 AWARD-WINNING "LOVE & VODKA" CELEBRATES WORLD PREMIERE AND INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Following its high-profile debut as the closing night selection of the 2024 Cinetopia Film Festival, the independent feature Love & Vodka continues to garner industry honors. Most recently, the film was awarded the prestigious SRFF Women’s Film Critics Circle Award for "Best Women Directed Film" at the 2025 SR Socially Relevant™ Film Festival in New York. Directed by University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University graduate Heidi Elizabeth Philipsen-Meissner, the film marks her solo directorial debut. A true transatlantic production from Personae Entertainment Pictures, the film was led by Heidi Philipsen-Meissner, p.g.a., who was awarded the p.g.a. mark alongside her husband and fellow producer Niko Meissner, p.g.a.. A Story of Hope and Resilience "Love & Vodka" follows a Michigan screenwriter struggling to complete a rom-com about a former flame, only to find his fictional world colliding with a harrowing reality. Based on the true story and memoir by R.J. Fox, the film stars Svitlana Kosolapova and Zach Bradley. Originally conceived as a "fish-out-of-water" comedy about Fox’s impulsive 2001 trip to Ukraine to propose to an exchange student, the screenplay was updated by Philipsen-Meissner to reflect the modern tragedy of the Russian invasion. The resulting "romantic dramedy" explores the power of storytelling as a tool for survival and transatlantic friendship during a global crisis. From Ukraine to Michigan When the 2022 attacks forced production out of Ukraine, the team pivoted to Bay City and Grayling, Michigan. With the blessing and support of the local Ukrainian diaspora, Michigan locations doubled for the Ukrainian countryside, allowing the production to provide a vehicle for hope and support for the community. Now Streaming Following its triumphant screening for nearly 1,000 festival-goers at the historic Michigan Theater, "Love & Vodka" has expanded its reach to global audiences. The film is now available to stream on:
About Personae Entertainment Pictures With offices in Berlin and Detroit, Personae Entertainment Pictures is a transatlantic development company focused on international feature films that highlight socially relevant, human-interest stories. Media Contact: Jason Brown, PublicCity PR [email protected]; 248-663-6166 ###
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It's been a hot minute (or two or three), but we've got great news to catch up on, so here we go: Our film LOVE & VODKA won the Women Film Critics' Circle "Best Film" Award at the SR Socially Relevant™ Film Festival NY back in March! We're exceptionally honored to receive such an important and prestigious industry acknowledgment from the Women Film Critics Circle #WFCC and #SRFF2025 and continue working tirelessly to get this #fishoutofwater #romantic #dramedy to more #filmfestivals and #filmfestivalaudiences soon! Thank you! LOVE & VODKA is exceptionally excited to be partnering with Razom in third-party fundraising at our screening for the Socially Relevant Film Festival 2025, on Saturday, March 15th / 7:20 p.m. -- Cinema Village theater in NYC. Please come out an support indie film, film festivals and Ukraine all in one event -- "Love & Vodka," the #SRFF2025 and Razom! For more information, please go to: https://www.razomforukraine.org/events/screening-of-love-vodka/  We are headed to NEW YORK CITY! Join us in NYC with Love & Vodka Movie as we screen our New and Improved cut at the SR Socially Relevant Film Festival New York -- make sure to snap up your $5 #earlybird ticket (check out the website) and remember to visit the festival website for details. March 11th through the 16th, you'll find us celebrating the lineup at the #SociallyRelevantFilmFestival and our #SocialImpact film, designed to bring LOVE to #ukraine! Mark your calendars and get your EARLY BIRD tickets to #LoveandVodkaMovie now, while they're still available! First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2025 is off and running and we're doing our best to keep up with it, in spite of having a paired down team. There's a lot to update you on (both joyful and somber), so let's get to it... Executive Producer, MPI Co-Founder, Friend, KURT MAYRY  Motion Picture Institute Co-Founder and LOVE & VODKA Executive Kurt Mayry back in May 2024, prior to sound ADR at MPI Executive Producer, Motion Picture Institute Co-Founder and friend Kurt Mayry passed suddenly from leukemia in late 2024 and left a gaping void in all of our lives. Kurt was Producer/Director Heidi Philipsen's mentor and LOVE & VODKA would not have been made if not for his generosity. A beautiful memorial was held at the Motion Picture Institute and it was amazing to see how one person could have a rippling effect on generations of filmmakers in Michigan and beyond. We miss him dearly.  