'The Singing Bones' World Premiere in Los Angeles Tomorrow! (Dec 8, 2016)

Have you read the short story "Bones" by Francesca Lia Block from "The Rose and the Beast - Fairy Tales Retold"?

It's a Bluebeard story... with a difference. (Anyone familiar with Block's writing will know exactly what I mean.)

Award winning indie fairy tale film film director, Danishka Esterhazy, has been working with Block on a project to bring her story to life. Now, thanks to some wonderful support via crowd funding and an amazing collection of film talent, behind the camera and in front, Esterhazy is presenting the World Premiere of the short film Thursday, December 8th, 2016, tomorrow night as of this writing and TONIGHT for many readers seeing this post for the first time.

We are happy to announce our WORLD PREMIERE at the Culver City Film Festival in Los Angeles. Thursday December 8th at 1pm. Tickets are available HERE. (FTNH: $10-$50)

Production still from The Singing Bones - Red Czarina

Block posted a brief, but illuminating announcement when the first image from the film was released. We're including most of it here, as it will give you insights into the story, the film, why this is one to keep an eye out for, and, if you're in LA, worth giving up your Thursday night to go check it out, if it's at all possible.

I wrote the story "Bones" as part of my collection of fairy tale retellings, The Rose And The Beast.  It is an emotional story for me  because the nameless main character represents the sense of loss, isolation, and loneliness, and the self-destructive tendencies, of my late teens and early twenties.   When Danishka Esterhazy shot her adaptation The Singing Bones in Oakland this last weekend, I was transported forward into the world of her fairy tale and backward into my past.  As I sat behind Katie Polley, while Michael Klinger seduced her with blue cake, blue drinks and his blue gaze, tears filled my eyes. Katie's stunning, fine-tuned acting skills and the fascinating way I was situated made me feel I was reliving my painful past through her, facing my seductive self-destruction embodied by a gorgeous, charming and intelligent young actor playing a Bluebeard-like character. 

The cathartic aspect of theater is something I've never been so fully aware of. 

This is one reason I want to work in film. Perhaps nothing is more powerful.

(Doesn't that make you want to go to the theater or get involved in creating and supporting a film of a story you love as well? Us too. If you're serious about film, we know some worthy indie filmmakers, Esterhazy and her company Red Czarina included, who could use your help.)

Award winning, indie filmmaker, Danishka Esterhazy

Block also interviewed Esterhazy about her love of fairy tales and aspects of creating this new film. From Block's blog:

FLB: We share an interest in dark retellings of classic fairy tales. What do these tales mean to you? You’ve based work on Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood and The Snow Queen (as well as Bluebeard in The Singing Bones). What do these specific tales represent for you? What other tales are important in your  life? Who introduced you to these stories? 

DE: My mother read fairy tales to me and encouraged me to be an avid reader. So I have her to thank. She has always liked ghost stories, too, so I grew up hearing a lot of fabulous scary tales. But what I love about retelling fables is the power of layered meaning that becomes possible when a story is ancient and well-known. The audience is already familiar with the characters, with the plot, so you have a shorthand for communicating ideas. You can draw attention to important themes in a powerful way. And I love to take a story where the moral is all about a woman's need to conform - to turn that upside down - and make it about empowerment.

You can read the whole interview HERE.

If you are one of the lucky ones to attend the premiere, let us know! We'd love to hear about it and what you thought. (We are predicting all good things!)