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PRESS PACK CONTENTS
FILMMAKER’S STATEMENT
SYNOPSIS
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
PRESS
CONGRESS
EVENTS
REVIEWS
THE CAUSE
FILM LINKS
FILM MAKER’S STATEMENT
Most people think they know what it’s like to be on the street, or should I say, they think
they can imagine what it would like to be on the streets; but they don’t. Most days you
don’t know where you’ll end up, let alone where you’ll sleep, but it’s more than that.
Life on the streets is lonely. It’s full of isolation, and it can feel hopeless. I experienced all
of those feelings, when I spent almost a year on the streets in Orlando, Florida. On the
streets one of the first thing I learned was that I had the ability to talk. I learned that I
had a gift for finding out what someone needed to hear to turn their “no” into a “yes”,
and that’s a very important gift. If you take too many “no’s” in one day, then you don’t
eat. 20 years after spending my time on the streets, I was given the opportunity to
direct my first feature film. In 2010, I hustled every relationship I had and raised the first
$150,000 to start production. I reached out to every actor I had ever met during other
projects, signing Shenae Grimes and Marshall Allman on to tell this authentic story of
homeless youth. Now all I had to do was write the script. Shenae spent weeks down on
the Venice boardwalk getting to know the kids down there, doing her research in order
to give an honest performance. Half of our cast and part of our crew ended up being
those very same homeless youth she befriended and now five of them are off of the
streets and back home. We were able to give away 450 meals in the 2 ½ weeks of
production and many of the actors donated their fees to the shelter we worked with,
My Friend's Place. It was amazing to witness a group of young Hollywood, better known
for shows like Beverly Hills 90210 and High School Musical, who were willing to donate
their time and energy to create a film that could make a difference. It’s called FilmAnthropy. I ended up mortgaging my house to put the final $50,000 in to finish the film,
it always amazes me that 20 years ago I didn't even have a home to stay in and now I
had the ability to mortgage my own. If I can do it, anyone can, and that's the story I
want to tell to inspire today's homeless youth to get where they belong.
Rotimi Interview on TAKE PART LIVE: https://vimeo.com/80946962 PW: rotimi13
SYNOPSIS
Sugar suffers from PTSD after losing her entire family in a horrific car crash. She
survives with her group of outcast friends on the streets of Venice Beach trying to
find their own place in the world. Like so many
homeless youth, Sugar is running from the pain of her past and will do anything
to escape it. However with the help of Bishop, her counselor in the youth shelter,
she is able to reconnect with her uncle who has
been searching for her. Sugar’s new world starts to crumble when
forced to confront the demons she’s run from for the last two years. Sugar is an
all too common story of a troubled youth learning how to stop hiding, and to start
healing.
SUGAR takes a realistic look at what forces so many of our youth onto the streets
and what they go through to survive.
It is not a story of redemption, it is a story of reality.
CAST
Sugar - Shenae Grimes
Marshall - Marshall Allman
Sketch - Corbin Bleu
Free - Will Peltz
Ronnie - Austin Williams
Uncle Gene - Angus MacFadyen
Sister Nadia - Nastassja Kinski
Bishop - Wes Studi
CREW
Director: Rotimi Rainwater
Screenplay: Rotimi Rainwater &
Tony Aloupis
Director of Photography: Gavin Kelly
Music: Andrew Troy
Producers: Ari Palitz, Rotimi Rainwater,
Erin Ward, Brian Neal, Andrew Troy and
Elliott Broidy
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Shenae Grimes came up acting in Degrassi before moving on to her
starring role in 90210, her passion for gritty roles is what drew her to
Sugar.
“Working on Sugar was an incredibly fulfilling experience for me and I'm
grateful to Rotimi for trusting me to do the title character justice .For a
month prior to filming I spent every free hour in Venice to
truly learn this character and was quickly accepted by a group of
travelers passing through. I will tell you with a passion, it changed me. It
opened my eyes in a terrifying and beautiful way. That's what I
hope we achieve when people watch this film. To open society's eyes to
a massive problem we've created and one most of us turn away from
every day and so the vicious cycle continues. We may not stop it
but change and prevention is possible with understanding and
perspective and I believe this film.’’
Marshall Allman started acting in guest spots and commercials before
breaking into features in the Miramax film Hostage. He gained national
attention in the series Prison Break and then True Blood. He was hand
picked by director Billy Bob Thornton to star in Jayne
Mansfield’s Car and can be recently seen in Blue Like Jazz.
“The experience of Sugar opened my eyes not only as an actor but as a
human being to the world that lives without a home. It has allowed
me a depth of compassion and understanding that I did not possess
before I got to live it out for a small time. I am very proud to be apart
of a film that can not only help those fortunate enough to have a home
and family experience the same transformation but also has a heart
to help the very people it portrays.”
Corbin Bleu performed in the High School Musical film series and the
Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In!. His first lead role was in the
film Catch That Kid and later appeared in the movie Free Style. He has
also pursued a music career and released his debut album Another Side
on May 1, 2007, Bleu played Usnavi in the Broadway company of In the
Heights. Corbin recently competed and placed second in the 2013
season of Dancing with the Stars along side Katrina Smirnoff.
“What first attracted me to Sugar was the opportunity to play a
character that would extend the diversity of my acting career's
repertoire. But becoming a part of the project opened up my eyes to an
incredible world of both sadness, and profound relieving moments of joy
through camaraderie. I got to experience this first hand spending time
with the homeless of Venice Beach. I am very proud of this film's truth,
message, and capability to make a difference in a community of
beautiful people I now share a connection with, who deserve our
attention and support".
