Other Worlds Film Festival is excited to announce the first in-person feature of the 2021 Orbiter Year-Round Series: HELL IS EMPTY. This special screening will take place on Wednesday, August 25 (7:30pm) at Galaxy Highland 10 Theatre. Writer/Director Jo Shaffer will be in attendance for a Q&A after the film!
"HELL IS EMPTY kicks off our Orbiter series with shades of the Under Worlds." says Dan Repp, Senior Programmer and Event Director. "Jo Shaffer brings a fresh voice to the horrors of a patriarchal community. Fiction brushes against our reality with a male character that uses religion to manipulate women."
This Orbiter Screening will be co-presented by aGLIFF (The All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival) which takes place at the Galaxy as well, August 26th-September 6th. See aGLIFF.org for more info.
Be sure to grab tickets HERE. We can't wait to see you in person!
Synopsis
A self-styled messiah initiates a teenage runaway into his cult of sister-wives. Her rebellious nature upends the community, triggering a bloody uprising against the patriarch.
Director/Writer:
Jo Shaffer (they/them) studied film at New York University’s Tisch School for the Performing Arts. Their feature film CALLIOPE was selected for the Juggernaut Film Festival, Chicago’s science fiction and fantasy film festival. Shaffer's short film “The Searcher” won the top prize in the Wisconsin Film Festival’s adult category, making them the youngest such prize winner in the festival’s history.
Producer/Writer:
Adam Desantes (he/him) is a Brooklyn-based producer and editor. He began developing HELL IS EMPTY with Shaffer during his senior year at Wesleyan University and shot the film immediately after graduating. In addition to his work in film, DeSantes designs interactive experiences for computers and VR.
Cast:
Spencer Peppet (she/her) is an actor, musician, and writer from Cincinnati, currently living in New York. Her band The Ophelias released their sophomore album Almost in 2018 to glowing reviews in The New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, and others, and an EP For Luck in 2020 recorded entirely in the band members’ separate quarantine locations.
Nia Farrell (she/they) is a creator, performer, and Mundane Afrofuturist who develops new work that celebrates the dreams, stories, and ancestry of Blk communities. As a creator and/or performer, Nia has collaborated with Soho Rep (Writer/ Director Lab; A Map To Nowhere - Things Are), Theater Mitu (Hybrid Arts Lab; Will To The World), Ars Nova (ANT Fest; Dreams in Blk Major), Theatertreffen Stückemarkt, and more
Travis Mitchell (he/him) is an actor currently living in New York City and his most recent projects include performing as the character Sgt. Matthews (opposite Mariska Hargitay) on LAW AND ORDER SVU.
Laura Resinger (she/her) is a Chicago-based actor where she has performed with theatre companies Remy Bumppo, Strawdog, Cor Theatre, ATC, and Silk Road Rising.
Ava (they/them) is a trans-non-binary Japanese-Australian artist who has worked professionally as a theatre-maker, director, organiser, choreographer, and performer in NYC and Australia.
Meredith Antoian (she/her) is an NYC based actress and NYU Tisch alum. Notable credits include: Zach Braff’s GOING IN STYLE (2017), NBC’s BLINDSPOT, ABC’s THE FAMILY, and the Off-Broadway premiere of MUST.