Blog
VOLITION TAKES BITE OUT OF BIG APPLE: THREE WINS AT NYC HORROR FEST!
VOLITION’s New York City Premiere was a huge success, playing to packed crowds at the NYC Horror Film Festival! To top it off, the science-fiction thriller took home three top prizes, including the awards for BEST SCIENCE-FICTION FEATURE FILM (to Tony Dean Smith & Ryan W. Smith), BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (to Byron Kopman), and BEST SOUND DESIGN (to Sharpe Sound, Gregorio Gomez and composer Matthew Rogers)! Congrats to the entire team, and thank you NYC Horror Film Festival for the warm reception.
VOLITION REVIEWED AS “LOOPER” MEETS “INCEPTION”
Wolf of Geek Street.com has reviewed the Phoenix Film Festival‘s screening of VOLITION, and the praise is high! Reviewer Zach Pope likened the film to a Robert Rodriguez-style mix of Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION with Rian Johnson’s LOOPER. For the full review, see below!
WOLF OF GEEK STREET — “VOLITION”: The Next Generation Filmmaker
Picture Robert Rodriguez creating his own version of Inception mixed with Looper. You get the low budget feel without it feeling in the way of the storytelling and entertainment level. Plus you get the Sci-Fi doozie that brings you on a journey, unlike many other stories. Volition an independent Sci-Fi film does just that.
Volition is from director Tony Dean Smith and written by him and his brother Ryan W. Smith. The story is about a man who is afflicted with clairvoyance and tries to change fate when a series of events leads to a vision of his own murder. This trippy story starts out with this fun premise and takes it to you on a ride. While not having the high octane action that many Sci-Fi films have today, the vision of this movie trades in the action for more of a character piece and dealing with what is truly going on and trust me there is more than truly meets the eye. I had this weird feeling like watching this movie that I could see where it was truly going to go. Until an hour in a certain twist unlike a lot of other films in this genre takes and really turns the audience for a spin. Which at this point is where the film truly had me in its grips.
This twist of the plot makes for you to have more fun and think about every course of action earlier in the story that seemed off or weird. It even opens up certain story plots that you were curious about. It was a smart way to play with this genre in a way that I hadn’t seen in a while. Volition is the creative film of the Phoenix Film Festival, it truly is something that you have not seen before. For an independent film like this, it truly surprised me. Where it starts as another Sci-Fi film with a cool concept but feeling like I had seen this before turns out to be something super smart and on the level of the previous two films I had mentioned up above. Looper and Inception. While I could easily go into some nitpicks for the movie where some of the visual effects weren’t up to par with other films or even some of the dialogue between the characters did at times feel a little off. It’s hard to deny how much passion went into the elements of this film that turned it into a super creative fun film that has grit, passion, and even uniqueness all throughout it. Volition is the creative odyssey that you expect and I cannot wait to see where this pair of brilliant individuals take their ideas next.
Review site: wolfofgeekstreet.com
VOLITION
VOLITION PLAYS TO CROWDS AT PHOENIX FILM FEST!
VOLITION’s film festival run continued to build as it played to packed theaters at the Harkins 101 Scottsdale for the Phoenix Film Festival. Each screening was followed by a Q & A period with Director/Co-writer Tony Dean Smith and Co-writer/Producer Ryan W. Smith. The pair also took part in industry panels, with Tony Dean Smith speaking on the director’s panel and Ryan W. Smith speaking for the two of them on the screenwriting panel.
Tony Dean Smith: Directing Panel
Ryan W. Smith: Screenwriting Panel
Following this week, the film will be a feature presentation at the International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival, with Director/Co-writer Tony Dean Smith in attendance, joined by Director of Photography, Byron Kopman. Check out the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival site for tickets and showtimes!
Ryan W. Smith (L) & Tony Dean Smith (R)
VOLITION WINS TOP PRIZE AT PHILIP K. DICK FILM FESTIVAL – BEST FEATURE!
After an unforgettable evening as the opening night headline presentation in Santa Ana, VOLITION took home the festival’s top prize as Best Feature! What a way to start the film’s festival run! Members of the Volition team in attendance included Tony Dean Smith, Ryan W. Smith, Adrian Glynn McMorran, John Cassini, Amroe Anderson, Dusty Anderson, Pia Edberg and Martin Smith. Congrats to the whole team!
BLOG POST 6: Sustained Creativity – The Crafting of VOLITION
Thanks to Ellen Palestrant for her coverage of VOLITION and the creative process that went into crafting it! For the extended interview about the creative process of bringing VOLITION to life, see Ellen’s book, Conversations About Creativity.
INTERNATIONAL HORROR & SCI-FI FILM FESTIVAL SELECTS VOLITION!
Horrifying news can be good news! We are honored to be selected for the 2019 International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival. There’s nothing better than screening a sci-fi film for true genre fans. Schedule and details are on the official festival site. We hope you’ll join us!
VOLITION OFFICIALLY SELECTED BY THE PHOENIX FILM FESTIVAL!
More good news for this mind-bending thriller! Volition is an official selection of the Phoenix Film Festival, screening in Arizona multiple times, from April 4th-14th. For schedule and festival information, check out the festival site, and if you’re in the area, grab some popcorn and join us!
Phoenix Film Festival 2019
VOLITION TO SCREEN AT THE PHILIP K. DICK FILM FESTIVAL
We’re thrilled to announce that Volition will screen at the Philip K. Dick Film Festival, on Friday, March 15th, 2019! It’s an honor to be included in the celebration of this giant of the science-fiction genre. We know that fans of PKD will have a lot to chew in our film. If you’re in the LA area, please join us! For more details on the festival and for tickets, visit the festival site, or check out coverage at AIN’T IT COOL NEWS and HORROR BUZZ. We hope to see you there!
BLOG Post 5: Collaboration and the Creative Process
Artist, Author and Creativity Consultant, Ellen Palestrant, was kind enough to include us in her series of interviews on Creativity. Check out the full interview on her blog. A collection of her interviews will soon be published as a book. More details on www.ellenpalestrant.com.
