WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY VINCENT ALVAS
CHARLOTTE TASCHEN
VINCENT ALVAS
JACK TURNER
ROY
THE FILM
Synopsis
Drenched in loneliness, socially awkward Roy struggles to engage with the world around him without eliciting discomfort and weariness. After seeing the woman of his dreams, Marlene, Roy finds his way into her home and sharing a dinner with both her and her husband, Luis. Roy, now immersed in a life he once only dreamed of, finds himself navigating a dinner full of uncomfortable moments and accusations, diving deeper into a wormhole of inevitable pain but eventual bliss. Roy, and the audience, is jolted back to the real world by a twist ending that nobody see's coming, especially Marlene and her husband.
Directors
Statement
In the fall of 2020, an HBO documentary called “I’ll Be Gone In The Dark” both startled and fascinated me. Chronicling the hunt for The Golden State killer by the late Michelle McNamara, the documentary detailed horrific events and crimes perpetrated by Joseph DeAngelo (the Golden State Killer). The psychology behind these events, the fantasy’s that he played out in the lead up to his crimes, became a point of interest to me that I found both chilling and necessary to explore.
The idea of creating a film where the lines between fantasy and reality are so blurred and co-mingled was exciting to me. How do our dreams taunt us, seduce us, tease, and test us? What parts of our own nature challenge us, within our dreams, and perhaps become so real that in our daily lives we attempt to act those dreams out, or maybe worse, wear the mask required to hide who we fear ourselves to be? And how do our insecurities, our shadows, and our animalistic desires interface with the juggling of these dreams and fantasies? These were some of the questions I wished to explore via the lens of our character, ROY, and via events inspired by crimes committed by The Golden State Killer.
ROY was shot in October 2020 amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Due to limitations with crew availability, locations, and other resources, our incredible cast and crew were required to all wear multiple hats along the journey, and make sacrifices that under normal conditions would not be asked of. With these limited resources, and a team of people itching to get back work and to creating, I decided to try in any way I could to cultivate an environment that was safe, yet free, and to try to push my own boundaries of creativity. Writing, producing, directing, and starring was a daunting mountain to climb.
Compounded with the limitations of the pandemic, it demanded every ounce of me be poured into as many details, processes, and explorations as I could. I’m incredibly proud of what our team has come up with during this process, and the growth that I know we all experienced. I hope you enjoy the film and that it inspires you to ask the kinds of questions that will help you live out your dreams, just hopefully not ones as dark as Roy’s!
CAST & CREW
ROY
Vincent Alvas | Director, Writer, Producer |
Born and raised in Miami, Fl., Vincent Alvas began performing first as a martial artist at the age of four. He continued training for over twenty years, performing and competing throughout the United States and winning on the local, regional and national level. His unique physical abilities then led him to dance, continuing to perform as a break dancer throughout Miami.
Through performing in the martial arts and dance worlds, he grew a strong reputation as an entertainer. In 2011, he began his training as an actor at the Miami Acting Studio. He soon began working consistently, booking several national commercials for companies such as a Nike, Time Warner Cable, and Ferrero Rocher among numerous others. Soon after, Vincent made the jump to television with a role on the Latin TV show "Grachi" as the rival swim team leader of the shows star. His work in television did not stop there, as he later booked roles on several other TV productions including as the host for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Port Shopping Network.
Recently, Vincent has starred in several notable films including "The Institute" alongside James Franco, as well "Typee", produced by Franco as well.
Currently, Vincent spends much of his time creating. In the fall of 2016, he produced and directed the 120 Hour Film Festival, partnering with Scott Haze, James Franco and David Van Asselt of the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre. He also can be seen performing slam poetry at events across Los Angeles, as well as writing, directing, producing and starring in many independent theatre and film productions.
MARLENE
Charlotte Taschen
Charlotte Taschen was born in Köln, Germany, and now resides in Los Angeles. Taschen is known for her roles in Velvet Buzzsaw (2019), Broken Land (2018) and The Have-Nots (2016). She holds a black belt in Taekwondo and trains in various other martial arts including Wushu, Kutaekado and boxing. Aside from English and German, Taschen also speaks French, Spanish, and some Mandarin. She appears in the TV Movie The Girl in the Woods (2020), and stars in the martial arts short film The Cocktail Party (2021), directed by Oscar-Nominated filmmaker Jessica Sanders.
LUIS
Jack Turner
Jack studied Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, before moving to San Francisco where he worked for Google. During that time he enrolled in a local acting class and became addicted to the craft.
Since moving to LA in 2012 Jack has worked in TV, film, video games, and commercials.
