Bad Things Happen When The Stripper Comes Home...
From Austin, TX, to San Diego, CA, to Washington, DC, "A Swingin' Trio" is blazing a successful screening trail across the United States. Its latest stop is its Washington, DC premiere at the DC Independent Film Festival (DCIFF). The tautly-woven narrative’s screening and Q&A are on March 1st at 9:30 pm at the US Navy Memorial Heritage Center. For more information about the festival, and for advance ticket purchases, go to http://dciff-indie.org/films/a-swingin-trio/.
The fact that "A Swingin' Trio” has been chosen to be a part of DCIFF and other prestigious festivals is not due to luck. The enterprising FilmKZP Productions, an African-American husband/wife team, has mapped out an ambitious distribution and film festival strategy for this sexy dramady, which includes entering festivals like DCIFF that are highly regarded within the industry and that have a reputation for screening “challenging, well-crafted, exceptional independent films from around the world” – films like “A Swingin’ Trio.”
Description:
Homer Garçon is an unpublished and frustrated science fiction writer living off the success of his wife, Trude Garçon-Moore, a busy Hollywood producer. As a result, he finds himself “trapped” in lavish surroundings – his luxury jail – and with rejection letters piling high, Homer has convinced himself of his wife's infidelity. Phillips’ darkly-comic script follows Homer as he dives into the prickly territories of self-awareness and self-pity, in his quest to find the truth about his possibly cheating wife – and himself – all at a Valentine's Day dinner decidedly set for three. “A Swingin’ Trio” is about three things: sex, music, and betrayal, all over the course of one really good dinner.
Writer/Director Kelvin Phillips’ statement:
“A Swingin’ Trio” was born out of two ideas. The first was the desire to use a jazz trio as a Greek chorus to the story being told. The second was the urge, the challenge if you will, to make a film structured around the Aristotelian unities of time, place, and action. In the case of our film, the musicians are three characters, the stage/place is the couple’s home, and the action is the story of what happens to them over the course of a disassembling evening.”
FilmKZP Productions originally hails from the northeast, and only recently has called Austin, TX their home. But the couple promises that “A Swingin’ Trio” will be the first of many productions to come. “We love music, especially jazz, as one will see from the original jazz compositions performed by the award-winning Jeff Lofton Trio,” states Kelvin Phillips. “In fact, while in DC, we hope to check out one of my favorite jazz spots, Blues Alley, a place I discovered during my years at Howard.” “However, we also enjoy theater, dance, and all types of visual media. So, we seek to collaborate on as many projects as possible with passionate talented artists all around the world. Life is too short not to make someone laugh or cry…or both,” Jackson wryly commented.
Cast and Crew
“A Swingin’ Trio” (USA, 80 min)
Cast: Johnny Walter, Timeca M. Seretti, and LeMarc Johnson
Production Design: David Jetre
Cinematography: Michael Morlan
Editor: Tim Tsai
Original “live” jazz music performed by The Jeff Lofton Trio
Other original music composed by: Alex Lu
Producer: Carla L. Jackson
Written and Directed: Kelvin Z. Phillips
About the Writer/Director
Kelvin Z. Phillips is the recipient of grants from Jerome Foundation, Art Matters, Inc., Brooklyn Arts and Cultural Association, and Apparatus Productions (founded by Christine Vachon and Todd Haynes). He is also the recipient of the Laurel Productions and the Herbert Biegel Screenwriting Awards, and is an alumnus of the Guy Hanks/Marvin Miller Screenwriting Fellowship, established by Drs. Bill and Camille Cosby. Phillips received his Bachelor of Arts in Film Directing from Howard University and Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing from New York University. http://www.aswingintrio.com/
About the Producer
A seasoned marketing and public relations professional with over 15 years of experience, Carla L. Jackson’s expertise lies with her ability to create favorable business-to-consumer relationships for clients who have included the ACC Center for Public Policy, Nike, the California Wellness Foundation, and On Your Feet: International Music and Dance Festival. Other past highlights are serving as Director of Marketing on award-winning Broadway and off-Broadway productions, including “August Wilson’s Jitney” and “King Hedley.” Jackson received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater Summa Cum Laude from Fordham University in New York; and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Management from Yale University. http://www.aswingintrio.com/
For more information about the film, or the smokin' hot trailer, please go to www.aswingintrio.com. To schedule an interview with Kelvin Z. Phillips and Carla L. Jackson, please contact Carla L. Jackson at 512-709-8521 or email Carla L. Jackson at carla@aswingintrio.com.
