Accendium Studios LLC officially released its first feature film, Cedric & Alysia on August 6th, 2024, but the true journey for the debut production company began many days prior.
On July 31st, the two leaders of the fantasy-themed brand, Michael Rooney and Benjamin Dery, were featured on Connecticut’s News Station, FOX61 in a daytime interview with Matt Scott. The award-winning meteorologist and morning weatherman showed his utmost enthusiasm for the young filmmaking duo and shared their many accomplishments on the morning talk show.
“That’s no small feat either.” Mr. Scott said upon hearing the film’s upcoming placement on streaming giant, AppleTV. “I mean, this is not just some home movie that Michael and Benjamin have put together.”
The interview not only placed the filmmaking duo and their creative work in the spotlight, but served as a thrilling invitation to all Connecticut residents to attend the film’s upcoming local Red Carpet Premiere.
On August 1st, Accendium Studios hosted their very first premiere event for the independent film at the Apple Cinemas 8 in Simsbury, Connecticut.
In an article in The CT Insider, staff writer, Abby Weiss interviews the film’s director, Michael Rooney, as he recounts this experience.
“(We started) from absolutely nothing with no funding and no backing to meager funding and an actual crew, and now it's getting premiered at the theater that I used to go up and watch Disney and Marvel (...) movies at. It's really spectacular.”
The event, full in attendance with many of the film’s actors and producers, brought a little bit of Hollywood Glamour into the small town that Rooney grew up in.
“It was an incredible night, but not only because I was able to finally watch my first movie on the silver screen, but because I was surrounded by my closest friends and family. There was nothing quite like it.”
That night marked the last pre-public showing, as the film began its short theatrical run the very next day. Over the course of the next week, the film was made available for the viewing public, and not only recouped its theatrical distribution costs, but solidified the company’s first real earnings.
Yet, Connecticut was not the only New England state to share in the excitement. On August 4th, Accendium Studios partnered with The Hammond Castle Museum for a magical night “under the stars” where for a small fee, viewers could meet the director and watch the film in the actual location it was shot.
While attendance was high, not many stars were visible, as the heavy rain forced the viewing to take place inside the castle itself. Nevertheless, Rooney shared that the film was “well received” in its final showing before its domestic VOD release.
Accendium Studios later partnered with Gravitas Ventures to release the film on several Video-On-Demand platforms on August 6th, 2024.
The romantic adventure film currently holds an 88% Popcornmeter rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 5.6 stars rating on IMDB.
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