PRESS
http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/sugar-opened-in-los-angeles-last-nightfriday-november-22-at-the-downtown-independent-internatioanal-film-business
http://twitchfilm.com/2013/11/poster-premiere-for-accalimed-indie-dramasugar.html
http://exm.nr/1brGBL3
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1062694
http://www.prnewschannel.com/2013/11/12/film-depicting-teen-homelessnesstouches-on-directors-journey-from-homeless-youth-to-filmmaker-set-to-premierein-washington-video/
http://www.prnewschannel.com/2013/11/13/elliott-broidy-exec-produced-filmdepicting-teen-homelessness-set-to-premiere-in-washington/
http://www.justjaredjr.com/2013/11/17/corbin-bleu-sugar-trailer-debut-watchnow/
CONGRESS
SUGAR caught the eye of Congress and was invited to screen at Capitol Hill in June
2103. Congresswoman Karen Bass hosted the screening and Director Rotimi Rainwater,
members of the production team, actors Marshall Allman and Corbin Bleu were all in
attendance. In addition to gaining the attention of several members of Congress SUGAR
garnered coverage from national press including Politico, Entertainment Tonight Canada
and PR News Channel.
While at Capitol Hill the SUGAR team met with the USICH-US Interagency Coalition on
Homelessness to discuss policy designed to end youth homelessness. 15
http://politi.co/1ca316S
http://www.shfwire.com/node/7901
http://bit.ly/18HXiX0
http://bit.ly/13Mr2NT
SUGAR EVENTS
Washington, DC. Through Theatrical On-Demand®
company GATHR, SUGAR was screened for one night
only in Washington, DC at the West End Theatre in
conjunction with National Homeless Youth Awareness
Month which caught the attention and support from
several National Homeless Organizations including
‘National Coalition for Homeless Youth’ and ‘The Sasha
Bruce Network’. A Donation of $1,000 was presented to
Debbie Shore for the Sasha Bruce Network at the
screening.
LA Premiere. SUGAR premiered in LA at the Downtown
Independent to a Sold Out Theatre. The premiere was
followed by a week long run at this theatre.
San Diego. SUGAR screened at the Gas Lamp cinema in
San Diego on 12/4/13 to a sold out crowd, which
included representatives and homeless youths from
San Diego Youth Services and Stand Up for Kids plus
PRO Skateboarder Jake Brown. 40 Homeless Youth
attended and were given popcorn, Soda, Candy and a
Subway Sandwich courtesy of Kevin & Sydney Niems
owners of a Subway Franchise and John Teotico. In
addition, ‘The Cooking with Gabby’ organization also
donated Water, granola bars and fruit to the kids. San Diego middle school students
Lauren and Christian Teotico spent their summer going door to door asking for
donations of $2.50, the cost of feeding a child a meal. As a result, they presented two
checks each worth $250 to the organizations that were in attendance.
REVIEWS
“Sugar is one of those rare films that makes you angry, engaged and motivated to
take action. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”
Jerry Jones, Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless in
Washington DC
"As a whole, the film's characters touchingly illustrate the tolls of living with
unresolved trauma and chronic uncertainty, as well as the solidarity and relative
freedom this community of outcasts enjoys."
LA Times
‘’Shenae Grimes truly captured what it was like to be homeless in SUGAR, I have to
say it was extremely authentic. I only wonder why there aren't more films like this"
Panel member at the Reel Causes event for Vancouver's National Homeless Action
Week.
"... (Marshall) Allman makes the most vivid impression as a sensitive soul still
haunted by a repressive upbringing."
Variety
"...the heart of the film stems from its honest, unblinking observations of its
characters and the dialogue they share, which likely underlines the bonds reallife homeless people form. On this level, it feels very true....director and co-writer
Rotimi Rainwater... made a deeply personal project. its substance and the
particularly strong performance by Grimes raise it above just a simple cautionary
tale.”
Cinema Beach
THE CAUSE
"This a great humanitarian effort. This isn’t just a movie. This deserves to succeed."
Elliot Broidy, Philanthropist
SUGAR addresses a worldwide issue that isn’t going away, and its release combines a
GREAT FILM with a GREAT CAUSE. Homeless Youth is a worldwide issue. People just
aren’t aware of these children, the danger they are in and what we can do to help.
SUGAR will inspire people to think differently and change the way they act and look at
homeless youth. It will create change. During production half of the extras and cast
were homeless themselves, and the crew managed to feed over 450 meals to area
homeless youth. Certain cast members even donated their fee to a local shelter. And it
didn’t stop there. SUGAR-inspired Indiegogo campaigns and local fundraisers have
raised over $6,000, meaning the film has been directly responsible for feeding 2,000
homeless youth. That number continues to grow. The SUGAR Family hopes to help raise
enough money to feed over 10,000 Homeless Youth, and anyone can help them reach
this incredible goal.
"What inspired me to help these homeless kids was how I felt after seeing the area
downtown that is covered with tents and sleeping bags. I never thought of kids being in
that situation before. When I heard about the Sugar film, I thought I could help raise
awareness to this issue." Christian Teotico, 13
SUGAR has found amazing champions. From Los Angeles-based philanthropist Elliott
Broidy, who came aboard as an Executive Producer, Jake Brown, the PRO Skateboarder
to LA Congresswoman Karen Bass, a tireless champion for foster care issues and
homeless youth. The SUGAR team will continue their efforts to help homeless youth,
utilizing the film as a vehicle for awareness and social change across the country and
across the world. With passion and effort, these kids can have sweeter lives!
OFFICIAL LINKS
http://www.thesugarmovie.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheSugarFilm
Follow us @traverse_media and @TheSugarFilm
http://sugarthemoive.blogspot.com/2013/11/suga
r-premiere.html
http://Gathr.Us/films/Sugar