CREDITS
Starring:
David H. Stevens
Andrea Lockhart
Darren Dalton
Matagisila Agavale
Todd Bridges
Nate Stevens
Adrienne Hartvigsen

Director: Iosua Tai Taeoalii
Producers: Iosua Tai Taeoalii, Jeremy Nielsen, Colby Bryson
Executive Producers: Deborah Mozer, Rick Wray, Carl Swanberg, Darren Dalton
Writers: Iosua Tai Taeoalii and Jeremy Nielsen
Editor: Iosua Tai Taeoalii
Composer: Matt Mateus
Sound Design: Mike McDonough
Director of Photography: Jeremy Nielsen
Special Make Up Effects: John Cluff
Music: Sigor Ros, Violent Femmes

TECHNICAL ASPECTS
Video: NTSC
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rated: NR
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Format: HD

PRODUCTION COMPANIES
Weird Chief Pictures
Black Sheep Productions
Spyhop Productions
Darkroom Productions

WEBSITE
www.themoviedarkroom.com

PLOT SUMMARY
Inspired by a true story, Darkroom is an insightful tale of David Mills, a man who develops crime scene photographs for the Salt Lake City Police Department with a false premonition of what impression the images will leave on his psyche. In this tale, David experiences a dangerous disconnect from consciousness, which causes an unhealthy division between himself and his wife, Coy, who is suffering her own psychological battle related to pregnancy complications. The family divide weighs heavily on their morale and while Coy agonizes over her strenuous predicament, David embraces a complex inner monologue flitting from his subdued generic life with Coy to the stimulating relationships that he envisions having with the victims in the photographs.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Darkroom was inspired by a true story. A good friend of mine used to develop film for the Salt Lake City Police Department and he talked freely of the effect the grueling images had on him, which I believe led him to his alcoholic ways.

The subplot of the film was also inspired by true life events. A very close friend of mine and his wife had been trying to get pregnant for the last 3 years and the toll that it has taken on them was very intriguing to me and for the longest time I wanted to tell that story, so I applied many of their struggles into Darkroom.

My filmmaking style has always been to take many real life challenges and implement those struggles into the lives of authentic characters. I truly believe it to be a healing and learning procedure to living a more fulfilled and joyful life.

When I realized I had an overwhelming attraction to filmmaking I was somewhat limited to resources, being that Utah wasn't really the perfect setting for my dreams. However, I maintained on my journey and was able to meet many people who helped me along my way. So in turn I've always wanted to help others with a passion to make movies, which is why I decided to join forces with Spy Hop Productions, a non-profit youth media arts and educational center with a mission to cultivate the visions and voices of an emerging generation. We hired many students and apprentices from their program and they turned out to be a major asset to the production.

CAST
DAVID STEVENS - David Mills
David Stevens can be seen in films such as Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch Drunk Love, The Crow: Salvation and The Ballad of Lucy Whipple. He plays David Mills, the lead character in Darkroom who develops crime scene photographs for the Salt Lake police department.

DARREN DALTON – Baron Bradley
Darren Dalton has an extensive acting career over 23 years, with roles in such classic films as Red Dawn, The Outsiders and Joy of Sex. Darren plays the supporting role of Baron Bradley, the detective who delivers the photographs to David for developing.

MATAGISILA AGAVALE – Manu Siva
Matagisila Agavale is an up-and-coming Samoan actor with starring roles in The Adventures of Food Boy, Passage to Zarahemia and Alligator Alley. Sila plays the supporting role of Manu Siva, a closeted gay opinion columnist and best friend to David.

TODD BRIDGES - Charles
Todd Bridges of the TV series’ Roots and Diff’rent Strokes has been working in TV and film for the past twenty-five years, and has victoriously survived the rapidly changing business. His recent film credits include 1210 Camille Street and The Replacements. He also directed the feature films Full Circle and Flossin. Todd also has a recurring role on Chris Rock’s CBS series Everybody Hates Chris as Monk. Todd plays two roles in Darkroom as a fabricated subconscious character in David’s mind and the real life bartender who is the only stable and constant being in David’s life.

PRODUCTION TEAM
PRODUCER / WRITER / DIRECTOR / EDITOR - IOSUA TAI TAEOALII
By the age of 20, American/Samoan filmmaker Iosua Tai Taeoalii had produced two full length video features and dozens of shorts. At the age of 21, Taeoalii wrote, produced and directed his debut feature film, Twice Today, which was an official selection at the 2002 AngelCiti Film Festival and won the “Best Amateur Feature Film” award at the 2002 Real to Reel film festival. In 2006 Taeoalii wrote, produced and directed the short film Waiting, which was invited to the 2007 Slamdance, Real to Reel and Arizona International Film Festivals. In 2002 Taeoalii produced and directed 52 episodes of the Ultimate Combat Experience and 11 episodes of 3.2 Percent, both critically acclaimed weekly television series on UPN.

