Minds Eye Entertainment has financed and green lit a six-picture production slate of sci-fi, action and thriller films with Bridgegate Pictures and VMI Worldwide. The independent Canadian production and distribution company, Minds Eye Entertainment, will distribute the films in North America. The Los Angeles-based VMI Worldwide, which is an international sales, film finance and production company, will release the titles internationally.
The six movies will also be shot for the new Barco Escape three-screen, panoramic theatrical format, which fully surrounds audiences and offers the ultimate immersive cinema experience. Portions of the films will also be shot in Virtual Reality.
Kevin Dewalt, the CEO of Minds Eye Entertainment, made the production announcement at the 69th Cannes International Film Festival. “Minds Eye Entertainment’s strength has always been to deliver exceptional production value with a talented cast at managed costs,” said Dewalt. “It’s a natural progression for us to now finance and produce multiple pictures concurrently to manage budgets wisely without sacrificing first class crews and talented art departments across six films. I am delighted to partner with VMI led by Andre Relis and Bridgegate Pictures’ Guy Griffithe on this new venture.”
The first production under the deal is the sci-fi thriller ‘The Recall,’ which was written by Reggie Keyohara III and Sam Acton King. The movie follows five friends who head to a vacation at a remote lake house, where they expect nothing less than a good time. However, they’re unaware that planet Earth is under an alien invasion and mass-abduction.
The six-picture slate will be produced by Dewalt and Danielle Masters. The titles will also be executive produced by Guy Griffithe, Andre Relis and Frank White.
“We are honored to start this collaboration with such a prolific, accomplished producer as Kevin Dewalt,” said Relis, who serves as the president of VMI Worldwide. “We believe this partnership with Kevin, who has a proven track record working with respectable talent in a variety of commercial and independent films, will only strengthen VMI’s continued growth, while delivering attractive, talent-driven projects to the international marketplace. We are confident this partnership with Minds Eye Entertainment will bring great success to both companies.”
“We look forward to this exciting partnership,” said Griffithe, who is the CEO of Bridgegate Pictures. “The alliances we have formed will allow us to be at the forefront of some of the newest and greatest technology to give consumers a unique and captivating film experience.”
“We are excited to have Minds Eye Entertainment on board for this new slate of movies that will be created and distributed in Barco Escape,” says Barco Escape Chief Creative Officer Ted Schilowitz. “These films join our fast-growing slate of movies that will release in the new format, as filmmakers continue to explore the creative boundaries of the cinema experience through Barco Escape. We’re looking forward to bringing our exhibitor partners the kind of sci-fi, action adventure and suspense movies through Minds Eye that we believe are a perfect fit for Escape and will appeal to audiences worldwide.”
Written by: Karen Benardello