Marjory Avenue Productions & Film Coop Inc in association with Cinema!ntenant present SEAN BAEK * WES BERGER * CLAIRE BURNS * DANIEL BRIERE * SHARMILA DEY * ANDREW JACKSON * ANITA LA SELVA * JANI LAUZON * SERA-LYS MCARTHUR * MARCEL STEWART * MICHAELA WASHBURN * ASTRID VAN WIEREN
Written & Directed by JON MICHAELSON Cinematography BLAKE HANNAHSON*
Edited by JASON SHARMAN * Music by ANDY TRITHARDT * Songs by Jani Lauzon, The Cathouse Dogs, and Astrid Van Wieren * Produced by EMILY ANDREWS JON MICHAELSON LAURA NORDIN JASON SHARMAN ASTRID VAN WIEREN
(101 MINUTES – COLOR – WIDE SCREEN – 5.1 SOUND)
Contemporary character-driven actors cinema with a feisty female protagonist at its center, in the mode of John Cassavetes work with Gena Rowlands. Directed by Jon Michaelson, the movie stars Broadway actor Astrid Van Wieren, awarded Best Actress laurels from indie festivals in Chicago and Toronto.
The movie is infused with an ever relevant societal critique addressing violence against women, comparable to the grit of Mike Leigh’s work in its affect and immediacy.
Hand-held wide screen color cinematography featuring long takes, and evocatively minimal musical underscoring, contribute to allowing viewers to engage with a dramatic experience that poses provocative questions, rather than offering easy answers to the issues the movie explores.
THE RIVER YOU STEP IN is available for streaming on platforms such as Prime video, You Tube, Google Plus, Vudo, Vimeo, and Tubi. A DVD with commentary is also available from distributor CINEMAINTENTANT. www.cinemaintenant.com
(TIWFF: BEST ACTRESS - ASTRID VAN WIEREN (June 2021) (MIFF: HONORABLE MENTION:BEST CANADIAN INDIE (November 2021)
R e v i e w s
from theatrical screenings in New York (Anthology Film Archives) Toronto (The Royal Cinema, The Grand Gerrard Theatre) St. Catharines (The Film House)
“THE BEST INDIE FILM I'VE SEEN IN A LONG TIME” (playwright David. S Craig)
“STRONG PERFORMANCES” (film director Carolyn Combs)
“As a social worker whose life is spinning out of control ASTRID VAN WIEREN GIVES A MASTERFUL PERFORMANCE.” (playwright Rose Culls
A VERY MOVING FILM - complex characters interwoven in an intriguing plot line”
(composer John Roby)
“Van Wieren is fantastic in Jon Michaelson's emotional portrayal of a group of very different people struggling with their demons” (playwright/director Kat Sandler)
“This movie brings together a number of COMPELLING STORIES to form a heartfelt tribute to the resilience of the human spirit."
(filmmaker Moze Mossanen)
“A WONDERFUL STORY, FULL OF COMPASSION.”
(Lianne Ritchie, 51westdesign)
NOW MAGAZINE (TORONTO) RATING: NNN = ENTERTAINING
T R A I L E R
