from February 03, 2009

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Filmmaker/entrepreneur Boris Wexler

After producing five short films, Boris Wexler of Escape Films’ latest entry is “Pillow Talks,” a comedic 13-week webisode series seen on www.pillow-talks.tv.

Wexler produced and directed the 3-minute episodes, each of which revolves around the intimate bedroom adventures of an offbeat group of characters and their most private conversations in bed.

The actors ensemble is comprised of Marty Shannon, Kate Henley, Whit Spurgeon, Howie Johnson, Usman Ally, Ray Shoemaker, Susan Adler, Charlie Harris, Mary-Ann dela Cruz and Carlo Garcia.

“Chicago has a tremendous pool of talent - especially character actors, so finding the cast and working with them was one of the highlights of this project,” commented Paris-born Wexler, who juggles his love of filmmaking with entrepreneurial ventures.

A professional crew shot the first series last October and episodes are released weekly on Thursdays.

As part of the content to support the show, the audience is encouraged to post commentary on the forum and to rate the episodes.

“Pillow Talks”

“Pillow Talks” was written by Wexler, screenwriter Elaine Tuman and screenwriter and Columbia College screenplay instructor Paul Peditto, at whose home an informal group of writers, including Wexler and Tuman, has been meeting for several years.

Wexler’s latest short, “The Group,” about a dysfunctional writers’ group, which he also co-wrote and co-produced with Peditto, will be featured at the Lake County Film Festival in March.

Wexler’s short films have played in more than 20 festivals, in the U.S. and Europe; last year his “The Arab” screened in five festivals, included two in Europe.

He has two features in development: “Roundabout American,” a comedy about a young French man who comes to America and ends up living a twisted version of the American dream, and “Off the Face of the Earth,” a musical drama about the bisexual lead singer of a small country/folk band in the suburbs of Nashville.

Born and raised in Paris, Wexler moved to the U.S. at 18 to study. After graduating from Washington University he lived briefly in Chicago before returning to Paris, where he founded an IT services company. In 2002, he returned to Chicago.

“My experiences coming here and discovering the American culture partially inspired the script for ‘Roundabout American,’” he said.

“When I’m not making short films, I trade on the stock market for a living,” he said. “I also developed a couple other entrepreneurial ventures, including an Asian import store specializing in Indonesian art.”

See www.pillow-talks.tv. Email b.wexler@usa.net. —Ruth L Ratny

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