New Zealand Director to Make Magic in Los Angeles

New Zealand Director to Make Magic in Los Angeles This July

Auckland, New Zealand. June 13th, 2007. Auckland Filmmaker Andy Conlan is pleased to announce that his first feature film, THE LAST MAGIC SHOW, has been selected to play in Competition at the 2007 Dances With Films Festival in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on July the 11th.

“Dances With Films is the perfect Festival in which THE LAST MAGIC SHOW could have its World Premiere”, says Conlan. “The Festival is dedicated to discovering new talent and bringing it to the attention of audiences and the film industry in the US and it's been successfully doing that for the past nine years. That their philosophy so closely mirrors the approach that I took when making the film makes it even a greater honour to have been selected by them. This is a really exciting time for me and those involved”.

“The heart is quicker than the eye”, admonishes the tagline for THE LAST MAGIC SHOW. The light hearted romance with a dark twist tells the story of Ronny Roman, a failing Escape Artist whose recent heartbreak has left him with the delusion that he has real magical powers. He's offered one chance at the big time – to make the escape that nearly killed him last time he attempted it. There's just one catch – he must find a beautiful new Stage Assistant to replace the one who put him into his current state.

Making THE LAST MAGIC SHOW has been no small task for Andy Conlan, who wrote the script in 2003 and as well as directing the film, played the character of Ronny Roman. The film was shot in twenty six days in April/May 2005 with the support of The Screen Innovation Fund of New Zealand. The past two years have been dedicated to Post Production with Conlan, Cinematographer Duncan Cole, Sound Designer Kahra Scott-James and Composers Luke Fitzgerald and Nick Marsh working on the project between their regular commitments.

THE LAST MAGIC SHOW features some familiar faces to New Zealand audiences, including Michael Hurst ONZM (Hercules, Maddigan's Quest, Fracture, The Tattooist, Be Very Afraid), Jade Collins (Miss Popularity, Juice TV, Charlotte's List: Sexiest Women), Matthew Sunderland (Out of the Blue) and Lucy Wigmore (Shortland Street).

About Andy Conlan

Andy Conlan has worked as an director, writer and actor in Film, Theatre and Radio, as well as working as a cartoonist/illustrator. In the late 1990's he wrote, drew and published Strumming Teeth, a comic book that enjoyed cult status, while he also produced artwork for clients as diverse as Anchor Milk and Greenpeace. His first play, Fodder, was produced while he was studying Creative Writing at Auckland University under Albert Wendt and Witi Ihimaera. A second play, Auction, was produced at The Maidment Theatre, Auckland the following year. Conlan's first short film, Soulmate, was in competition at the River City Short Film Festival in Wanganui in 2003. Written later the same year, THE LAST MAGIC SHOW is his first feature film. Conlan also appears as a Ring Announcer for Thai Kickboxing events and has appeared as the Ring Announcer for the K-1 Kickboxing events.

About Dances With Films

The slogan of Dances With Films is “No Politics. No Stars. No Bullsh*t”, as it has been for the past ten years. Founded by Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent in 1998, Dances With Films is “The Film Festival dedicated to the truly independent films and the people behind them.” In the first year alone, more than 40% of the Feature Films shown at the Festival achieved US distribution. Tracked heavily by the Film Industry in Los Angeles, the event maintains its strict independent filmmaker-only status by denying entry to any films that have received Studio funding. Co-Founder Leslee Scallon says that Dances With Films is “a Festival where audiences can find the exciting, talented newcomers — the next Robert Rodriguez, Vince, Aaron, Owen or Wes. Mining the diamonds and presenting them to Hollywood, that's what Dances With Films is all about”. This year's Dances With Films Festival will be taking place at Laemmle's Sunset 5 on the legendary Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles from July the 6th to the 12th.
For more information about Dances With Films, visit www.danceswithfilms.com

ENDS