A Film by
Benjamin Walter
PINK ZONE
Starring
Jayna Sweet, Matt Cooper, Julian Brand, Stell Bahrami and Tiago Felizardo
2014 Dances With Films Festival – Official Selection (World Premiere)
2014 Action On Film International Film Festival – Official Selection
2014 Festival de cine fantástico de Torremolinos – Official Selection (European Premiere)
2014 Razor Reel Fantastic Film Festival Bruges – Official Selection
2014 NewFilmmakers New York – Official Selection (East Coast Premiere)
2015 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival – Official Selection
2015 Fantasporto International Film Festival – Official Competition (Portugal Premiere)
2015 Bram Stoker International Film Festival – Official Selection (UK Premiere)
Running time : 90 min
1.78 / Stereo
pinkzonemovie.com
PINK ZONE
SHORT SYNOPSIS
WHEN A GROUP OF YOUNG DELINQUENTS, CARRYING A DEADLY VIRUS FOR WOMEN, ATTACKS A GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL, THE SPOILED RECKLESS DAUGHTER OF A POWERFUL LOCAL MAN HAS TO COLLABORATE WITH HER CRUEL SCHOOLMATES TO GET OUT BEFORE SHE GETS INFECTED.
SYNOPSIS
THE YEAR, 2026.
WOMEN ARE ON THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION.
A DEADLY KISSING VIRUS, CARRIED BY MEN AND TRANSMITTED TO WOMEN ONLY, WIPED OUT 80% OF THE FEMALE POPULATION ON THE EARTH.
SOME TEENAGE GIRLS STRUGGLED TO SURVIVE.
AS A “SAFETY”, THE US GOVERNMENT INITIATED A PROJECT TO DEPORT ALL THE REMAINING GIRLS INTO AREAS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THEM. THIS PROJECT HAS A NAME :
“PINK ZONE”
EMILY IS ONE OF THESE GIRLS. AND YET SHE’S ALLOWED TO LIVE WITH HER OVERPROTECTIVE DAD IN A SECURED HOUSE.
HER FATHER, KNOWN BY ALL THE GIRLS AS “DAD”, IS A LEGEND. HE’S THE ONE WHO CREATED THE “PINK ZONE” PROJECT. HE RULES OVER THE ZONE AS HE RULES OVER HIS DAUGHTER.
TODAY EMILY IS 17 AND, AS ALWAYS, SHE’S BEING BULLIED BY HER FEMALE CLASSMATES.
BUT WHEN A GROUP OF JUVENILE DELINQUENTS COMING FROM OUTSIDE THE “PINK ZONE” DECIDES TO CROSS THE BORDER TO GET EMILY, EVERYTHING IS ABOUT TO CHANGE...
PINK ZONE
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
IT ALL COMES FROM ONE IMAGE, STUCK IN MY MIND FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS : AURORA AND HER LONG BLONDE HAIR, THE PURE PRINCESS OF DISNEY’S SLEEPING BEAUTY, PRICKING HER FINGER ON THE SPINDLE OF A SPINNING WHEEL. TRANSFORMED, DOOMED, GETTING “DIRTY” ALL OF A SUDDEN. MYSTERIOUS, SCARY, BUT FASCINATING. THAT’S WHEN PINK ZONE BEGAN.
IT STUCK WITH ME FOR QUITE A TIME AS I WAS GOING THROUGH (MYSELF) THIS AWKWARD, WEIRD, CHAOTIC TIME CALLED TEENAGE YEARS, HEARING THE SAME DARK AND GLOOMY STORIES FROM THE GIRLS OF MY AGE, OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I LISTENED.
ON MARCH 2013, WHEN I HAD TO START WORKING ON MY UCLA THESIS FILM, I KNEW IT HAD TO BE A TEEN MOVIE. I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF A HIGH-CONCEPT MOVIE : “WHAT IF BOYS COULD KILL GIRLS WITH A KISSING VIRUS ?”. VERY 1980’S. I HAD FOUND MY AESTHETIC.
I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF JOHN HUGHES’ MOVIES, OF MOLLY RINGWALD AND EMILIO ESTEVEZ IN THE BREAKFAST CLUB, OF YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN STUCK IN A SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NO MAN’S LAND. A PLACE WHERE TEENAGERS HAVE TO PLEASE THE COMMUNITY BY CONFORMING TO AN ARCHETYPE. I REALIZED I HAD TO SHOW THESE ARCHETYPES IN THEIR RAWEST FORM AND, MAYBE, TRY TO BEND THEM.
