“Halos” By Cool Company

Cool Company narrates the story of a romantic couple's wedding day being struck with an apocalypse, told in a collection of intricate zoom shots in surreal sets, trapped on a VHS tape. Inspired by fashion, 70's & 80's horror films, Peter Greenaway, and French Cinèma du look. It's a deconstructed melodrama about love and memories persisting even when everything goes catastrophically wrong and time turns us callous.

The short film IN MEDIAS RUSH is an experimental cinematic journey into the depths of a manic mind. A poetic retro-sci-fi narrative unfolded in a string of unsettling tableaus that encapsulates the male protagonist’s ambiguous feelings about his birthday. While balancing between realities in his silent struggle with severe mental illness, we plunge into the film at a neatly orchestrated birthday party. The protagonist is accompanied by his girlfriend, and they are drinking cocoa on the couch in their mutual home. The setting breathes pure perfection, but through the voice over we sense that another reality is soon to be revealed. With one foot on the accelerator, he is heading towards the edge. The thematic focal point of IN MEDIAS RUSH is mental health problems among young adults, and the social/personal consequences related to the existing taboo on the subject. The film wishes to formulate an honest cinematic space in which words, sound, and image artistically interprets and articulates some of the perspectives related to especially bipolar, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. IN MEDIAS RUSH was nominated in the category 'Best Danish Short Film' at Copenhagen Short Film Festival in 2020. Original title: IN MEDIAS RÆS Directed by: Esben Persson -------------------- DK: IN MEDIAS RÆS IN MEDIAS RÆS er en filmisk rejse ind i dybderne af et manisk sind. En ung mand fejrer sin fødselsdag, mens hans tanker tordner afsted. Med en uvillig fod på speederen har han kurs mod kanten. FR: IN MEDIA RES IN MEDIA RES est un voyage dans les profondeurs d’un esprit maniaque. Un jeune homme fête son anniversaire tandis que ses pensées se multiplient. Malgré lui, il se dirige vers un point de non-retour. -------------------- Cast: Peter Alexander Bach & Amanda Overby Drew Director // Script writer // Set designer // Costume designer // Editor // Speaker: Esben Persson Photographer // Editor: Lasse Mølsted Producer: Latifa Lykke Ben Mabrouk Assistant producer: Cecilie Creutsberg Music composer: Martin Bejder Sound designer: Mads Hye Chief Lighting Technician: Rasmus Bruun Liboriussen VFX: Jonas Fonnesbæk Lodahl Colorist: Kristopher Paterson Graphic designer: Jakob Toft Kristensen -------------------- Shot on RED Monstro 8K with Lomo Squarefront Anamorphics.

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Credits

For Brooklyn-based Cool Company

Writer & Director: Waley Wang
Director of Photography: Alexey Kosorukov
Producer: Emily Friedman
Concept: Waley Wang & Alexey Kosorukov

Production Company: Rollin Studios, Striking NY, Nice Shoes

Starring:
Madison: Sophie Sumner
Devon: Yoyo
Cool Yan
Thankyoufatmatt
Molly Thomas-Lee
Ellen Perkins
Rel Akio
Bria Whitney

Executive Producers:
Anthony Argento
Ricardo Vilar
Collin Chiucchini
Nice Shoes

Production Designer: Kate Espada
Art Director: Sara Rodriguez
Set Dresser: Dasha Khritankova
Builder: Matt Iacono

Associate Producer: Drew Leventhal
Unit Production Manager: Jacob Goldberg
Line Producer: Branton Choi, Kenneth Kriheli

1st Assistant Director: Theo Amit, Wayne Wu
Gaffer: Collin Chiucchini
Key Grip: Vicente Roxas
G&E Swing: Miguel Medina

1st Assistant Camera: Peter Harrison
2nd Assistant Camera: Gus Thornton
Driver: Justin Harrison

Stylist: Tori V. Bennett & Emily Friedman

Hair & Makeup, SFX:
Esther Kim & Morgan Getty

Editor: Alvaro del Val
Colorist: Maria Carretero
VFX: Kaya Ono
VFX & Color Producer: Serena Bove
VHS Dubbing: Jon Fordham
Sound Designer: Chris Friedman
Graphic Designer: Rachel Tonkovich
Assistant Designer: Joanne Wang, Rachel Chang

Production Assistant: Carlos Amaya Tibana, Narin Kerim, Marvin Meng

Special Thanks:
Wei Chen, Ula Neumann, Maria Carretero, Serena Bove, Kirsten Andersen,
Matt Schaff, Anna Franquesa-Solano, Jinny Choi, Davide Sorasio, Ryan Bojanovic,
Yi Liu, James Qiu, Branton Choi, Nueraili Taqa, Marie Cruz, Jie Wang, Joanne Wang,
Landon Yost, Justin Scholar

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