Horror and Cult | Soundview Media Partners LLC

“Pure Cinema. A bold, dazzling cinematic experiment.” – Film Threat

The Myth Comes to Life as Contemporary Folk Horror in this new and bold reimagining of the Greek myth Leda and the Swan.

Named one of the Top 10 Feature Narratives 2023 by Video Librarian.

Five years in the making, LEDA completed in 2022 as a multi-genre film that straddles MYTHOLOGY and FOLK HORROR with a technical excellence that is unique and cutting edge.

Shot in spectacular STEREO 3D, Leda is available to deliver in 3D as a Bluray 2D/3D unit, as well as a standard 2D DVD.

Winner: Audience Choice Award, Festival of Cinema, New York

Winner: Best Cinematography, Austin Arthouse Film Festival

Winner: Best Art/Experimental Feature, Another Hole in the Head Festival

Winner: Independent Music Awards

Leda and the Swan is a story and subject in art from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces and impregnates Leda. According to later Greek mythology, Leda bore Helen and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband Tyndareus, the King of Sparta. The subject owed its sixteenth-century popularity to the paradox that it was considered more acceptable to depict a woman in the act of copulation with a swan than with a man.

In this re-imagining of the tale into a contemporary Folk Horror re-telling, Leda lives alone in a family estate. Haunted by a divine presence and recurring memories, she begins to lose touch with reality and time. Her dream-like world spirals into a nightmare of madness as her belly begins to grow.

Director Samuel Tressler IV took on this ambitious production on numerous fronts. Not only is the film in black and white, but it is wordless with cinematography by Nick Midwig (Mars) that will be studied for years to come . The result is an Arthouse cross-over from Ancient Myth to Folk Horror/Thriller.

“Tressler’s film is a captivating fever dream that uses music, sound effects, and startling imagery to weave its magical spell.” – John Seal, Berkeleyside.

“There is something nearly museum quality about this film. Highly Recommended” – Jason Zimmerman, The Sound View

“A joy to behold. A beautiful, literate masterpiece that stands out on its own in a world where cinema has become so frustratingly repetitive.” – Musique Machine

The ensemble cast includes Adeline Thery (Are We Not Cats) as Leda / Mother, CC King (The Murder of Nicole Brown) as the Young Leda, Douglas Cathro (A House of Sparrows) as the Father and Nicolle Marquez (The Geometries of Desire) as the cousin as well as others.

2022 / 75 Minutes / English / Black and White / A Film by Samuel Tressler IV

HOW TO ORDER:

Public Performance and Digital Site Licenses are available through Soundview Media Partners. To inquire or to place an order, write to info@soundviewmediapartners.com or simply choose from the options below:

For group screening prices, please inquire.

In-home/personal use copies are available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3FZoaom

WATCH THE TRAILER

“An all-encompassing history of the cinematic sub-genre of Folk Horror, it is, to say the least, a definitive work that has already won multiple awards.” – Mark Hudson, Film Critic.

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched explores the folk horror phenomenon and its culturally specific manifestations in international horror, from its first wave in the 1970s to today. Clocking in at a whopping 192 minutes, the film has been hailed as “stunning” (Diabolique Magazine), “brilliant” (AV Club) and “mind-blowingly epic” (Film Threat), and stands as perhaps the definitive genre documentary of our time.

From writer/director/co-producer Kier-La Janisse comes “a seductive mega-text” (Indiewire) through the history of folk horror featuring clips from over 200 films and interviews with more than 50 filmmakers, authors and scholars that explore the rural roots, occult creeds and cultural lore that continue to shape international cinema. The film presents this “astounding achievement” (Screen Anarchy) – also featuring an original score by Jim Williams (A Field in England), animation by Ashley Thorpe (Borley Rectory) and collage sequences by Guy Maddin (My Winnipeg) – that Rue Morgue calls “an unprecedented journey into where folk horror has been, where it’s going and ultimately what it says about humanity.”

Among its awards are:

SXSW Film Festival: Midnighters Audience Award Winner
Winner: Best Documentary at the Chattanooga Film Festival
Winner: Gold Audience Award for Best Documentary at Fantasia International Film Festival

“Janisse’s feature debut is a remarkable effort that’s on par with the thoughtful analysis she’s put into horror through other mediums. It’s a wide-ranging probe into a subgenre that offers insight for even the most studied genre academic.” — Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting

Janisse conducted over 50 interviews with filmmakers, actors/actresses and more during the production. Included, but certainly not limited to, are segments including:

Kevin Kölsch (Director: Pet Sematary)
Dennis Widmyer (Director, Editor, Writer: Starry Eyes)
Piers Haggard (Director: Venom)
Alice Lowe (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch)
Amanda Reyes (Tales of the Uncanny)
Kate Ellinger (Writer: The Birth of Hammer Horror)
Gail-Nina Anderson (Sleepworking)
Mariano Baino (Director: Dark Waters)
Richard Blackburn (Writer: Eating Raoul)
Lawrence Gordon Clark (Director: The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game)
Mattie Do (Director: The Long Walk)
Ian Ogilvy (I, Claudius, Wuthering Heights)
Winnie Cheung (Digital Image Technician: Scare Package)
Chad Crawford Kinkle (Director, Writer: Jug Face)
- The incredible list of those involved goes on…

“For those aching for the return to the frenzied energy, passionate arguments, and exuberant love of cinema that in-person film festivals casually offer, WOODLANDS DARK & DAYS BEWITCHED is a sensational substitute!” — Kristy Puchko, RogerEbert.com