AS THE CHARACTERS BECAME MORE AND MORE ALIVE, I KNEW I NEEDED TO GO FURTHER WITH THEM. THE TRANSFORMATION WOULD ONLY BE COMPLETE IF THE GIRLS COULD GET RID OF THE BOYS. WHICH MEANT PINK ZONE WOULD ALSO BECOME A FEMALE VIGILANTE MOVIE.
PINK ZONE HAD TO BE PUNK AND POP AND THE SCI-FI GENRE WOULD ALLOW ME TO CAPTURE WHAT THESE GIRLS GO THROUGH ON A DAILY BASIS, TRYING NOT TO JUDGE THEM. EMILY, THE PRINCESS, THE BRAT, CHANGES SO MUCH. SHE HAS TO LOSE EVERYTHING TO BECOME AN AGENT OF CHANGE. THIS MOVIE IS ABOUT THE TRANSFORMATION OF A PRINCESS INTO A WITCH, KILLER OF MEN.
AND THEN, I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT THE PINK ZONE WAS : A PLACE, A STATE OF MIND, A PRISON. BUT A PRISON WITH NO FRONTIER. WHERE EVERYTHING HURTS BUT NOTHING MATTERS.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ALL WAKE UP, ASKING OURSELVES “HOW DID I GET HERE ?”.
BENJAMIN WALTER, LOS ANGELES, FEBRUARY 7, 2014.
PRODUCTION NOTES
VISUAL STYLE
ALL OF DIRECTOR BENJAMIN WALTER’S FILMS HAVE A DISTINCT VISUAL STYLE AND ONE OF HIS SIGNATURE LOOKS IS THE COMBINED USE OF LONG HANDHELD TAKES AND WIDE ANGLE SHOTS.
FOR THIS MOVIE, AS FOR HIS PREVIOUS WORKS, DIRECTOR BENJAMIN WALTER DECIDED TO DO HIS OWN CINEMATOGRAPHY, FOR THE ONLY PURPOSE OF SHOOTING FAST AND GIVING THE SPACE HIS ACTORS NEEDED TO EVOLVE.
WALTER EXPLAINS, “I WANTED TO RELY A LOT ON IMPROVISATION SO THAT THE CHARACTERS WOULD BE AT THE CENTER OF IT, SO THAT I COULD FOLLOW THEM, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND”. BECAUSE OF THAT, WALTER SHOT CLOSE TO THE CAST, IN SOME KIND OF A RAW BALLET. WHICH MEANT THE CINEMATOGRAPHY HAD TO FOLLOW.
FOR THAT, WALTER SHOT ALMOST ALL THE FILM HANDHELD WITH A MINIMAL LIGHTING SETUP. “SINCE MOST OF THE ACTION HAPPENED IN ONE CLASSROOM, THE CAMERA HAD TO BE ABLE TO GO AT ANY PLACE AT ANY TIME, SO WE LIT THE ROOM FOR 360° WITH VERY NATURALISTIC SOURCE LIGHTS.”
IN WALTER’S MIND, THIS DYSTOPIAN WORLD WAS VERY CLOSE TO A NEW 1980s ERA IN TERMS OF TONE, CLOTHES AND COLORS, WITH A MODERN TWIST.
THE FILM WAS SHOT RAW THEN COLOR CORRECTED TO MATCH THE PASTEL PALETTE OF COLORS WALTER HAD IN HIS MIND SINCE THE BEGINNING. “I WANTED TO GET BACK TO THE LOOK OF THE TEEN MOVIES OF THE 80s, STARTING WITH THE BREAKFAST CLUB”. NATURAL GRAIN WAS ADDED TO THE FOOTAGE IN ORDER TO GET THAT MASH-UP LOOK BETWEEN DIGITAL AND FILM.
WALTER MANAGED TO GET A VISUAL CONFLICT, HENCE A DIALOGUE, BETWEEN THE GORGEOUS WELL LIT PICTURE AND THE GRITTY HANDHELD FRAME. “MY GOAL IS TO SHOW HOW, IN THE PINK ZONE, NO ONE IS WHO THEY SEEM TO BE. THE PINK ZONE IS BEING SOLD AS THIS BIG PROTECTIVE DREAM, A FANTASY FOR YOUNG GIRLS. WHEN, IN REALITY, IT’S AN INTERNMENT CAMP”.
ON LOCATION
WHEN LOCATION SCOUT BEGAN FOR PRODUCERS BENJAMIN WALTER AND TODD BARTOO, FINDING THE PERFECT SCHOOL TO MATCH WALTER’S IDEA OF WHAT THE PINK ZONE LOOKED LIKE, WAS A REAL CHALLENGE.
