Saturday, June 1, 2019

Here is something that we don't get much of in this part of Texas, anymore ~ an actual film debut. The following is a press release for a film shot in various locations, including the Rio Grande Valley. One of the directors, Steven J. Escobar, is also a Valley native (full disclosure, he is also my cousin).

This film has been screened at The Cannes Film Festival. Valley folks will have an opportunity, if you've already bought your tickets, for the showing at the AMC movie theater in Edinburg, TX on June 16. You can check out availability for the tickets on the ticket sales site, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/steven-escobar-presents-xenophobia-texas-movie-premiere-tickets-61307047028?fbclid=IwAR2hspL1Wtm4l-BW4jymEtgk6I2zfJXehueg4IjjaJvrsiTPLFju4vQXkMo

I will be getting crowd reactions and report, live, before and after the show through my facebook and/or Instagram pages.

Check out the site. Check out the film. See you there.

Vision Films Adds Science Fiction Thriller, 'Xenophobia' to Their Slate and Releases Artwork and Trailer
PRESS RELEASE  UPDATED: MAY 14, 2019


CANNES, France, May 14, 2019 (Newswire.com) - Vision Films Inc. is proud to announce the acquisition of the sci-fi action/thriller Xenophobia for their 2019 Cannes slate.  Directed, written, and produced by Steven J. Escobar, Joe Castro, and Thomas J. Churchill, the film follows victims of alien abduction who discover that their experiences were not isolated incidents.  Artwork and trailer also make their debut in Cannes.

Starring Manu Intiraymi (Star Trek: Voyager, One Tree Hill), Kristen Renton (Days of our Lives, Sons of Anarchy), Angie Stevenson (Sons of Anarchy, Sigma), and Baker Chase Powell (Dating Pains, Irrational Fear), Vision will release Xenophobia on DVD and VOD on August 6, 2019.
Six complete strangers recall the details of their individual experiences with alien forces—sharing the terrifying stories of their abductions and possessions—but the biggest challenge still lies ahead. Can they overcome their fears and trust each other in order to survive?

“We are thrilled to be debuting the visually-stunning sci-fi film Xenophobia at The Cannes Film Festival,” says Vision Films CEO/Managing Director, Lise Romanoff. “The question of alien existence is extremely compelling and Xenophobia presents the subject in such a realistic and terrifying way, we can’t help but wonder if we are really alone in the universe.”

Xenophobia is an accumulation of actual alien events and encounters that have been documented over the years,” said co-Director Steven Escobar.  “Teaming up with Joe Castro and Thomas J Churchill who co-wrote and co-directed the film with me, we were able to bring these stories to the screen using state of the art of special effects which we’re really proud of.  Xenophobia is further proof that indie filmmakers can present epic stories and great effects without a studio budget.”

Xenophobia was a chance of a lifetime for me as an artist and a filmmaker,” said Joe Castro, “it allowed us to create full scale alien creatures... something that I have always dreamed of as a child.”
“Spending so much of my career in the horror and action space prepared me for Xenophobia, which is my first science fiction film,” said Thomas J. Churchill.  “It was a truly organic transition and I could not have asked for a better team and partners to have done this with than Castro and Escobar.”