After graduating with honors in 2011, Marjorie moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles and set out to write her first feature script while working as a receptionist at World of Wonder Productions. It was there that she met her future cast members, including the late Ian Coster (son of Days of Our Lives actor Nicolas Coster, also performing in the film), Michael Lucid, Deven Green, David Keeps, and Stephen Saban, co-founder of Details. She fully funded the film using her earnings from World of Wonder, teaming up with SFSU alums Barret Hacia (Producer) and Mackenzie Mathis (Cinematographer). Marjorie wore many hats for the project: writer, director, lead actor, executive producer, and editor. Her surreal debut feature, titled Chemical Cut, world premiered at the top-tier 2016 Slamdance Film Festival as an Official Selection in the Narrative Competition. Marjorie was one of only two female directors accepted in the 2016 Narrative Feature lineup. In her dark comedy, "Irene, a 23-year-old artistic misfit, pursues a modeling career to escape her dead-end retail job but is quickly disillusioned by the cutthroat nature of the Los Angeles fashion world. Searching for identity and a kindred spirit while surrounded by competition, absurdity, and so many nude bras, Irene flounders until a mysterious woman's performance ignites her imagination." Programmer Marie Jamora explained, "Writer/Director/Editor/Lead Actress Marjorie Conrad developed the story from her own experience as a former model, and she shows us a world where mannequins are treated better than real women, verbal molestation is palpable, and the scariest predators of pretty girls are the other pretty girls.” Chemical Cut had a positive critical reception, including the following favorable reviews from Hammer To Nail, Film Colossus, Beyond Chron, The Film Stage, Eat Drink Films, and Slug Magazine. The following interviews with the cast and crew were conducted by Twitch Film, World of Wonder hosted by James St. James, Film Colossus, The Park Record, The Art of Monteque, Screen Prism, Serving Cinema, Filmmaker Magazine, and MovieMaker Magazine. Other local radio and television interviews were conducted by Entertainment Journal, Park City Television, KPCW Radio, KXRK 96 Radio, Attention Deficit, UNLV Rebel Yell, P3 Update, International Screenwriting Association, and Examiner. The film was singled out as a festival highlight by AMFM Magazine, Variety, Twitch Film, Hammer To Nail, and The Davis Clipper, and the festival trailer was initially released on Indiewire. Filmmaker Magazine called the film "beguiling" and "intriguing," Slug Magazine described it as "a beautifully wrought film of the often fraught search for identity" and argued "the film manages to deftly explore questions of identity and creativity—perhaps drawing from Conrad’s own experiences—through opulent shots, outrageous characters and an exquisite backdrop of heightened reality." While at the festival, Recreation Media secured the film's international rights. It screened at the ArcLight Hollywood on May 10, 2016 and the ArcLight Chicago on May 18, 2016 as part of the Slamdance Cinema Club. The film was nominated for the Indie Spirit Award and won the Female Eye Filmmaking Award at The New Hope Film Festival. It was an Official Selection at the 2016 Buffalo International Film Festival in the Domestic and ArtHouse Feature category. Marjorie was interviewed for BIFFX by actress Tilke Hill as part of a Women in Film panel with feature directors Stavroula Toska (Beneath The Olive Tree) and Victoria Negri (Gold Star). According to the film's Facebook page, Chemical Cut will be released on VOD in fall 2017.
Marjorie Conrad Biography, Age, Height, Husband, Net Worth, Family
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