BUT, AS BOTH PRODUCERS BENJAMIN WALTER AND TODD BARTOO ARE UCLA (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES) ALUMNI, IT MADE SENSE TO THEM THAT THEY COULD USE SOME SHOTS OF THE GORGEOUS CAMPUS OF UCLA.
WALTER EXPLAINS THAT “THE WHOLE CAMPUS HAS AN EIGHTIES VIBE TO IT THAT YOU CANNOT FIND ANYWHERE ELSE. EVERYWHERE ON CAMPUS IS ABOUT BRICK WALLS AND BLUE PASTEL CHAIRS AND LIGHT GREY BRICK ROADS. THAT’S ALSO ONE GIANT LABYRINTH WHERE YOU CAN EASILY LOSE YOURSELF.”
ONCE THEY KNEW THEY WOULD SHOOT THERE, GETTING THE AUTHORIZATION AND PERMIT TO DO SO WAS ANOTHER CHALLENGE. BECAUSE IF UCLA HAS OF COURSE A LONG LIST OF BIG PRODUCTIONS AND TV SHOWS SHOT THERE, NO LOW-BUDGET FEATURE FILMS WERE EVER SHOT THERE.
THAT’S BECAUSE THEY LOVED THE SCRIPT SO MUCH THAT THE UCLA OFFICIALS DECIDED TO MAKE PINK ZONE THE VERY FIRST INDEPENDENT FEATURE FILM TO SHOOT ON CAMPUS.
PINK ZONE
ABOUT THE CAST
JAYNA SWEET (EMILY) WAS BORN IN DALLAS, TEXAS, AND GREW UP IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA, WHERE SHE DISCOVERED HER PASSION FOR THE ARTS AT AN EXTREMELY YOUNG AGE.
IN MAY 2010, HER BIG BREAKTHROUGH CAME WHEN SHE WAS CAST AS VICTORIA IN THE DISNEY CHANNEL MOVIE “LEMONADE MOUTH”. IN 2012, SHE MOVED TO L.A. AT JUST SEVENTEEN, AND RELEASED HER FIRST FOLK-INDIE-POP EP, “FIRST LOVE.”
HER GOALS AS AN ARTIST ARE TO PROVOKE THOUGHT, EVOKE EMOTION, AND REVOKE JUDGMENT.
MATT COOPER (DAD) IS ORIGINALLY FROM PENNSYLVANIA BUT HAS LIVED IN CALIFORNIA FOR THE LAST 14 YEARS. MATT HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE ART OF ACTING FOR OVER 10 YEARS.
ON STAGE HE DID THEM ALL : “FROST/NIXON”, “THE ODD COUPLE”, “THE MURDER ROOM”, “DON’T MENTION MY NAME”, “RELATIVE VALUES”, “LYSISTRATA” AND “HABEUS CORPUS”.IT STARTED WITH A PASSION FOR THEATER AND HAS NOW EVOLVED INTO FILM AND TV.
HE CURRENTLY RESIDES IN LOS ANGELES BUT STILL PERFORMS PLAYS IN SANTA BARBARA, WHERE HIS HEART RESIDES, EVERY YEAR.
JULIAN BRAND (BRAD) WAS BORN IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, THE SON OF A POET AND AN ENVIRONMENTALIST. AFTER GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL, JULIAN WAS OFFERED A PRESIDENTIAL ARTS SCHOLARSHIP TO GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, BUT CHOSE INSTEAD TO ATTEND THE NYU TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS WHERE HE COMPLETED THE ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANY STUDIO TRAINING.
WHILE AT TISCH, JULIAN STARRED IN OVER 30 INDEPENDENT FILMS, INCLUDING A SUPPORTING ROLES IN “BAD DADS” WITH MICHAEL CERA AND THE SUNDANCE AWARD WINNING “CODEPENDENT LESBIAN SPACE ALIEN SEEKS SAME” WITH ALEX KARPOVSKY.
IN 2013, HE SHOT “PINK ZONE” ALONG WITH MARTIN SCORSESE’S “THE WOLF OF WALL STREET”.
STELL BAHRAMI (SAM) WAS BORN OF AMERICAN AND IRANIAN PARENTS AND IS A MEMBER OF THE GOLDEN KEY HONOR SOCIETY AND PROFESSIONAL EQUESTRIAN.
IN 2011, SHE OBTAINED A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN ANTHROPOLOGY FROM UCLA (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES) AND IN 2012, SHE WAS CROWNED MISS REDWOOD CITY.
IN 2013, SHE WORKED ON FIVE OTHER PROJECTS ALONG WITH PINK ZONE INCLUDING, ON STAGE, AN EIGHT-WEEK RUN OF “WOMEN ON FIRE” AT THE LITTLE THEATER IN SANTA MONICA, CA.
