Winner of the Grand Jury Award, Best Feature Film at Reeling, the 2009 Chicago LGBT Film Festival, Rivers Wash Over Me will have a special showing on Saturday, February 20, at 7:45 pm at the Mountain Cinema, Doctorow Center for the Arts (map), Main Street, Village of Hunter. Join us for this very special showing of a film co-written and directed by Schoharie County resident John G. Young.

Synopsis
After the death of his mother, Sequan Green (Derrick L. Middleton), a black fifteen year old from Brooklyn, is sent to live with his Aunt Luellen (Leslie Jones) in rural Alabama. There he meets a dysfunctional group of characters, including his older cousin Michael (Cameron Mitchell Mason), who begins to abuse him; Ahmed (Duane McLaughlin), the school’s basketball star and drug dealer; his aunt and young cousin Charity (Tina Jetter), who both live in denial; and sheriff Charles King (Darien Sills-Evans), who is also a newcomer to the town and is Sequan’s uncle.

Sequan finds a friend in Lori Anderson (Elizabeth Dennis), Ahmed’s white girlfriend, who takes him under her wing. Skittish at first, Sequan slowly opens up to Lori as she schools him on life in this dark, sleepy town. Eventually, she introduces him to her younger brother, Jake (Aidan Schultz-Meyer), who she suspects would have much in common with Sequan, including a love of reading James Baldwin.

However, the town of Jefferson, Alabama is hiding many secrets, including the theft of a gun from the high school principal’s car and a missing student. As Sheriff King investigates and simultaneously begins to reach out to his alienated and abused nephew, the disparate, mosaic of stories in this tiny, proper town become tragically entwined.

Director’s Statement
I started writing Rivers Wash Over Me ten years ago after I had the chance to spend some time in a small southern town. What struck me then was how modern the town was (a black mayor and town sheriff) and yet how segregated it still remained. I was also struck how the pathologies we associate with urban living (crime, drugs, violence) had seeped into this place too. As with my other films, I often begin my story with a place; what would happen here if…? In this case it was what would happen if a smart, gay, black kid from New York City had to go live with his dysfunctional relatives in this town—a place that for him is crueler than where he left. Then I thought, what if the one person who reaches out to him is the privileged, messed up, drug addicted white girlfriend of the town’s drug dealer. My hope was that in their tentative connection they would start to heal one another—a theme in all my work.

I had always intended Rivers Wash Over Me to be my first “big budget film” which for me meant a budget of at least 1 million dollars, but as time went on, despite everyone loving the screenplay, the project was passed on. And so after the success of my second feature, The Reception, Dexter Davis, who co-executive produced that film, came to me with an offer of funding another small film. At first I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but then I realized that I should take this opportunity to make Rivers. I still was touched by the story, and realized that I could shoot the entire film in upstate New York where I have a house in Charlotteville, in Schoharie County. I shot both of my previous films in upstate New York and as a native of Schenectady, I felt very comfortable with the environment. The villages of Jefferson, Stamford, and Charlotteville would be great backdrops for my story. After enlisting my long time friend and fellow filmmaker Darien Sill-Evans (I first met Darien when he was seventeen years old after casting him in a short film) to produce and act in the film, I felt confident that I could pull off the complicated production. Filmmaking is like jumping off a cliff, but this time with both Darien and Dexter—I had parachutes and I could finally make Rivers Wash Over Me.

I am a firm believer in making the film you want on the budget you have, as compromise is part of the filmmaking process. The trick is to know when to stand your ground. You can change actors, locations, even film styles. You can use film or digital video, add or remove characters—but I don’t think you can ever let go of the heart of a film. The qualities of the story that suck you in and make you want to participate—make you want to befriend or protect one of the characters—make you want to intervene in a situation and that make you laugh and/or cry. These elements can survive almost anything low-budget indie filmmaking can throw at them…but only if you’re willing to take the leap.

Production Biographies
John G. Young
Director/Co-writer
The Village Voice called John G. Young's first feature film, Parallel Sons "…one of the best independent films of the decade." After its premiere in the dramatic competition at the Sundance Film Festival, it went on to win Best Feature awards at the Florida Film Festival, OutFest, The L.A. GLBT Film Festival and the San Francisco LGBT Film Festival. Young's second feature, The Reception, opened in 2005 to rave reviews after premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival. Shot in just eight days for $5,000, The Los Angeles Times called it “polished, worldly and witty,” while Variety called the film “effortlessly cosmopolitan.” The New York Times said it was “quietly ambitious and memorable.” The Reception would go on to win the Best Actor at OutFest 2005. Both films are currently available through Strand releasing.

Rivers Wash Over Me is Young’s third feature film and marks another successful collaboration with executive producer Dexter Davis and longtime friend, actor-producer Darien Sills Evans. The film has won a Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature from The Chicago LGBT film festival and a Best Acting Award from OutFest (The Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival) for its young star Derrek Middleton. Young is currently developing a new film about Keith Haring and the art scene that developed in New York’s East Village in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. He shares his time between Brooklyn, NY and a home in Charlotteville, NY.


