Director Wexler develops thriller as his third feature

Filmmaker Boris Wexler

BORIS WEXLER (Roundabout American) of Escape Films is developing the thriller feature Chat, about a severely light-averse father searching the world of online adult chat for his missing daughter.

Wexler is producing with screenwriter Paul Peditto (Jane Doe). Fred Miller is DP.  They plan a 20-day shoot this spring.

Chat is a unique look inside a fragmented mind … the mind of Falcon,” Wexler says. “Falcon is photophobic, unable to handle light as you or I would, making his universe an alien landscape. When his daughter goes missing in the world of online adult chat, he enlists the help of a cam model, Annie, and starts a quest that will lead him to break through his isolation.

“As they try to pull his daughter back from the brink, events lead to a strange twist that will change their world for keeps.”

Chat is writer/director Wexler’s third feature.

JULIAN GRANT (F*ckload of Scotch Tape) is in production on Sweet Leaf, about “four dope smoking criminals who plan to rob a car wash and pay off a debt to a dealer,” Grant says.

“Things go from bad to perverse as the sh*t hits the fan and heads start to pop. Bloody, stupid and disgusting. All the things that make up indie film at its finest.”

Grant is producing with Carla Englof, Dan Defore, and Kathleen Lawlor. They’re shooting through Dec. 2.

Belle GunnessSTEPHEN RUMINSKI is directing the short Belle Gunness, inspired by the 19th Century serial killer, who lured a series of fellow Scandinavian immigrant suitors to their deaths at her farmhouse in LaPorte, Indiana.

Matt Christy wrote the script. Bruce Johnson is associate producer. “We tell the story of Belle struggling to decide the fate of her foster daughter Jennie Olsen,” Ruminski says.

“Jennie, at the age of 16, could become a liability if Belle continues with her crimes. Complicating things is Belle’s farmhand Emil Greening, who is deeply in love with Jennie. Belle must decide between trusting Jennie, or dispatching of her.”

JOHN OTTERBACHER (Riff Raff) of Orange Chair Productions holds a Nov. 9 fundraiser and awareness event for Officially Limited, his in-progress documentary “about limited edition screen printed movie poster, pop art resurgence, and a copyright discussion about art appropriation and licensing.

Award-winning producer Otterbacher is a full-time faculty member at Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy. 

At Galerie F, 2381 N. Milwaukee Ave., 8-11 p.m., free admission, appetizers and drinks.

PHIL FORSYTH of Snarling Beast Films is developing the Christmas thriller House of Stevens, about a man spending his first holiday with his girlfriend’s family, only to find the weekend spin into madness. 

Forsyth screens his debut feature In the Woods along with shorts Delirium and Bad Dog, Nov. 16 at 8:30 p.m. at Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark St.

With Emily Larson, Forsyth, Jonathen Wikholm, Torsten Wildermuth, James Whelan, Carly Seguin, and Stacy Barrett. Joanna Wilkinson produced.

FAWZIA MIRZAS Chicago International Film Festival selection Queen of My Dreams, about gender in Bollywood films, screens with Onir’s “I Am,” called the “first mainstream Indian movie discussing LGBT topics respectfully,” Nov. 3 at Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark St.