TIAGO FELIZARDO (VINCE) IS A LATINO TRAPPED INSIDE A RED HEADED BODY. HIS FIRST PERFORMANCE WAS AT BIRTH WHEN HE SURPRISED EVERYONE BY BEING DELIVERED WITH STRIKING RED HAIR IN AN ENTIRELY BRUNETTE FAMILY. HE WANTED TO BE A PROFESSIONAL MOTORCYCLE RACER UNTIL HE ACCIDENTALLY FELL IN LOVE WITH ACTING AT AGE 11.
SINCE THEN, HE HAS CO-STARRED IN MORE THAN 400 PRIMETIME TV EPISODES IN EUROPE, PERFORMED AT LISBON´S COLISEUM FOR OVER 4000 PEOPLE A NIGHT, AND GAVE HIS VOICE TO THE PORTUGUESE VERSION OF ANIMATED MOVIES SUCH AS RATATOUILLE, SPIDER-MAN AND AIR BUDDIES BEFORE HE MOVED TO THE UNITED STATES.
AFTER THREE YEARS IN NEW YORK DEVELOPING HIS TECHNIQUE AT THE PRESTIGIOUS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYHOUSE SCHOOL OF THE THEATRE, HE MOVED TO LOS ANGELES TO CONTINUE HIS CAREER IN TV AND FILM, AND PINK ZONE IS HIS FIRST US FEATURE FILM.
PINK ZONE
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
BENJAMIN WALTER (WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, DP) GREW UP IN THE ROYAL CITY OF VERSAILLES (FRANCE), CRADLE OF THE “ELECTRO FRENCH TOUCH” (AIR, PHOENIX, ALEX GOPHER, MICHEL GONDRY) AND AS FAR BACK AS HE CAN REMEMBER HE’S ALWAYS WANTED TO TELL STORIES.
IN 2011, HE GRADUATED FROM THE HIGHLY SELECTIVE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM OF LA SORBONNE (PARIS), AND THEN DIRECTED SEVERAL DOCUMENTARIES, INCLUDING THE VIRAL “WHO FRAMED THE MOVIE CRITIC ?”.
IN 2012, HE MOVED TO L.A. AND GOT INTO THE DIRECTING PROGRAM AT UCLA, WHERE HE DIRECTED A BUNCH OF STYLIZED GENRE SHORTS.
THERE, HE ALSO BEGAN WRITING HIS THESIS FEATURE FILM, “PINK ZONE”. THE MOVIE WAS SHOT IN THE SUMMER OF 2013 OVER THE COURSE OF 12 DAYS. BENJAMIN HAS WRITTEN, PRODUCED, DIRECTED, SHOT AND EDITED THE MOVIE.
HIS PRODUCTION COMPANY, “THE ONE WHO KNOCKS PRODUCTIONS”, IS AN HOMAGE TO THE TV SHOW “BREAKING BAD” AND AN AFFIRMATION OF HIS HIGH STANDARDS WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING MOVIES.
TODD BARTOO (PRODUCER) IS A 16 YEAR VETERAN OF THE FILM INDUSTRY. HE’S BEEN A SENIOR MANAGER IN PRODUCTION, ACQUISITIONS, DISTRIBUTION, AND FILM FESTIVAL OPERATIONS FOR STARZ, BLOCKBUSTER AND SUNDANCE.
IN ADDITION, HE HAS WRITTEN AND DIRECTED SEVERAL SHORT FILMS AND PLAYS. HE HAS A DEGREE IN FILM STUDIES AND DRAMATIC ARTS FROM UCSB AND HAS ALSO STUDIED SCREENWRITING AND DIRECTING AT UCLA.
“PINK ZONE” IS TODD’S FIRST FEATURE FILM AS A PRODUCER.
BRUCE CHIANESE (COMPOSER) IS RECOGNIZED AS AN EXPERT IN THE INDUSTRY AND HAS RECEIVED NUMEROUS ACCOLADES AND AWARDS, INCLUDING THE PRESTIGIOUS CINE GOLDEN EAGLE FOR HIS SCORE FOR THE MOTION PICTURE, “MY NEIGHBORHOOD” AS WELL AS AN EMMY NOMINATION FOR DISNEY’S “SPACESHIP EARTH” AND AN OSCAR NOMINATION FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SHORT, “THE JANITOR”.
HIS MUSIC FOR “QWERTY” WAS VOTED THE BEST ORIGINAL MOVIE SCORE FOR 2012 AT THE NASHVILLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. ALSO IN 2012 HIS FILM SCORE FOR “YOU CAN’T KILL STEPHEN KING” DEBUTED AT THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL AND WON THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD AT THE AUBURN FILM FESTIVAL. HIS SCORE FOR “POWER OF CHOICE” WON A TELLY AWARD.
