Amazon / Netflix 2020 – Christmas Break-In
Izzy is an energetic 9-year-old. Overscheduled and running late, Izzy's parents can't pick her up on-time the last day of school before Christmas break. A blizzard complicates the matter, but not as much as a pair of bad guys who are freezing in an ice cream truck. The school's janitor is kidnapped by the intruders, and it's up to Izzy to save the day.
Interview with Producer Ali M. Aksu
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you. As an up and coming filmmaker, I wanted to contribute to a story that radiates positive energy among the audience. It’s a cozy family movie around Christmas time. At the end of the day, these are the stories that we want to leave behind as filmmakers.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
To feel like it’s Christmas time year-long :)
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I’d say personal ones are more around parenting and responsibilities of family members for each other. "Family values" is also a universal theme in which everyone can identify with certain happenings. My approach is to test concepts in the script with a data-based, decisionmaking blueprint. That way we can tell stories that appeal to a wide audience.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Very positive. People like a movie that the entire family can enjoy together.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Getting as many people as possible to watch and enjoy the film.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Film festival directors and journalists, along with vetted producers.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
With this film, our goal is to inspire compassion and happiness.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Is the Christmas culture diminishing or losing its place in our current times?
Would you like to add anything else?
Performance is key in every production, and Danny Glover along with Denise Richards gave killer performances on this one. Also Cameron Sealy was extraordinary. It first aired on Netflix during Christmas 2019 and is distributed worldwide.
I’m proud to serve as the President of Young Professionals Committee for the United Nations' SoCal Division. There are some exciting projects coming soon. We aim to push an agenda of “conscious media” in the capital of media - Los Angeles
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Producing a dark comedy taking place in Istanbul, and short-form series taking place in LA. There might be another special project on the horizon, that’s for another conversation.
Interview: February 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
Christmas Break-In
Izzy is an energetic 9-year-old. Overscheduled and running late, Izzy's parents can't pick her up on-time the last day of school before Christmas break. A blizzard complicates the matter, but not as much as a pair of bad guys who are freezing in an ice cream truck. The school's janitor is kidnapped by the intruders, and it's up to Izzy to save the day.
Length: 1:27:00
Director: Michael Kampa
Producer: Ali M. Aksu
Writer: Spanky Dustin Ward
About the writer, director and producer:
MICHAEL CAMPA is a director and producer, known for Christmas Break-In (2018), Pride and Prejudice, Cut (2019) and Law of Attraction (2020).
DUSTIN WARD was born in Ogden, Utah, USA. He is a producer, director, and writer known for Hello I Love You, Riot (Dolph Lundgren) Ruling of the Heart and Christmas Break-In (Danny Glover, Denise Richards.) He's written, produced and directed one feature film, and over 70 short films and commercials. He's writing a variety of screenplays for a number of producers while putting together his next feature film to direct. He's also turning his screenplays into novels and writing children's books.
Born in Corum, Turkey and of Circassian ethnicity, ALI M. AKSU is an international film producer and entrepreneur. He is the executive producer of the groundbreaking film Laid in America, the first-ever feature film to cast YouTube celebrities and directors, that was distributed by Universal Studios. He is the executive producer of the recently launched feature Christmas Break-In, starring Danny Glover and Denise Richards. He is the founder of Moon Lounge, a millennial content-based podcast dedicated to global grand challenges that were incubated at Singularity University. Aksu recently founded the film finance platforms filmmaker.ai and filmcapital.io, next-generation movie production entities that employ data analytics on an extensive level, while producing content with the latest technologies. He holds a B.A. in Economics, with a minor in film, TV and digital media from UCLA, and earned executive-level degrees from MIT, Wharton and Singularity University. Aksu was recently named President of Young Professionals Committee for the United Nations' SoCal Division.
Key cast: Danny Glover (Ray), Denise Richards (Heather), Cameron Seely (Izzy), Katrina Begin (Barbi), Sean O'Bryan (Pete), Douglas Spain (Rico)
Looking for: distributors, journalists, sales agents
Facebook: Ali M. Aksu
Instagram: @alimahiraksu
Hashtags used: #holidays, #comedy, #featurefilm, #holidayseason
Website: www.filmcapital.io
Other: IMDb
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Netflix, Amazon