**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
PARADISE RECOVERED AVAILABLE NOW ON DVD/VOD
Producers team up with nonprofit mental health agency to help survivors of spiritual abuse.
“Top Five Films to See (2010 Austin Film Festival): Blue Valentine, The Company Men, Paradise Recovered, 127 Hours, and Black Swan” – The Daily Texan
“A modern-day retelling of the parable of the Good Samaritan” – The Independent Critic
“An intelligent and sensitive look at a young woman and her spiritual journey.” – NothingbutAustin.com
Paradise Recovered Trailer
Behind The Scenes and Promo Videos
The film is available on DVD through Amazon.com with bonus features including a Filmmaker’s Commentary and a short documentary Beyond Paradise that illustrates the problem of spiritual abuse in modern culture.
The film is also available as a Video On Demand through Cox, Comcast, and other cable companies throughout North America and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Blockbuster On Demand, and Vudu.
The film will be available soon on Netflix and can be placed in a Netflix subscriber’s DVD queue.
Marking the feature film directorial debut for University of Texas graduate Storme Wood and the first produced feature script penned by Indiana writer and producer Andie Redwine, PARADISE RECOVERED features an Austin-based ensemble cast led by Heather Wallis (Slacker 2011, Cinema Six), Andrew Sensenig (W., I Love You Philip Morris), Richard Dillard (Dazed and Confused, Temple Grandin), and introduces Dane Seth Hurlburt and Oliver Luke.
Wood and Redwine also served as producers alongside Roland Rydstrom and casting director Karen Hallford. Ron Becker served as Executive Producer.
The film premiered at Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis in the fall of 2010 and enjoyed a Texas premiere at the Austin Film Festival in the same week.
PARADISE RECOVERED has won a number of awards including the Grand Prize for Narrative Feature at deadCENTER Film Festival in Oklahoma City, Best Feature Film at the Central Florida Film Festival, Outstanding Screenplay, Outstanding Actress, and Audience Choice awards at the Northwest Ohio Independent Film Festival, Best Screenplay at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema, and The Hoosier Award for Indiana’s best contribution to the motion picture industry.
PARADISE RECOVERED tells the story of Esther Harris (Wallis), a young woman praised for her virtue and devotion, who believes she has landed the opportunity of a lifetime.
When Esther’s fundamentalist sect falls on hard times, she finds a job at a local health food store to supplement the group’s faltering income.
At the store, Esther shares her devotion to the group with her new manager, Gabriel (Hurlburt), a devout skeptic and preacher’s kid. The friendship with Gabriel helps Esther re-examine her human worth and reframe her faith in a whole new light.
The film was shot on location in Bloomington and Bedford, Indiana and in Austin, Texas.
The original soundtrack for PARADISE RECOVERED includes a number of independent unsigned artists. Cara Jean Wahlers-Marcy and Grover Parido composed a narrative-driven score, and several bands provide a diversity of genre, including Sardina, Jookabox, The New Old Cavalry, Hand Over Heart, El Nino, Evening Bells and Salaam. The soundtrack also introduces a recording from newcomer singer/songwriter Evan Slusher.
Writer/Producer Andie Redwine crafted Paradise Recovered as a testament to the survivors of the estimated 4,000 cultic and religious extremist groups in the United States.
“Compassionate people, regardless of their adherence to any faith tradition, can stand together against mind control tactics and unscrupulous recruitment techniques. I think this film is respectful of people regardless of their affiliation, and I believe that we made a film about faith that is honest, acknowledging that love in action is more compelling than right belief.
“People shouldn’t be compelled to give up their lives for a group, only to later be treated as expendable when they question the beliefs and practices of the leader. Faith ought to be more about freedom and healthy exploration than about controlling individuals who must display absolute dependence upon a leader’s dogma,” said Redwine.
Director Storme Wood believes that the film speaks directly to the polarization of our culture while dealing with the difficulties people face after experiencing spiritual abuse in a cultic group.
“I hope this film educates people about the problem of spiritual abuse in our culture. I hope that it entertains people and gets them talking about what it means to have faith while being respectful and tolerant in a modern culture. Even though our opinions, beliefs, and wants are different, if we could take the time to listen to each other, the world would be a better place,” said Wood.
PARADISE RECOVERED is unique in its partnership with Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center of Albany, Ohio, an accredited residential treatment center for those who have been abused in cults or relationships resulting in emotional betrayal and/or physical harm. Wellspring offers hope and help through a program of counseling, education, and rest.
“In the course of creating this film, we have encountered a number of people who identify with Esther’s character. They have experienced a personal emotional upheaval after being involved in spiritually destructive groups,” said Executive Producer Ron Becker.
“We hope that by sharing our profits with Wellspring, hurting people with no resources can receive much needed mental health services in a setting where they can finally relax and be restored.”
By The Glass Productions, LLC was founded by Redwine to produce regional stories with an eye toward national and international audiences. Each project is paired with a not-for-profit cause that benefits from a film’s success. The company is also committed to profit-sharing with cast and crew members, as well as showcasing and promoting up and coming filmmakers, actors, artists, and musicians.
For more information, contact Director Storme Wood, storme@stormewood.com, Producer/Writer andieredwine@gmail.com, or Monarch Home Entertainment, info@monarchhomeent.com
