CollabFeature’s Release of a First-of-its-Kind Global Feature Film ‘The Owner’
January 24, 2012 by Screenmag
In an industry first, 25 filmmakers from 13 countries - including South Africa, China, Lebanon and the U.S - joined forces to write, direct, and locally produce the feature, which brings together a variety of cultures, languages, and film styles into a singular narrative plot. This is the first-ever feature film to be written entirely via an Internet collaboration - many of the filmmakers have never met in person.
Chicago based director John Versical and producing partner Bryan Carmody of Screen Door Films have joined forces with CollabFeature, and are slated to shoot an additional segment for “The Owner” on February 4th, adding a small US segment to three other US segments in what is largely an international collaboration with a larger percentage of the film being shot overseas.
“The Owner” will have simultaneous screenings in each of the nineteen cities in which it was filmed, organized by the local filmmakers. Screening dates/times will be announced shortly.
CollabFeature was started by filmmakers Marty Shea and Ian Bonner in Detroit, Michigan to facilitate collaborative projects between international filmmakers. The pair has written and directed seven short films that have screened and won awards at dozens of film festivals around the world. A second collaborative feature, involving a greater number of filmmakers in even more countries, is currently in production.
Screen Door Films completed a segment for this second collaborative feature titled “The Train Station” in October, 2011.