The Narrative Drama Chronicles Student Resilience in the Face of a Mental Health Crisis on a College Campus
Multicom will release Linda G. Mills’ narrative feature film THE REST OF US nationwide on May 6 to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month.
Directed by Dr. Linda G. Mills, artist, author, scholar and Executive Director of NYU’s Center on Violence and Recovery, THE REST OF US chronicles student resilience in the face of a mental health crisis on the campus of Blair University. Set in the Fall of 2001, a diverse group of college students spring into action when confronted by the reality of a suicide. The film follows Amy (Amanda Debraux), an introverted engineering student whose resistance, and resilience, inspires those who are left behind — the rest of us. “Each person's struggle is a call to action,” Mills said. “THE REST OF US provides a compelling dose of inspiration and insight that can help transform our response to the mental health crisis in this country.”
“At a time when mental health has never been more critical to every facet of our wellbeing, we felt it not only our honor but obligation to release THE REST OF US," says Darrin Holender President of Multicom Entertainment. "Linda has peeled back a moving and essential look into the mental health condition of our next generation. We need to share this film with as many people as possible in hopes that it can help save lives.”
Mills has been producing and directing movies with a particular focus on social change for the better part of the past decade. Mills is the Lisa Ellen Goldberg Professor at New York University. The film is produced by Beth Davenport, David Komar, Mary Stuart Masterson, as well as social change strategist Hediya Sizar, a champion of sustainable impact.
THE REST OF US will be available via iTunes, GooglePlay, Amazon, VUDU and FandangoNow, DISH, and Comcast OnDemand.
THE REST OF US was written by Laura Moss and Ricardo Pérez González and stars Amanda Debraux, Laila Robins, Preston Martin, Peter Mark Kendall, Angela Scalafan, Mars Williams, Raffi Barsoumian. The film was inspired by a devising group of actors and social activists, including: Elizabeth Hess, Afraz Khan, Preston Martin, Yianni Papadimos, Rachel Pegram, Angela Sclafani, in a process led by Ricardo Pérez González.
Mills’ last two documentary films, Of Many and Better To Live, premiered in consecutive years at the Tribeca Film Festival. Of Many was a collaboration with executive producer Chelsea Clinton and went on to play at 16 festivals. It later traveled to Tunisia as part of the American Film Showcase and earned a Wilbur Award from the Religious Communicators Council. In 2017, an expanded version of the documentary, titled Of Many: Then And Now, debuted on ABC to 8.1 million viewers. Her first feature documentary, Auf Wiedersehen: ‘Til We Meet Again (2010, with Brian Dilg), debuted at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, where it earned the runner-up Audience Award, and went on to seven other festivals, including festivals located in Philadelphia, Israel, Minneapolis, and Vienna.
THE REST OF US was captured by a creative team with a tremendous amount of independent film experience including:
- Laura Moss, Writer-Sundance Institute Screenwriter Lab Fellow (2020); Tribeca Film Festival Student Visionary Award (2017); MoMA and SXSW Film Festivals; Hollywood Foreign Press Association Award (2017); Purple List (2013); Alumna of NYU Graduate Film Program (2013).
- Ricardo Pérez González, Co-Writer and Script Consultant-Writer of ‘On The Grounds of Belonging’ (Public Theater 2017); Alumnus of the Public Theater Emerging Writers Group (2015); Alfred P. Sloan Grant (2012); Alumnus of the Sundance Institute.
- Ramazan Nanayev, Editor-Roads to Olympia (Durban International Film Festival, International Film Festival of India, 2019 ).
- Michelle Botticelli, Editor– Editor of Leaves Of Grass (Toronto Film Festival 2009), About Cherry (Berlin Film Festival 2012); Tanner Hall (Toronto Film Festival 2007); Alumna of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Film, and Television.
- Andrew Hollander, Composer-Words on Bathroom Walls (2020), My Friend Dahmer (2017), Sleepwalk with Me (2012), Waitress (2007); Songs for Carly Rae Jepsen, Celine Dion, Idina Menzel, and Rozes.
About Multicom Entertainment Group
Multicom Entertainment Group is a world-class independent distribution company with a focus on the global television market and all digital media platforms including OTT, mobile and pay-per-view. Through its vast library of content and global network of broadcast and digital platform partners, Multicom has established itself as an industry leader in content distribution. Multicom has cultivated strong relationships with partners worldwide, delivering content wherever, whenever and however consumed.
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