Dexter Davis
Executive Producer
Dexter Davis is the Chairman and CEO of D STREET MEDIA GROUP which he founded in Berlin in 2004. In March 2007 Davis oversaw the release of Summer in Berlin, the German blockbuster that he co-marketed with Volkswagen AG, which was the result of a historic deal between D Street Releasing and the automotive giant.

Davis executive produced the acclaimed film The Reception with writer/director John Young which premiered at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. Rivers Wash Over Me is Davis’ second film that he produced with John Young. D Street and will also release A Belly Full (Le Conte du Ventre Plein), a French film written and directed by legendary filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles in late 2009.

Davis sits on the board of The Reel World Film Festival and the WCDP (World Community Development Program) which helps to improve standards of living in underdeveloped communities worldwide.

Darien Sills-Evans
Producer, co-writer, “Charles King”
Darien Sills-Evans is perhaps known for his numerous television roles including Cosby, Third Watch, The Bedford Diaries, Angel Rodriguez, Law & Order and numerous television commercials.

Sills-Evans made his directorial and starring feature film debut in 2001 with X-Patriots, which won multiple awards in 2002 including the LA Weekly Award for Best Screenplay, the CCI Digital Award for Best Ensemble Cast, and the Film Finders Maverick Award for Quality Low-Budget Film. In addition, he was nominated for the IFP’s Gordan Parks Award.

In 2005 Sills-Evans co-produced and starred in John G. Young’s The Reception, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. For his critically acclaimed turn as “Andrew” in the film, Sills-Evans won the Best Actor Award at Outfest in 2005.

In 2006, Sills-Evans starred in Preaching to the Choir, directed by Charles Randolph Wright (Blue) and produced by Richard Perello (Super Troopers). Sills-Evans continues to develop new film and television projects including Thirst, a political drama about water privatization.


Jay Milla
Producer
Jay Milla is the President of D Street Media Group and an independent film producer in Los Angeles. He is working with D Street Releasing on acquiring international films to be released theatrically in selected U.S. markets.

Milla ran the New York based Filmmaker Magazine, a 15 year-old international magazine covering the most intriguing independent films for 3 years. He oversaw all operations including: print, web, marketing, circulation and distribution. He was instrumental in making Filmmaker Magazine profitable through a complete creative redesign of both the print and web editions and massive sponsorship deals with HP and Delta Airlines. Milla worked closely with the magazine’s parent company, IFP on such projects as Independent Film Week, No Boarders, The Filmmaker Conference and The Gotham Awards.

Before moving to NYC, Milla was the Director of Development of Venivici Entertainment, an independent film and TV production company focused on Location Management. Venivici worked on films such as George Clooney’s Good Night & Good Luck and network television shows such as Medium and Boston Legal—as well as numerous pilots.


Kenneth Lampl
Composer
Kenneth Lampl is an award-winning composer for film and television. He received his D.M.A. in composition from the Juilliard School of Music and studied film scoring with John Williams at the Tanglewood Music Festival. His first international recognition came with the winning of the Prix Ravel in composition at the American Conservatory in Fontainbleau, France. Other awards include Best Original Score at the Garden State Film Festival, two Outstanding Original Score Awards at the NYU First Run Film Festival, seven ASCAP Composer Awards, two New Jersey State Council for the Arts Fellowships, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Awards to Young Composers, the Gretchanov Memorial Prize in Composition from the Juilliard School and fellowships from the foundations of Henry Mancini, George Gershwin, and Richard Rogers

His recent film credits include Abbie Cancelled, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009, Royal Kill starring Eric Roberts and Pat Morita, and Winter of Frozen Dreams starring Thora Birch and Keith Carradine.


Derrick Middleton
“Sequan Greene”
Derrick Middleton is an actor, singer, and writer. Born in Harlem NY, he graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia H.S. for the Performing Arts as a drama major and has extensive musical theater training. He is proud to be making his feature film debut in Rivers Wash Over Me. Derrick is passionate about giving the LGBT community a louder voice in film and music. He is currently developing a short film titled “We Cry Pink Tears” and a new music project.


Elizabeth Dennis
“Lori Anderson”
Elizabeth Dennis has been featured in several commercials and television shows including Law & Order: SVU, The Sopranos and Guiding Light. Rivers Wash Over Me is her debut starring role.

Aidan Schultz-Meyer
“Jake Anderson”
Aidan Schultz-Meyer began his career with the L.A. Opera, performing both as a singer and actor in nine productions as a child. He then attended the L.A. County High School for the Arts. His professional theatre debut came in 2005 when he performed the role of The Moon in Lorca's Blood Wedding with Theatre 40. Schultz-Meyer co-founded the Free Radicals theatre group, performing in productions of Bertolt Brecht's The Elephant Calf and the premiere of Devon Armstrong's The Submission.

In 2006, Schultz-Meyer moved to NYC to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and performed the roles of Petya in Maxim Gorky's The Courageous One and Michael in Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa.

He has also worked as a Director of Photography for the films Indigo and Mondays produced by La Mancha Films. Rivers Wash Over Me is Schultz-Meyer’s feature film debut.