Two young brothers of different races witness the brutal murder of their parents. Reunited as men, the maps tattooed on their arms lead them to the cache of jewels stolen from the murderers.

Interview with Director/Producer/Actor Andre Joseph

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I was staying in the D.C. area for a film festival when my dad and I went to visit my uncle’s farm in Warrington, VA. I vividly remember us drinking on the porch outside watching the sunset across the vast acres of land and horses that he owned. That was the moment when I decided that my next challenge as a filmmaker was to produce a western. Prior to that time, I had made an attempt to assist my filmmaking mentor in Florida to adapt his old west novel to the screen. Unfortunately, we were never able to get enough traction with the short film we produced and his health went into decline soon after. Yet, I still held on to these visions of realistic characterizations of the way men and women lived in the West and I needed a way to articulate this into a script.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

This is a story that goes beyond the standard good guys versus bad guys theme in classic westerns. Beneath the usual western tropes of gunfights, saloon brawls, and dueling with six-shooters, It is a multi-cultural, character-driven tale about the power of love: How it can redeem a lost soul and how it can also destroy a good one.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

With every story I tackle, I look at the characters from a real-world perspective. I always ask myself what is personal to me that I can translate to the character conflicts both internal and external. In this case, one of those themes is brotherhood between a black preacher and a white outlaw. The preacher believes in non-violence while the outlaw sees violence as a means of survival. This relationship is totally based on my 11-year friendship with Chris who had a much different upbringing than I did. But the closeness we have as friends makes us like family to each other.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

I turned to my frequent co-star, Chris Corulla, who had his own concept about interracial brothers in search of their father’s buried treasure which instantly got me hooked. But to give this story the truth and authenticity that it needed to be successful, I turned to my screenwriter friend Drew Henriksen. He had already proven his versatility in twisting the clichés of the genre with his award-winning short film, Power of Prayer. He gave the story deeper elements of family loyalty, the unsatisfying thirst for power, and the desperation for love and connection.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Our script has received a few accolades including Best Screenplay at the World Music & Independent Film Festival as well as Best Western Script at the Las Vegas International Film & Screenwriting Competition. The trailer won Best Concept Trailer at the Kwanzaa Film Festival.

Behind the scenes of American Gunslingers

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

I was not all that surprised by the feedback because I trusted Drew's writing talent to bring dimension to the story and the characters. I think I was more surprised by the fact that there are people out there hungry for a good western that we have rarely seen in years.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

My hope is to achieve more followers and fans to our film as well as potential investors to back the full-length feature.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

At the current moment, we absolutely need investors and anyone willing to donate to our Seed & Spark campaign before April 23rd. Eventually, we hope to bring on board journalists to cover our progress with the film and a distributor to put it out worldwide.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

We want to prove that a good western can be made in the northeast without the need for a Hollywood-size budget. There's beautiful restoration parks, trails, and access to horses that New Yorkers like myself never realized until the start of this project. I also hope this opens more doors to much bigger projects with the same level of importance towards quality storytelling.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Who has the right to judge when it comes to the matter of the heart and who pays the consequence when we do?

Would you like to add anything else?

In addition to my Seed & Spark campaign for the film, I also started an online film class on Skillshare called NO BUDGET FILMMAKING FOR BEGINNERS for people who want to start their film careers without breaking the bank. For anyone who wants to see my past work, they can watch my short film THE SAXOPHONIST right now on Amazon Prime and The BeBop Channel.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Chris Corulla has a dark thriller script called Point of You which we hope to make in the near future. The two of us are also in the process of developing a script for the follow-up to Vendetta Games. Drew Henriksen has multiple scripts currently winning awards at festivals including A Brooklyn Christmas which was the Best Screenplay winner at last year's Garden State Film Festival.

Interview: March 2020

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

American Gunslingers

Two young brothers of different races witness the brutal murder of their parents. Reunited as men, the maps tattooed on their arms lead them to the cache of jewels stolen from the murderers.

Length: 1:32

Director: Andre Joseph

Producer: Andre Joseph

Writer: Drew Henriksen

About the writer, director and producer:

ANDRE JOSEPH had a love for movies from a very early age. He attended the New York Film Academy summer program in 2001 where he first gained experience working with 16mm film and later graduated Magna Cum Laude from Emerson College in 2006 where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Film. In 2008, he formed his own New York-based independent film production company, AJ Epyx Productions, LLC. The company’s first feature film, Priceless, which Andre wrote, starred, and directed, premiered at Tribeca Cinemas. Nine years later, he made the feature film, Vendetta Games, which won the “Best Urban Action” award at the 2017 Urban Action Showcase and is slated for an April 2020 release through ITN Distribution. Andre's most recent short film project, The Saxophonist, was fiscally sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts and was the recipient of “Best Film” at the 2018 New York Jazz Film Festival.

DREW HENRIKSEN holds a Master of Science degree in Immunology from the C. W. Post campus of Long Island University, and a Post Masters Certification in Science Education from Dowling College. He has played the kindly stepfather Tim in Man From Shaolin, Mayor/Street Fighter Mike Haggar for the trailer of the Final Fight fan film and was a recurring character, Gath General, in the NBC show Kings starring Ian McShane and Christopher Eagan. In 2017, Drew wrote, produced, and starred in the western short film The Power of Prayer which premiered at the Garden State Film Festival in 2017 and has since won numerous awards at such prestigious film festivals as Southern Shorts Awards, WorldFest Houston, and the Hollywood Dreamz International Film Festival. He is the author of the Dragon Tales & Stories trilogy and you can see more of his writings at www.DrewHenriksen.com.

Key cast: Andre Joseph (Jesse), Chris Corulla Jr. (Randy), Drew Henriksen (Dragoon), Ann Flanigan (Glenda), Stephanie Hinck (Suki), Teel James Glenn (Ryker), Christie Desir (Hana)

Looking for: sales agents, distributors, journalists, producers, buyers

Facebook: American Gunslingers: An AJ Epyx Productions Western Film

Twitter: @ajepyx

Instagram: @ajepyx

Hashtags used: #americangunslingersmovie #western #oldwest #wildwest #cowboys #outlaws #bountyhunters #preacher

Website: ajepyxproductions.com

Other: IMDb

Funders: Seed & Spark, GoFundMe

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Garden State Film Festival/Asbury Park, NJ - March 28th in 2:15 pm block. Full feature film to be shot in late 2020.