Dread’s “Dissecting Horror” Virtual Panel Series Continues December 9th with the Creatives of PARALLEL
The next installment of the “Dissecting Horror” digital panel series will take place Wednesday, December 9th at 6 pm PST and be with the creative talent from Vertical Entertainment’s upcoming film Parallel. Panelists include director Isaac Ezban, composer Edy Lan, cinematographer Karim Hussain and the film’s star Georgia King. I’ll be moderating.
Parallel will be released in select theaters and On Demand beginning December 11th, 2020. The film stars Martin Wallström (Mr. Robot), Aml Ameen (I May Destroy You), Kathleen Quinlan (Apollo 13), Georgia King (Devs), and Mark O’Brien (Ready or Not).
Synopsis:
A group of friends stumble upon a mirror that serves as a portal to a “multiverse”, but soon discover that importing knowledge from the other side in order to better their lives brings increasingly dangerous consequences.
“Dissecting Horror” will be streamed on Dread Central’s Facebook Page and Twitch Channel. The panel will also be made available on our official YouTube channel.
Dread Central and Jordan von Netzer of Projection PR launched “Dissecting Horror” on April 15th with a panel focused on horror film scores. Since then, they have produced panels spotlighting stunt coordinators, visual/special effects, and the creatives behind Followed, Cruiser, 12 Hour Shift, and Don’t Look Back.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
Isaac Ezban (Director)
Isaac Ezban is a filmmaker from Mexico, co-founder of the production company Red Elephant Films and Autocinema Coyote (the only drive-in theater in Mexico).
He wrote 4 short novels before becoming a full-time filmmaker, starting with nine short films awarded in important international festivals. His first feature film The Incident (2014), a psychological sci-fi thriller about characters trapped in an infinite staircase and an infinite road, premiered at Cannes Film Festival and then played at Fantastic Fest & Sitges, and in over 45 festivals over the world, wining 16 awards and with positive reviews of important press and filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro. The Incident was picked by Cine Canibal in Mexico, released in theaters on 2015 with surprising results. Shoreline Entertainment acquired the international rights.
His second feature film The Similars (2015), described by him as his love letter to the sci-fi of the 60s, also premiered at Fantastic Fest & Sitges, making Isaac the first director in the history of Mexico to have 2 films in 2 years in a row in Official Selection at the two most important genre festivals in the globe. It won in Sitges Best Latin American Film and in Morbido the Press Award. After playing in many international festivals and again with great reviews, the film was acquired by XLrator Media for North America and Stray Dogs for Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In Mexico, it was released in 2016 by Morbido Films.
Both Isaac’s first films The Incident and The Similars are now available on Netflix Worldwide. In 2016, Isaac was hired by Bron Studios to direct his third movie (and first English spoken film) Parallel, for which he traveled to Vancouver. This sci-fi thriller/drama about a group of friends that stumble upon a portal to a “multiverse”, starting Martin Wallström, Aml Ameen, Georgia King, Mark O ́Brien and Kathleen Quinlan, will be released this year. Represented by CAA and Good Fear Management, Isaac is currently working on more screenplays of his own, and has also just been hired by Sony Pictures to direct the awaited adaptation of Dan Simmons ́s horror classic novel Summer Of Night next year.
Edy Lan (Composer)
Born and raised in Mexico City, Edy (Eddie) Lan is a composer, arranger, and singer based in the U.S.
He has worked with international artists in Grammy nominated and Platinum albums, scored a number of films, composed music for advertising and received awards for his classical compositions. Eclectic and versatile, a talented orchestrator and “colorist” as well as a true cinephile, Edy’s understanding of different genres and an absolute commitment with the projects he takes upon, make him a unique and powerful asset to any production. Edy knows that each project requires a particular and individual approach, be it in a movie, an ad campaign or a song he’s arranging the emphasis is always on what he considers to be at the core of art and the human experience: storytelling and emotion.
