Big Bear Lake, CA, September 21, 2013 — First time filmmaker Nikki Braendlin will screen her award-winning feature film “As High as the Sky” at the Big Bear International Film Festival at 10:45a.m. on Sunday, September 22nd at Village Theaters North (602 Pine Knot Blvd. The 91-minute film focuses on Margaret, who is forced to confront the root of her
OCD when her estranged sister and niece show up on her doorstep.
The all-female cast comprises Caroline Fogarty (Desperate Housewives, Big Love, etc.), Bonnie McNeil (2011 LADCC Best Actress nominee) and Laurel Porter, with the voices of industry mainstays Dee Wallace (E.T., The Office, etc.) and Jenny O’Hara (Mystic River, Big Love, King of Queens, etc.).
The film — which was produced by FIND’s Project Involve alum Lena Bubenechik — includes Director of Photography Tarin Anderson (AFI), Composer Kristen Baum (2011 Sundance
Institute Feature Film Composers Lab fellow) and Editor Laura J. Fisk (Choctaw Code Talkers, PBS).
“As High as the Sky” debuted at the Carmel Art and Film Festival in October 2012. It won Best Narrative Feature at the 2013 Sonoma International Film Festival, Shining Light Film Festival, Omaha Film Festival (Hon. Mention) and the Landlocked Film Festival (Hon. Mention). In addition, it received the Audience Award at the 2013 Sonoma International Film Festival, Palm Beach International Film Festival and Idyllwild CinemaFest.
Executive producer/writer/director Braendlin was working as a counselor in a group home for at-risk female youth when she began studying at Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles. In 2002, Braendlin found a way to bridge the worlds of art and social work by founding Hear Me Roar Productions, an all-women’s theater company benefiting women’s and children’s organizations. In addition to serving as President of her nonprofit, Braendlin worked with the teenagers at the group home to write and perform their own work. Currently, Braendlin volunteers with the Young Storytellers Foundation; she is a member of Film Independent and an executive member of Women in Film, Los Angeles.
