19 outbreak. Set deep inside the frontlines of the crisis in four hospitals, 76 DAYS tells indelible human stories at the center of this pandemic—from a woman begging in vain to bid a final farewell to her father, a grandfather with dementia searching for his way home, a couple anxious to meet their newborn, to a nurse determined to return personal items to families of the deceased. These raw and intimate stories bear witness to the death and rebirth of a city under a 76-day lockdown, and to the human resilience that persists in times of profound tragedy.

About Hao:

Hao Wu’s documentary films have received funding support from The Ford Foundation JustFilms, ITVS, Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, NYSCA and international broadcasters. His previous feature documentary, People’s Republic of Desire, about China’s live-streaming phenomenon, won the Grand Jury Award at the 2018 SXSW festival, among many other awards. It has screened at over 40 film festivals worldwide and broadcasted nationally on PBS Independent Lens. The New York Times calls the film “hypercharged,” while The Los Angeles Times says it’s “invariably surprising and never less than compelling.” His latest short, All in My Family, is a Netflix Original Documentary and launched globally in May 2019.

Born and raised in China, Wu now travels between the US and China. From 2008-2011, he was a fellow at New America, a D.C.-based think tank. His writing has appeared on Time.com, Slate.com, Marketplace Radio, Strait Times, China Newsweek, and China Daily. He is a member of the Documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Image Copyright and Credit: MTV Films and Hao Wu

F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Werner Herzog, Clive Oppenheimer and Face2Face host David Peck talk about their new film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds, curiosity, mystery wonder and friendships, serendipity and deep cultural impact, micro meteorites and the oldest thing in the universe.

Available On Apple TV+

Synopsis:

Following their Academy Award-nominated work on “Encounters at the End of the World” and Emmy-nominated “Into the Inferno,” Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer’s new film “Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds” takes viewers on an extraordinary journey to discover how shooting stars, meteorites and deep impacts have focused the human imagination on other realms and worlds, and on our past and our future.

An Apple Original Film, Sandbox Films presents, in association with Dogwoof and Hot Docs Partners, a Spring Films and Werner Herzog Film co-production, “Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds.” The film is directed by Herzog and Oppenheimer and written and narrated by Herzog. The producers are André Singer and Lucki Stipetic, and executive producers are Richard Melman, Greg Boustead, Jessica Harrop, Anna Godas and Oli Harbottle. The directors of photography are Peter Zeitlinger and Richard Blanshard. The editor is Marco Capalbo and music is by Ernst Reijseger.

About Clive and Werner:

Director, Writer, Narrator: Werner Herzog was born in Munich. He has written, produced, and directed more than 70 films, published books of prose, staged several operas, acted in films and TV – Jack Reacher, The Mandalorian, and founded the Rogue Film School.

His features include Lessons of Darkness, Grizzly Man, Encounters at the End of the World, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Into the Abyss, Into the Inferno, Meeting Gorbachev and most recently Family Romance, LLC.

Director: Clive Oppenheimer is a Professor of Volcanology at the University of Cambridge, with wide interests spanning volcanic processes, hazards and impacts, geoarchaeology and cultural heritage. He has participated in over thirty film and TV productions in assorted roles including narrator, presenter, cinematographer and director. He made thirteen research trips to Antarctica. On one, he discovered campsites on Mt. Erebus left by members of Captain Scott’s last Antarctic expedition. They are now inscribed as Historic Sites and Monuments by the Antarctic Treaty System.

He has given many public appearances (radio and TV broadcasts, museum, and festival talks, etc.) and was a jury member for the international prize at the BIOGRAFILM festival. He received the Leif Erikson Award for ‘a lifetime achievement in exploration’ in 2018 and the Royal Geographical Society’s Murchison Award ‘for publications enhancing the understanding of volcanic processes and impacts’ in 2005.

He is author of Eruptions That Shook The World, which inspired Into the Inferno, the film he made with Werner Herzog. Fireball is his second major documentary feature.

Image Copyright and Credit: Sandbox Films and Apple TV+.

F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.

Paul Leyden and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his laugh out loud, fun new film Chick Fight, empowerment, fighting back, losing his soul, why tuna, toast and baked beans are so important to him.

Available On Demand and Digital

Synopsis:

Chick Fight follows Anna (Malin Akerman) as she navigates a particularly challenging juncture in her life: she still hasn’t reconciled with the recent death of her adored mother, she’s just discovered that her loving and supportive father is gay (which she totally supports, but the deception cuts deep), and she accidentally burns down her uninsured coffee shop when she discovers a casually thrown joint and a spilled bottle of moonshine don’t exactly mix.

Knowing Anna needs to be abruptly shaken and stirred from her deep funk, her best friend Charleen (Dulcé Sloan) takes Anna to an all women underground fight club. It’s here that Anna encounters an eclectic cast of characters, including the intimidatingly perfect and most brutally efficient fighter of the club, Olivia (Bella Thorne), who quickly becomes a rival in and out of the ring.

With the help of an eccentric and reclusive trainer Jack Murphy (Alec Baldwin), Anna slowly rediscovers herself, her inner strength and true purpose in the most primal of ways.

About Paul:

After graduating from Australia’s most prestigious drama school, NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Arts), Paul worked as an actor in many lead roles in both mini-series and television.

As a screenwriter, he co-wrote and co-produced the Joel Silver/Dark Castle produced ‘The Factory’, a dark psychological thriller starring John Cusack and Jennifer Carpenter. It was released through Warner Bros. Paul wrote and directed the short film ‘Bye Bye Sally’, starring Malin Akerman. It did a worldwide festival tour and received distribution deal with HBO Europe. He also went on to produce the action thriller, ‘Hunter’s Prayer’ starring Sam Worthington and Odeya Rush and directed by Jonathon Mostow. Movie was released by Saban.

Paul wrote and directed the indie suburban thriller ‘Come Back To Me’ based on a novel by Wrath James White. Movie was released by Freestyle. He also wrote, directed and executive produced all 18 episodes of the action/comedy TV series ‘Cleaners’ for Sony Crackle. The series starred Emmanuelle Chriqui, Emily Osment, David Arquette, Clifton Collins Jnr., Missi Pyle, Mimi Rogers and Gina Gershon.

He most recently directed ‘Chick Fight’, an action/comedy feature starring Malin Akerman, Alec Baldwin and Bella Thorne. It is set for a wide release on November 13th, 2020.

Paul currently has multiple TV and Feature Film projects in various stages from development to pre-production set up in the US, Australia and France.

Image Copyright and Credit: Quiver Distribution and Paul Leyden.

F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.

For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.

With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.