Production is now completed on the mystical short film Purgy’s, which tells the story of a magical bar, where spirits from the other side can take human form and interact with those in their past who need reconnection and closure.
The movie was shot on location at the newly reimagined 1901 Speakeasy, a prohibition-style bar serving as the backdrop for the film, as you can see with our exclusive image below…
Purgy’s stars Richard Riehle (Transformers: Age of Extinction), Arnold Chun (The Man In The High Castle), Brooke Lewis Bellas,(iMurders), Ashleigh Morgan (Ruthless), Sam Cisneros (Art Confidential), and newcomer child actor Luciana Elisa Quinones (pictured above alongside Brooke Lewis Bellas).
The movie was written and directed by Robbie Bryan (The Eyes), who was compelled to write this film after the passing of his father in 2021. “I began to think about conversations I wished I had with my dad and what that would look like. I then expanded the film to include other stories, such as Brooke’s character losing her unborn child after making a life-changing decision, and Arnold’s story which parallels the atrocities that are occurring today with Asian hate crimes after the pandemic.”
“…that part of the script really resonated with me,” adds Arnold Chun (who you can see in our second exclusive image below alongiside Richard Riehle). “Just in the fact that I am an Asian-American and seeing this particular issue happening at the moment.
“I think this film has that opportunity to create another platform to talk about those things…there haven’t been very many opportunities to address through a narrative standpoint and medium and I thought Robbie was doing something very avant-garde in that way.”
“When writer, director Robbie Bryan first shared the premise of Purgy’swith me, my heart ripped wide open!” says Brooke Lewis Bellas. “He then shared that he was writing a role for me, which is always an incredible honor for an actor. Shortly after he sent me the most painful, yet beautiful, compelling script that evoked so many emotions in me, I absolutely had to be a part of this project.
“Robbie touches on several relevant subject matters, as we are all stepping out of years of loss and learning how precious life truly is!”
Purgy’s is in post-production and will hit the festival circuit in 2023.