His first movie was "The 10 Year Plan", playing love-sick romantic Myles. He also appeared on “Stitchers” (Freeform) for two seasons as the mysterious bad guy Liam Granger. In 2017 Jack played "J.R.R Tolkien" on "D.C Legends of Tomorrow", the first time the writer has been played on TV as a young man.
Jack has been a staple Hallmark movies. His first was playing Price Colin in "My Summer Prince", and he went on to star in the three "One Winter Weekend" movies, as well as "Love In Winterland" and "Forever In My Heart".
Jack is a musician with over 10 years experience on keyboards and guitar. His band Cable Car featured multiple songs on network television and film. He continues to produce music, and just created the soundtrack for the recently released "Steam Room Stories-The Movie".
Sherwood
Productions
David Sorafine
Christopher Viglone
Sherwood Productions is a full-service production company and post-production outfit, offering a wide variety of clients a soup-to-nuts approach to meet their diverse needs.
David Sorafine serves as the principal director of photography overseeing the crew, equipment and visuals. With his key sense or art direction, creativity, and branded content Christopher Viglone is Sherwood’s creative director.
With a combined 15 years of experience and a background ranging from sports and ENG to music and commercial work, Sherwood Productions is able to manage nearly any client demand.
From network features to narrative storytelling to editorial for some of the industry’s top agencies, no deliverable is outside their scope of work; their passion for what they do sets them apart from the fray.
Editor
Xenia Leblanc
Actress, comedian and filmmaker Xenia Leblanc graduated from Queen Mary University of London with a BA Degree in Film Studies and moved to Los Angeles to begin intensive acting training at Playhouse West School and Repertory Theatre. Her big onscreen break came when she was cast to portray the younger version of Kate Mulgrew’s character, Galina "Red" Reznikov, on the critically acclaimed Netflix original series "Orange Is The New Black”. She followed that up by recording a voiceover on the Warner Bros./DC Comics blockbuster film, JUSTICE LEAGUE.
In addition to acting, Leblanc has had numerous opportunities to work on the production side of filmmaking, including script-supervising the first Ukrainian/American 3D comedy film. Being an active member of the Elizabeth Banks's WHOHAHA platform, LeBlanc constantly writes, edits and produces independent films and sketches, which have appeared at the NYC Independent Film Festival as well as Dances With Films Festival among many others. Her work has also won an award at the MyRodeReel Film Competition. Her short film Covert Message was a winner at 2020 Film Riot’s Stay At Home Film Challenge, shot entirely during quarantine.
Steven Gizzi
Composer
Steven Gizzi is an award-winning composer, producer, and recording artist based in Los Angeles, specializing in music for games, film, television, and other multimedia experiences. He believes in infusing fresh, innovative techniques with an old-school attention to detail and devotion to the craft.
He began studying classical piano privately at an early age, and since then has composed and performed music for solo piano, rock band, orchestra, choir, jazz fusion groups, and everything in between. He spent four years at the University of Miami studying film composition and music production under Emmy-winning composer Chris Boardman.
Steven is most recently known for his work on HARVEY GIRLS FOREVER, a Netflix original series produced by DreamWorks Animation, for which he co-composed the original score. This collaboration has led to his current work composing for another upcoming DreamWorks series, CLEOPATRA IN SPACE. His music can also be heard on SUBWAY SURFERS: THE ANIMATED SERIES, based off the mobile game sensation, and on the latest season of BALL IN THE FAMILY, the hit reality show from Bunim/Murray Productions.
Steven began his career with several years of work on the popular Cartoon Network show LEGO NINJAGO: MASTERS OF SPINJITZU alongside acclaimed composers Jay Vincent and Michael Kramer. Since then, he has scored a wide array of projects, including short and feature-length films, mobile game apps, podcasts, and virtual reality experiences. He recently wrote and produced the original score for PIPE, a post-apocalyptic film directed by Max Isaacson, and EVERY NIGHT, a sci-fi web series from production company Misfit Toys. In 2016 he also contributed music to the score for HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL, a coming-of-age film starring Mia Rose Frampton.
Previous projects include his work as orchestrator and music producer on indie feature film DATING DAISY, his collaboration with David Krystal on the glitchy electronica soundtrack for CATALYST - a mobile puzzle game app, and his musical contributions to the upcoming sci-fi thriller SEAM, directed by Rajeev and Elan Dassani. As a solo artist, Steven released his debut album THE TERRESTRIAL ORCHESTRA in March 2014 after spending the winter hibernating in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia. He is currently working on his second album, which will further develop and explore his uniquely cinematic electronica style.
Steven's self-proclaimed goal through music is to create transformative experiences for the audience that immerse the individual within an authentic storytelling experience like no other. He is always on the lookout for exciting new endeavors with other creative professionals who share his passion.