General Information
Completed On: 15 Mar, 2018
Duration: 14 min 46 sec
Genres: Fiction, Short
Language: English
Country: United States
Submitted By: Russell Emanuel
Festival Rating 8.0
A coming of age story about Kaylee (Tarah Paige), an apprentice assassin, and her relationship with Pete (Robert Picardo), her trainer, and Miranda (Marina Sirtis), their handler. Kaylee, like a rebellious teenager, simultaneously wants approval and independence from Pete and Miranda. When assigned her first solo hit, Kaylee immediately disobeys orders and goes off course, chasing a Freerunner drone, often with hilarious results. In the end, Kaylee accomplishes her mission, but realizes that she is not yet ready to go it alone.
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DirectorsRuss EmanuelGirl With Gun, P.J., Chasing the Green, The Legends of Nethiah, Restoration of Paradise, Occupants, The Assassin's Apprentice, Collar
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ProducersHoward NashTiger, P.J., Chasing the Green, The Legends of Nethiah, Restoration of Paradise, Tracks
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ProducersRyan T. HuskRenegades, 5th Passenger, Blade of Honor
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WritersPaul HickmanThe Last Scout, The Rift, Stalking LeVar, Occupants, Got Movie?, After the Jack, 1 of 13, Behind You
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Film TypeFiction, Short
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GenresAction, Sci-Fi
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Runtime14 minutes 46 seconds
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Completion Date15 Mar, 2018
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Production Budget50000 USD
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Country of OriginUnited States
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Country of FilmingUnited States
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Film LanguageEnglish
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Shooting FormatDigital 4K
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Aspect Ratio2:35 to 1
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Film ColorColor
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Student ProjectNo
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First-time FilmmakerNo
Roswell Film Festival
United States
Roswell, New Mexico
04/22/2020
New Mexico Premiere
Madrid Film Awards
Spain
Madrid
01/11/2020
European Premiere
Steam House Entertainment Independent Film Awards
United States
Modesto, California
12/08/2019
Modesto Premiere
'Best Actress (Tarah Paige)' Nomination
Lonely Seal International Film, Screenplay and Music Festival
United States
Arlington, Massachusetts
10/11/2019
Massachusetts Premiere
Brazil International Film Festival
United States
Teresópolis, Rio de Janeiro
08/24/2019
Souther American Premiere
'Special Jury Award' Winner
Northeast Mountain Film Festival
United States
Dillard, Georgia
06/15/2019
Georgia Premiere
Calcasieu Parish Short Film Festival
United States
Lake Charles, Louisiana
05/18/2019
Louisiana Premiere
Idyllwild International Festival Of Cinema
United States
Idyllwild, California
03/07/2019
Idyllwild Premiere
'Marshall Hawkins Best Original Score Short’ Winner, ‘Best Ensemble Cast Short Film, Best Screenplay Short Film, Best Short Film, Best Supporting Actress Short Film (Marina Sirtis), Juan Ruiz Anchia Award Best Cinematography Short Film, Best Director Shor
Chandler International Film Festival
United States
Chandler, Arizona
01/18/2019
Arizona Premiere
'Best Action/Adventure Film' Winner
Grand Rapids Comic-Con Film Festival
United States
Grand Rapids, Michigan
11/09/2018
Michigan Premiere
Rendezvous Film Festival
United States
Amelia Island, Florida
09/22/2018
Florida Premiere
Gen Con Film Festival
United States
Indianapolis, Indiana
08/03/2018
Indiana Premiere
Super Geek Film Festival (Florida Supercon)
United States
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
07/14/2018
North American Premiere
Independent Filmmakers Showcase IFS Film Festival, US
United States
Los Angeles, California
05/10/2018
World Premiere
'Best Short Thriller' Winner, 'Audience Choice: Short Film' Nomination
Director's Biography
Russell "Russ" Emanuel is an award-winning American director, producer, and independent filmmaker, having directed such actors as John Heard (actor), Robert Picardo, Vincent Pastore, Glynnis O'Connor, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Jeremy London, Ryan Hurst, William Devane, Marina Sirtis, Sean Kenney, Armin Shimerman, and Gary Graham. Originally from San Francisco, he grew up in both Japan and the United States, garnering an international viewpoint of the world throughout his childhood. After graduating from the University of Southern California to study Cinema-Television, he founded Russem Productions in 2002 in order to promote his short films including GIRL WITH GUN (2005) and documentary RESTORATION OF PARADISE (2014), as well as current films COLLAR (2017), THE ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE (2018), and THE ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE II (2021). Presently, WISPER (2020) marks Emanuel's fifth foray into feature filmmaking, after having directed P.J. (2007), CHASING THE GREEN (2009), THE LEGENDS OF NETHIAH (2012), and OCCUPANTS (2015).
Director's Statement
It’s always a pleasure to get back into the action genre, which I haven’t done since “Girl with Gun” over ten years ago. And to work once more with my producer Howard Nash along with writer Paul Hickman and a great cast spearheaded by Tarah Paige, Marina Sirtis, and Robert Picardo (this is my sixth film with Robert).
Like any film, this one was fraught with challenges, but the reward was phenomenal. I got to work with a great crew including my Director of Photography Ray Karwel, Editor Emile Haris, Composer Vasilis Milesis, Production Designer Lauren Ivy, Key Costumer Nina Minnelli, Key Makeup Artist Alisha L. Baijounas, Still Photographers Janeen Berryman and Jack Roth, Drone Operator Steve Overstreet, and Stunt Supervisor Steven Stone, among many others.
The sound design work by Sean Fahimian, who has worked on my films since 2005, is just phenomenal. Employing 5.1 surround sound, and with Foley done by Emmy-winning Juniper Post, we definitely want to know where the prop drone is that Kaylee is following throughout the film. And we worked with a Canary Islands based production group for the Silbo Gomero language employed by the drone – it’s an actual language which is spoken using “whistles”.
That being said, some cast and crew I have worked with before, others are new. But we are all part of a family and I for one thoroughly enjoyed being part of this group. I hope you enjoy this film as much as I had making it!
-- Russ Emanuel