News
Religious Parody BELIEVE ME on DVD today
March 3, in the year of our Lord 2015 --
BELIEVE ME stars Alex Russell and Zach Knighton, featuring
Johanna Braddy, Max Adler, Miles Fisher, and Sinqua Walls, with
Nick Offerman as Sean and Christopher McDonald as Ken. Making
his feature debut in the film: award-winning rapper Lecrae,
whose most recent album, Anomaly, earned a Grammy and landed
atop Billboard charts. Available now at Walmart, Target and
Amazon.
IMPACT:
New Breed of Filmmakers Cheered by Christians and Critics
Three friends. Between them three years conceiving, writing,
raising funds for, producing, directing, shooting, editing and
now, distributing, a feature-length film with a star cast.
Oh . . . and they’re 26 years old.
Meet Riot Studios—Will Bakke, Michael B. Allen and Alex Carroll.
High school friends from Dallas who attended different
colleges—and spent their college summers making movies. Those
bootstrap adventures afforded them priceless experience.
Example: Their documentary/college road flick BEWARE OF
CHRISTIANS drew devoted crowds at college campuses across the
country as the guys put together their own tour . . and sold
DVDs with an innovative “pay what you can” pricing strategy.
Instead of simply capturing stories on film then hoping to find
an audience, they built a brand—Riot Studios—and created their
own audience . . . one that will stay with them and grow in
coming years and more films.
Their first feature, BELIEVE ME, combines a star cast, wry humor
and deep insight into a movie that challenges assumptions.
“Four college friends see people believe any voice that shouts
loudly enough, and they use it for their own gain by starting a
fake charity,” Bakke said. “BELIEVE ME looks at the power of
platforms, particularly among today’s young Christians.”
SYNOPSIS:
Sam Atwell (Alex Russell) stands on stage as thousands of fans
go wild. Smart, charismatic, handsome, he moves them with his
message, and when he calls for donations to his charity, the
money pours in. Only thing, Sam doesn’t believe a word he’s
saying.
Months earlier Sam was a typical college senior focused on keg
stands, hookups and graduation. But when a surprise tuition bill
threatens his dream of law school and leaves him thousands of
dollars in the hole, he turns to new tactics. Convincing his
three roommates they can make a killing exploiting the gullible
church crowd, the guys start a sham charity and begin
campaigning across the country, raising funds for a cause as
fake as their message.
For Sam, embezzling money is easy compared to getting attention
from the person he cares about the most. When Callie (Johanna
Braddy), the tour manager and Sam’s love interest, finally
uncovers the guys’ ruse, it's Sam's moment of truth. On the
final night of the tour, before a packed auditorium but alone in
the spotlight, it’s time for Sam Atwell to decide what he really
believes.
PRODUCERS/CREW/DISTRIBUTION:
BELIEVE ME is produced by Alex Carroll and co-produced by
Sandhya Shardanand, Gary Cogill, and Richard Toussaint. John
Rutland is director of photography with casting by J.C. Cantu.
BELIEVE ME is a Riot Studios Production. Bonus features on the
DVD include the theatrical trailer, deleted scenes and outtakes.
BELIEVE ME is distributed by Virgil Films. For more information
please click on one of their advertisements.