OTHER FILM CREDITS INCLUDE SUCH SUCCESSFUL INDEPENDENT FEATURES AS “MOBIUS”, “LONESOME JIM”, “HOT BOYZ”, “DARKWOLF”, “EPIC MOVIE” AND THE DOCUMENTARY, “THE VALLEY OF THE T-REX”.
ON TELEVISION BRUCE’S MUSIC HAS BEEN HEARD ON SUCH HIT SHOWS AS “THE SOPRANOS”, “FRIENDS”, “STREET SHARKS” AND “SABRINA THE ANIMATED SERIES”.
PINK ZONE
PRESS REVIEWS
MOVIEPILOT
“PINK ZONE shocks as much as it makes you think about powerful themes like the loss of identity in today's teenage world. […] This movie is a complete and immersive experience both new and full of references. The way Benjamin Walter […] shot the movie is a total uppercut to the face. It's fresh, bold and highly stylized drama. But it's also very much a character-driven piece. Walter tells the press he relied a lot on improv. Which translates in the movie into a raw and poetic aesthetic. In that way, the photography acts like an opponent to the main story. Walter plays with the beautiful, well-lit setup of an old Hollywood classic and brings violence and chaos into that with his unpredictable characters. Emily (incredibly strong, Jayna Sweet is a revelation) first appears as a brat but gets more likable as she gets closer to the mean girls of the PINK ZONE. Matt Cooper, who plays Dad, and Julian Brand, who plays Brad, created with their director some of the best "bad guys we love to hate" in a while.”
EXAMINER
“Brilliant concept […] One sees Walter’s influences in each frame: shades of Lynch’s Blue Velvet, meets PD James’ Children of Men, meets Roger Corman’s Teenage Doll.”
FANBOY COMICS
“Pink Zone takes the popular “Young Adults in a Dystopian Future” genre and does it on a shoestring budget. It’s a good reminder of how a filmmaker can turn a little into a lot, with just a bit of creativity.
[…] There are a number of underlying themes that the film addresses, from the oppression of women to female empowerment to sexuality as a weapon, and more. Some of them are done better than others, and certainly not everyone will agree with the implications these themes bring with them, but they can still potentially generate some important discussion.”
UNSEEN FILMS
“This is a deeply disturbing film purely from the violence. The abuse of the characters and especially the women is troubling and the sort of thing that will send some audience members out of the theater. The handling of the various acts has a visceral quality that is edgier than many films with more money.”
PINK ZONE
CREDITS
Written & Directed by
Benjamin Walter
Produced by
Benjamin Walter
Pauline Mornet
Todd Bartoo
Starring
Jayna Sweet
as Emily
Matt Cooper
as Dad
Julian Brand
as Brad
Stell Bahrami
as Stell
and
Meaghann Cobb
as Mom
Music by
Bruce Chianese
Associate Producers
Anthony Dunbar
Alain Mornet
First Assistant Director
Summer Ann McCoy
CAST
Emily : Jayna Sweet
Dad : Matt Cooper
Brad : Julian Brand
Sam : Stell Bahrami
Nick : David Jurbala Jr
Vince : Tiago Felizardo
Mom : Meaghann Cobb
Nicole : Violet Leona Paley
Joan : Tara Leahy
Megan : Courtney Welbon
Janet : Cynthia Pinot
Erik : Duncan Barrett Brown
Victor : Joseph Ahern
The Girl : Audrey Ellis Fox
The Boy : Joe Salling
Jack : Callen Wheeler
Cobb : Brandon Burrows
Smith : Charles Frank
Young Emily : Ava Ames
Young Nick : Brett Neel
Cinematography, Editing & Color Grading : Benjamin Walter
Line Producer : Todd Bartoo
Production Sound Mixers : Michael Holcomb & Michael Eagle-Hall
Sound Mix & Sound Design : Bruce Chianese
Costume Supervisor : Pauline Mornet
Make-Up Artist : Alexandra Yung
Production Assistants : Francisco Portillo & Alex Romero
Script Supervisor : Whitney Manis
Still Photographer : Leo Volk Matus
“Last Escape”
Composed & Performed by Adrien Drich Sahuc
“The Sleeping Beauty Op 66 : Waltz”
Composed by Pyotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky
Arranged by Craig Austin (SOCAN)
“House Of The Rising Sun”
Traditional
Arranged by Bruce Chianese
“I Want To Be Loved”
Performed by Audrey Ellis Fox