Well, we did it! Together, our team pulled off the huge feat of finishing post production and preparing "Love & Vodka" for the big screen -- and on June 23rd, 2024, we enjoyed the honor of being the closing night feature film at the Cinetopia Film Festival at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "Love & Vodka" screened to an audience of around 1,000 festival-goers and we're thrilled to share that many of our actors and crew members were there to join us for the big event.
We've since returned to make a few more tweaks to our sound design and have applied to many more film festivals -- so we hope to have more announcements of up-coming screenings soon.
Oh -- and there will be MERCH! Stay tuned!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxox
Heidi Philipsen and the "Love & Vodka" Team

Woah! It's been a few months posting about fundraising -- forgive us, but after the big test audience screening in Ann Arbor at Cinetopia we needed a BREAK.

Rest assured, we've been busy in the background working on making sound design and sound post tweaks (that we noticed in the theatrical test screening), squaring away all of our accounting and contracts, preparing for the social media to come (press notes writing, etc.) and strategizing on film festivals applications, distribution, and, and, and...

Now that summer is at an end and the film festival circuit is reaching its new cycle for submissions, we're back. STILL in debt, somewhat, but not taking on any more post debt outside of film festival submissions.

The good news? We're so energized by all that we experienced in our screening at Cinetopia and the audience feedback that we won't stop on our journey, no matter how unknown it may be right now.

Your donations will continue to help us cover film festival entry fees (and they run from $50 to $200!) as well as continued administration and marketing (dropbox, our website, etc.)
We promise to keep you in the loop as to what is on our horizon with "Love & Vodka" and thank you so much for being a part of our journey!

Please go to our DONATE page and thank you in advance for helping us out!
Yours, truly,
Heidi & the Love &Vodka team

From all of us at Love & Vodka Movie and Personae Entertainment -- we wish Ukrainians everywhere a Happy Independence Day of Ukraine!

For those of our #loveandvodkamovie fans and supporters who would like to learn more about Ukrainian independence, please check out this site (the Diplomatic Service of the European Union: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/ukraines-independence-day-24-august-2024_en

#ukraine #ukraineindepedenceday #IndependenceDayUkraine
 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
MICHIGAN NATIVE MAKES SOLO DIRECTORIAL DEBUT WITH 
“LOVE AND VODKA,” PREMIERING AT CINETOPIA FILM FESTIVAL 
ANN ARBOR JUNE 23, 2024
Ukrainian-American Romantic Comedy Celebrates Transatlantic Friendship Between Two Countries with a Focus on Love and Laughter in a Time of Tragic Loss and War
 
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – June 3rd, 2024 – “Love and Vodka,” an independent film five years in the making, is set to make its debut at the upcoming Cinetopia Film Festival Ann Arbor. The movie, which was shot in Bay City and Grayling, Mich., is directed and produced by University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University graduate Heidi Philipsen-Meissner, Director/Producer/CEO of Personae Entertainment. The movie stars Ukrainian actress Svitlana Kosolapova and American actor Zack Bradley.
 
The film will be the final film screened at Cinetopia Film Festival Ann Arbor on June 23, 2024, at 5 p.m. For more on the screening and festival, visit https://marquee-arts.org/cinetopia/.
 
“Love and Vodka,” which is based on a true story, is about a high school film teacher who recalls the magic of 2018 when he fell in love with a Ukrainian exchange student and impulsively traveled to Ukraine to propose to her and meet her family. Three years later, the war breaks out, as he works to finish the script and save the love of his life. 
 
The trials and tribulations in “Love and Vodka” were mirrored in real life during the filmmaking process, as Philipsen-Meissner made a transatlantic move from Michigan to Germany to immerse herself in the European film industry to find coproducing partners in Ukraine and Germany. Plans were then put on hold when Covid-19 emerged, and she experienced several deaths in her family. The film was then set to begin shooting in the summer of 2022 but was put on hold once again with the Russian attacks on Ukraine. The script then had to be rewritten to be respectful of the current times and the location was moved to Michigan.
 
“While I have experienced my own difficulties during this process, it will never compare to what our fellow human beings in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees around the world have been through and are still going through,” said Heidi Philipsen-Meissner of Personae Entertainment. “Being able to tell a heartwarming story about their culture, country, and people has been my way of keeping hope alive.”
 