WRITER / DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY / PRODUCER - JEREMY NIELSEN
Jeremy Nielsen has produced and photographed many films, including: Twice Today, Waiting, Gelatin Smile, Out of Mind, Forget About It, Race to Outrun, Death in the Family, and Moab Monster. These films have gone on to appear in film festivals across the globe, including: Slamdance, Real to Real, Angel-Citi, Seoul Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, Westport Film Festival, Park City Film Festival, The Hamptons International Film Festival, and many more. Jeremy is also the Film and Video Director at Spyhop Productions.

PRODUCTION COMPANIES
SPYHOP PRODUCTIONS
Spyhop Productions is a not-for-profit youth media and educational enrichment center with a vision to empower youth through multimedia arts education and to meet the demands of the community for after-school programming that helps prepare young people for the digital future.

In 2002 Spyhop productions filmed and produced the Dalai Lama's historic visit to Salt Lake City, hosted a youth multimedia exhibition during the Winter Olympics and also established the LocoMotion International Youth Film Festival, which they produce and host with over 2,500 young people and adults participating in the festival screenings and workshops each year.

In 2003 Spyhop received Salt Lake City Mayor's Service to the Arts Award and also launched the Youth Documentary Arts Program, which allows youth to become civically and critically involved, expressing their views through creative film, video, and radio production.

Since 1999 Spyhop has been invited to participate in the Reel Stories Documentary Arts Program at the Sundance Film Festival and currently produces Utah's only weekly youth radio program Loud and Clear on KRCL 90.9FM, community radio.

Spyhop has Official Selections and Award-winning youth-produced films in numerous local, national, and international film festivals, including: The Hamptons, Mill Valley, Los Angeles, Peace and Human Security, Museum of Television and Radio's Docu-Jam, Westport, Slamdance, International Student, Denver Pan-African, Fear No Film, Cine Las Americas, Seoul, OFFensiva, Fledgling, Atlanta, Future Filmmakers, Reel Teens USA, Utah Multimedia Arts, and a special screening at the United Nations Assembly.

WEIRD CHIEF PICTURES
Weird Chief Pictures was founded in 1995 in Salt Lake City, Utah and produces a wide array of media products ranging from feature films, short films and videos, documentaries, television programs, and commercials.

The first two video features, Luck & Rat Poisoning and Hustlin' a Hustler received critical acclaim, including comparisons to Kevin Smith and American Graffiti. The third feature film production, Twice Today, premiered at the Angel-Citi Film Festival in Hollywood, California and was also invited to the Real to Reel Film Festival in Shelby, North Carolina, where it won the award for “Best Amateur Feature Film”. In 2002 WCP produced 52 episodes of The Ultimate Combat Experience, a UPN Z24 weekly television series featuring tournaments of no holds barred fighting. WCP also produced a number of commercials for UFC champion Randy Couture's Mixed Martial Arts event, Sportfight.

In 2003, WCP in association with Spyhop Productions produced several Truth about Tobacco ads and a weekly television series, 3.2 Percent on UPN Z24 Television, which displayed the nightlife, music, culture and lifestyle in Utah.

WCP’s short film, Waiting, was invited to the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival, the 2006 Arizona International Film Festival, and the 2006 Real to Reel Film Festival.

REVIEWS
“I wanted to personally write to you and let you know how much your film impressed me. You crafted an original story with nuanced performances and terrific cinematography. I will happily recommend your film to other festivals and I'm sure it will play great wherever you end up screening it.”
Trevor Groth
Senior Programmer - Sundance Film Festival

“Taeoalii has a strong command of the cinematic art form…And technically, Taeoalii is a true artist. His composition and editing abilities are at times breathtaking. Many of his scenes are as competent (and some more so) as anything out of Hollywood…I am sold on the film and in Taeoalii's ability to craft an intriguing tale.”
Troy Williams
The Event Weekly

“I thoroughly enjoyed watching the film…I went in with an open mind and no preconception as to what it was about or what to expect and I walked away thinking, "WOW!" I really liked the use of asynchronous sound and the music was great. The performances of both David and his wife in the film were top notch. There were enough little touches of creativity in the shooting angles and use of focus to keep me interested throughout.”
Derek Mellus
Utah Film Commission

“A very well-done film..with a wonderful resolution! I think it certainly has some play in the market.”
Michael Wilson
Manager of Acquisitions – MarVista Entertainment


FESTIVALS (as of April 2008)
· Big Muddy Film Festival – February 2008 (Carbondale, IL)
· Bare Bones International Film & Music Festival – April 2008 (Muskogee, OK)
· Okanagan Film Festival – April 2008 (Kelowna, BC)
· Big Island Film Festival – May 2008 (Waikoloa, HI)