Director/Producer Heidi Philipsen, Assistant Editor Max Meissner, Executive Producer Judy Philipsen, Shawano Cinema Owner/Operator/Creative Director Zeke Heling and Wisconsin Relatives Holiday Test Audience Screening in Shawano, Wisconsin In order to gather more private audience feedback on LOVE & VODKA and test it out in various ARTHOUSE theaters around the Midwest, Heidi went on the road to visit her relatives and screened the indie before an audience of 20. The feedback was exceptionally positive (and not just because they're relatives -- you filmmakers out there will agree, FAMILY tends to be the hardest to win over sometimes!) We DID notice that the character voices were competing a bit heavily with the background soundtrack music and thus, decided to look into that deeper. And so...  Sound Post Team: (from left to right) Sound Supervisor Claudia Mattai Del Moro, Sound Dialogue Mixer, Andre Reichow, Sound Designer & Mixer, Sabrina Naumann-Reichow, Producer (p.g.a. mark) Niko Meissner and, holding the camera, Director/Producer (p.g.a. mark) Heidi Philipse at the University of Babelsberg School of Film & Television Test Screening at University of Babelsberg School of Film & TV in Babelsberg, Germany We held ANOTHER test screening at Babelsberg U., where Heidi is now a bonafide MBA in EUROPEAN FILM BUSINESS graduate student! This time, however, the screening was just for SOUND DESIGN & MIXER Sabrina Naumann-Reichow, Dialogue Editor Andre Reichow, pga mark Producer Niko Meissner, and Heidi. Thus, we've decided to -- yep, you go it -- open the film back up and make more tweaks on the film sound. Sound post is one of the hardest nuts to crack, when it comes to films, and yet also the most important. A film lacking top production value in sound post will kill it when it comes to exhibition and distribution. We're scheduled to go back into the sound studio in early February, just before the Berlinale and European Film Market kick off. This is the stage that can be so difficult, especially for MICROBUDGET Indies, because everyone thinks that as soon as it hits its first screening, the film is done. But even BIG budget films do test screenings and head back to "fix it in post." In the meantime...  An on screen shot of LOVE & VODKA with actors Sara Wolf, Dale Dobson and Zach Bradley at the University of Babelsberg School of Film & Television. Copyright Love & Vodka LLC 2025 All Rights Reserved The End of the MOVIEMAKING Marathon The end of the LOVE & VODKA journey doesn't end there; in fact, it's just the beginning. We're looking into a limited release arthouse theater screening journey across America in strategic cities where non-profit organizations helping Ukrainian diaspora and refugees are located, so that we can partner with them, spreading the word about our film and raising funds to assist. More news on that to come, so stay tuned to our website: www.love-vodka-movie.com and social media (Facebook & Instagram) @loveandvodkamovie.  Poster created by Sean Strong Copyright Love & Vodka, LLC 2024 Do not reprint or use without explicit permission in writing from Personae Entertainment Pictures. NYWIFT Fiscal Sponsorship Donations Help Keep Us Afloat!
And if you have some extra cash lying around or would like to make a contribution in honor of a friend, family member or colleague, we would so appreciate your donation to our fiscally sponsored film. It helps us with our continued expenses (Post Production Ain't Cheap and Neither are Film Festival Entry Fees!), please consider either donating to our film via New York Women in Film & Television's Fiscal Sponsorship program, or our GoFundMe, by visiting the fundraising page of our website: https://www.love-vodka-movie.com/donate.html If you don't, your support via a "like" or "follow" to one of our social media pages is also mighty nice -- it let's us know you care and see us -- kinda like cheering a marathon runner on as she nears the last few miles before the finish line. Truly, it means the world. Thanks, again, for all of your support! Sincerely, Heidi Producer/Director (and additional writer) LOVE & VODKA  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  From the Erich Pommer Institute:
"The 3rd cohort of the European Film Business and Law LL.M. | MBA program has officially kicked off! 🚀🎥 This year, we are thrilled to welcome a diverse group of 7 talented students, bringing together a unique blend of skills, backgrounds, and perspectives. Here’s a look at the new cohort: 🌍 Diversity in Location and Background: the students represents different countries and continents, spanning from Europe, Africa and North and South America 🎓 Their professional backgrounds span across film distribution, media law, production, filmmaking, and sales. We wish a good start of study to our students: Vincent Edusei, Philipp Friederichs, Lediona Kasapi, Fritzi Kaupert, Júnia Matsuura, Heidi Elizabeth Philipsen-Meissner and Marian Gabriel Weber. Stay tuned as these promising talents embark on this unique educational journey, shaping the future of the European film industry! 🎬✨" The European Film Business and Law LL.M. | MBA is an initiative of the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, the University of Potsdam and the Erich Pommer Institut gGmbH. hashtag#FilmBusiness hashtag#EuropeanFilm hashtag#MBA hashtag#LLM hashtag#MasterProgram hashtag#FilmIndustry  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 |
UpdatesBlog updates by Producer/Director/Writer Heidi Philipsen and Junior Producer, Sophie Meissner Archives
June 2025
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