“Love and Vodka” quickly turned into a passion project for Philipsen-Meissner, as she found her heart pouring out for Ukraine. While making the movie, she simultaneously focused on protesting, giving, and helping whenever and wherever she could. While living in Germany, she helped find homes and language lessons for refugees and donated cartloads of non-perishable items for volunteers.
 
“As an artist-activist who understands the power of storytelling, I started to understand this war was as much about culture and identity as it was about geopolitics,” said Philipsen-Meissner. “This led me to believe that maybe making a film about love and Ukrainian culture wasn’t such an off-kilter idea, after all.”
 
To see a preview of ‘Love and Vodka’ and to support this film as it makes its way to other film festivals across the country and world, please visit: https://www.love-vodka-movie.com.
 
For more on ‘Love and Vodka’ and Personae Entertainment, visit https://www.personaeentertainmentpictures.com/.
 
About Personae Entertainment 
Personae Entertainment Pictures is a film development and production company that started out as a small collective making short films, local commercials, and production managing low-budget indies in upstate New York. It has evolved into a transatlantic company with offices in Berlin and Detroit, with a singular focus on international feature films. Developing its own IP content, while also partnering with collaborators, Personae Entertainment Pictures is dedicated to collaborating with innovative filmmakers and international co-producers. 
 
Media Contact
Jason Brown, PublicCity PR, [email protected]; 248-663-6166
 
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"Love & Vodka" is proud to announce that it's going to have its big premiere this June at the Cinetopia Film Festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan!  

We'll be sending out a press release soon, but for now, allow us to say how happy we are that our very first screening will be at the Michigan and State theaters in downtown, Ann Arbor, and so close to home. Michigan is where we made "Love & Vodka," and we can't think of a better way to celebrate our love for Michigan movie-making than to have our premiere screening amongst family, friends and colleagues in Michigan.


According to the Cinetopia Film Festival's own website:

JUNE 13 - JUNE 23, 2024The Cinetopia Film Festival has been known for showcasing a diverse and exciting selection of films. Ann Arbor is sure to be buzzing with film enthusiasts eager to explore the 2024 lineup from June 13 – June 23. 
Cinetopia is excited to collaborate with the Ann Arbor Summer Festival (A2SF) is proud to announce an exciting collaboration with Cinetopia, enriching the cultural landscape of Ann Arbor with an innovative cinematic experience. As part of this partnership, the beloved “Movies in Moonlight” series will feature a curated selection of films under the starlit sky. Additionally, audiences will be treated to a unique journey through cinematic history with a special lineup of silent films, transporting viewers to a bygone era of storytelling. This collaboration not only celebrates the art of film but also fosters community engagement and appreciation for diverse cinematic experiences, promising unforgettable summer evenings filled with cinematic magic in Ann Arbor.

For tickets and schedule information, go to: https://marquee-arts.org/cinetopia for more information.

The team of the Love & Vodka movie is so excited to begin work on the sound post of the film. Truly, sound design makes a film, so by June, Love & Vodka could feel like a completely different film! We're looking forward to the process and the ups and downs it may bring.

Love Always,

The Love&VodkaMovie team

With filming being over, and editing wrapping up, Love and Vodka is staying strong in its post-production phase. After wrapping up with editing, we will be moving on to soundpost. This addresses things such as sound within film, soundtrack, as well as the score of the film. 

Most recently, we have had a meeting with two musician/producers in Berlin and are working with Sophie as well on creating/curating the perfect pieces for our Ukranian-American coproduction. The meeting went quite well, and the soundtrack is in the works.

Keep a look out for more to come.

xoxoxo,
The Love and Vodka Movie Team

Producer/Director/Adaptation Screenwriter Heidi Philipsen-Meissner was interviewed by her former Professor Kimberley Barker, Professor of Management at Eastern Michigan University's College of Business Eastern Michigan University EMU College of Business, who discussed intercultural exchange and "Love & Vodka" as an informal case study.

They exchanged their thoughts about cultural competence and working to create positive change in the world, and thinking globally while acting locally, as the "Love & Vodka" team has done to make a romantic comedy that brings joy and hope in a time of uncertainty and darkness.

So grateful to Professor Barker for lifting up "Love & Vodka" via her interview and continuing to spread the word!
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