‘Reservations’ screening includes Q&A with director
Published 6:43 pm Wednesday, May 25, 2016
EVERETT — How people reach out to strangers in times of loneliness is the theme of the new independent film “Reservations.”
The movie, by writer and director Aloura Charles, will be screened May 28 at the Historic Everett Theatre. A Q&A with Charles follows the showing.
This is a great chance to see a film-festival-quality movie in Everett.
Charles is bringing her film here by way of theater manager Curt Shriner’s brother Craig, who works with Charles annually at the Sundance Film Festival.
“Reservations” involves a series of stories that unfold as strangers live through a night and a day at a Manhattan hotel, connecting in subtle ways.
On the roof of the hotel, Helen, a flight attendant with cancer, meets Marc, a depressed actor.
Below, Marketa, a young Czech woman connects with Marlene, a Cuban maid, as they struggle to communicate.
Brendan mistakenly dials a sex hotline, connecting with a lonely operator, and Hallie, a runaway, shares an encounter with a Danish businessman.
Drifting through the hotel, these strangers share moments of compassion and hope, Charles said.
“I love that in New York people from all over the world cross paths in these small boutique hotels, with opportunities to connect on an intimate level if they are open to it,” she said.
Stars are Kerry Armstrong, Loren Dean, Ulrich Thomsen, Ray Wise, Robin Weigert, Pasha Lychnikoff and Vanessa Johansson. Audiences will immediately recognize Wise, well-known in the region for his role as Leland Palmer in “Twin Peaks.”
The film has made the rounds of the film festival circuit and has been on TV in Australia. Only a handful of special screenings such as the one in Everett are planned, Charles said.
“I hope we get a good crowd in Everett,” Charles said. “I look forward to hearing what people have to say.”
The movie, made for just $500,000, was filmed in two grueling weeks in Los Angeles, with a few extra days in Manhattan for exterior shots, she said.
Charles is a graduate of the Florida State University film school, and has been working in the industry for the past seven years. She was mentored by and assisted filmmakers such as Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Gus Van Sant and Sally Field.
Charles has directed one documentary and several narrative shorts. Her last short, “Paper Roses,” has won awards at festivals in the United States and internationally and was purchased by Atom Films.
Her first feature, “Aimless,” is a documentary-style narrative adventure story about three American girls backpacking through Europe and making a documentary for film school admission.
If you go
See “Reservations” at 7 p.m. May 28 at the Historic Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave., Everett. Cost is $10, which includes a glass of wine or soda and a question-and-answer session with the writer and director. Get tickets at www.historiceveretttheatre.org.
