CREW
Andrew Herwitz
Director / Producer / Co-Writer
Andrew Herwitz is a filmmaker currently based between California and Latin America. His first feature film, Sugar Town, is being released in 2019.
Sylvia Bush
Producer / Co-Writer
Sylvia Bush is an actress and filmmaker. She resides in Chicago with her partner and her plants and is currently in development on a coming of age feature.
Britt Fay Rivera
Producer
Britt Fay Rivera is a producer and gamer. She’s currently writing her first TV pilot, based on the mainstream gaming scene.
Derek James Robinson
Director of Photography
Derek James Robinson is an AFI Cinematography Alum who’s been working in the industry for the past seven years as a DP and gaffer on features, shorts, music videos and commercials. His work has taken him from LA to India and played at festivals around the world.
CAST
Lorell Bird
Lori was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She received acting and music training at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. You can see her in Academy Award winner Sebastian Lelio’s upcoming film, Gloria, as wall as Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt.
Christopher Bussey
Christopher Bussey is an actor, writer, director and producer from Reno, Nevada. He is an alumnus of The Actors Center of San Francisco, Shelton Studios San Francisco and the Beverly Hills Playhouse in Los Angeles.
Daniel Van Thomas
Daniel is a Kentuckian who makes his living in Los Angeles as a freelance writer, actor and, most recently, a partner at Unmanned Media. Upcoming projects include Murder Ballad, Pop, and further entries in the Ultraman series from Tsuburaya Productions.
Christopher Fuentes
Christopher is a British actor based in Los Angeles. He’s trained in Meisner at Esper Studio, improv at UCB, and the Yale Stanislavsky approach with Andrew Wood.
ABOUT
Set in the late 19th century in the vast openness of the Wyoming territory, Katie Cruel unravels the mystery of what may have inspired French architect and sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi to declare “America is an adorable woman chewing tobacco.,” as he concluded his travels across the United States. While on his journey, Bartholdi seeks shelter in a small homestead whose inhabitants keep to themselves, as they try to make do on their own far from what little civilization may be around. Brothers Henry and Jim keep a close watch on wife Katie, but when Bartholdi witnesses the cruel treatment she is subjected to, he unknowingly provides the one thing Katie needs to liberate herself from stranglehold of her family – a way out.
Katie Cruel was written by Andrew Herwitz and Sylvia Bush, based on an original story by Herwitz, it was produced by Britt Fay Rivera and directed by Herwitz. Shot on location at a ranch in the Santa Clarita Valley, the film blends the tension of a taught thriller with that of a classic western where rugged individualism triumphs. The film was developed and produced during season four of the SmashCut Film Lab and was first screened at the private, invite-only SmashCut CineFest 2017 in Los Angeles to a standing room only audience.
The film is currently awaiting schedule announcements from various film festivals across North America. Please check back to find out where the film may be playing near you.