“I remember very vividly what I felt the first time I listened to Stravinsky’s Petrushka, the incredible excitement! Just as I remember coming back from school as a 6-year-old and listening to Tchaikovsky or Dvorak (and later on Ravel and Stravinsky), immediately followed by the entire Dangerous album by Michael Jackson, or The Blue Album by The Beatles or A Night at the Opera by Queen and ending with Aladdin’s soundtrack or the music from Jurassic Park. All I knew is how touched I felt by all of those and how each of them made me experience a huge range of emotions. I became mesmerized by the power of music and art as I also became an avid cinephile thanks to one of my brothers, and so I was exposed to the emotional sorceries of Thomas Newman and John Williams. I became a devoted viewer of reruns of The Twilight Zone and many Sci-Fi shows from the 50’s and 60’s. Bernard Hermann’s music created an imprint that would be impossible to erase. It was then that I started feeling that I wanted to be able to create similar effects on others as I was affected by those things so deeply. I became the weird kid who listened to classical music but was also obsessed with Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury and Jeff Buckley. It was then I became a singer as I became sure that the voice was the most personal instrument I could ‘play.’
“But it was the day my grandmother took me to a live rendition of West Side Story when I finally accepted to myself that there was no path for me other than being a professional composer…. and so that’s what I did. My sole purpose has been to create those effects I was so blessed to have experienced myself, to become a storyteller. I take great pride in adding value or beauty to any existing material I can arrange or to be able to tell a story through music and enhance the viewing experience. I orchestrate every single note myself as I believe part of the personality of a composer lies in his or her orchestration and I hold that process sacred. My sensibilities for classic film scoring and interest in finding new colors will be a part of me probably forever, and I truly hope to successfully produce in others the excitement, emotions and effects other composers and storytellers have gifted me with, as I truly believe that is what makes us human.” – Edy Lan
Karim Hussain (Cinematographer)
Karim Hussain CSC was born in Ottawa, Canada in 1974. A cinematographer who loves to work in all genres, he is particularly passionate and knowledgeable about the horror, sci-fi and action genres.
He is the cinematographer of such films as Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral (Cannes Film Festival Official Selection – Un Certain Regard), Jason Eisener’s Hobo With A Shotgun (Sundance Film Festival), Ted Geoghegan’s We Are Still Here (SXSW Film Festival), Steven Shainberg’s Rupture (Fantasia Film Festival), Deepa Mehta’s Beeba Boys (TIFF Gala), Paul Gross’ Hyena Road (TIFF Gala), Isaac Ezban’s Parallel (BIFF – Brussels), Blumhouse / Universal’s Seven In Heaven, directed by Chris Eigeman. Brandon Cronenberg‘s short film Please Speak Continuously… that he shot premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Semaine De La Critique section, and he has recently completed the cinematography of Brandon Cronenberg‘s feature Possessor and Jay Baruchel‘s Random Acts Of Violence, both in Post-Production.
For Television, he has done such shows as Hannibal, Canal Plus France’s mini-series Madame Hollywood amongst others.
Georgia King (Leena)
Georgia King is an actor/writer/director whose television credits include a lead role in the critically acclaimed HBO series Vice Principals opposite Danny McBride and Walton Goggins, a lead role in Ryan Murphy’s NBC comedy The New Normal opposite Andrew Rannells, and most recently a role in Alex Garland’s FX show Devs and the Quibi series, Royalties. On the feature side, King has starred in Kill Your Friends opposite Nicholas Hoult and James Corden, Tanner Hall opposite Rooney Mara and Brie Larson, Lone Scherfig’s One Day, and Jerusha Hess’s Austenland.
As a writer/director, King’s work includes the acclaimed festival shorts I Think, Therefore, starring Oona Chaplin and Harry Melling, as well as Your Hands, in which she stars alongside Nicholas Braun, Lamorne Morris, and Michael Hitchcock. King also directed a music video for British DJ The Last Skeptik, which features Charity Wakefield, and just developed her pilot Oblivious with Broadway Video, which ABC bought in 2019.
Are you excited to check out Parallel? Will you be joining our “Dissecting Horror” panel on December 9th? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.
Categorized:News
