Andre Royo
A new film produced by Chattanooga-based Mama Bear Studios has been selected to premiere and compete at the prestigious South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas this March.
The movie, "Hunter Gatherer," traces the journey of a man (Andre Royo of “The Wire” and “Empire”) trying to regain his footing after a three-year stint in prison. It was written and directed by Josh Locy, a Bryan College alumnus, and was shot on location in Los Angeles in August of 2015. Mama Bear co-produced the film with Rough House Pictures, a Los Angeles-based production company founded by David Gordon Green (“Pineapple Express”) and Danny McBride (“Eastbound and Down”) and Unbundled Underground.
"We couldn't be more excited about premiering one of our first films at such an amazing festival," said Isaiah Smallman, co-founder of Mama Bear Studios. "It's really a testament to the quality of the script and to the blood, sweat and tears poured into the project by Josh and our producing partners."
SXSW is ranked with Sundance as one of the biggest and most prestigious film festivals in the country. Last year they received more than 2,350 feature and 5,000 short film submissions.
Usually they screen over 100 feature films in various categories, but only ten films are selected to compete in the narrative feature competition category each year. The festival is expected to attract more than 70,000 fans, filmmakers and industry leaders.
The story of “Hunter Gatherer” centers on Ashley Douglas (Royo), who is forced to reckon with the fact that his time in prison has allowed those once closest to him to forget him entirely. As Ashley struggles to pick up the pieces, he meets Jeremy, a young man trying to save his grandfather from dying. The story goes on to explore the two men's unlikely friendship as they struggle to understand their place in the world.
Mama Bear joined the project in February of 2015, and helped finance and produce the film.
"Hunter Gatherer," is currently in the final stages of post-production. Mr. Smallman will receive a producer credit. Mama Bear co-founder Drew Belz and Lamppost Group co-founders Barry Large, Ted Alling and Allan Davis will serve as executive producers.
The film will be represented and sold by by Cinetic Media, a top player in the independent film industry. Other films sold by Cinetic include “Boyhood,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” and “Napoleon Dynamite.” After the premiere, Mama Bear will aim to sell the rights for the film to Mama Bear Studios | 800 Market St. Suite 201, Chattanooga, TN 37402
domestic and international distributors for release into theaters and digital outlets. The other producers of the film are Sara Murphy, April Lamb and Unbundled Underground (Mike Covino).
Mama Bear Studios is a film and entertainment company based in Chattanooga. It was founded in early 2015 by Drew Belz and Isaiah Smallman, co-founders of creative content company Fancy Rhino. Mama Bear's mission is to "empower creative teams, tell amazing stories and create the studio of the future."
Mama Bear has five other projects in development and will release a short film written and directed by Mr. Smallman at the Chattanooga Film Festival (March 31-3) and the Beverly Hills Film Festival (April 6-10). Earlier this year, Mama Bear also released a feature film called Low and Behold in connection with Sundance Artist Services.