Sean EllisMonday, July 11--------Magnolia Pictures, one of the most adventurous distributors working in the trenches of independent film, will release the UK film CASHBACK in a platform release starting July 20th in San Francisco (Lumiere Theatre), Denver (Starz Filmcenter), Washington DC (E Street Cinema), Chicago (Century Centre Cinema), Minneapolis (Lagoon Cinema), New York (Quad Cinemas), Philadelphia (Ritz 5 Movies) and Seattle (Varsity Theatre). The film has been making waves on the film festival circuit, after premiering at last year's Toronto Film Festival. It has since been seen at festivals in San Sebastian, Dinard, Rome, Glasgow and Seattle, after winning the CICAE Award at San Sebastian and the Best Film prize at the Bermuda Film Festival. The film, which features a cast of unknowns, was expanded from an award-winning short film of the same name by debut writer/director Sean Ellis. Sean Biggerstaff

The film's plot centers around art student Ben Willis (a promising debut by young actor Sean Biggerstaff), who is dumped by his girlfriend Suzy. He soon develops insomnia. To pass the long hours of the night, he starts working the late night shift at the local supermarket. There he meets a colorful cast of characters, all of whom have their own 'art' in dealing with the boredom of an eight-hour-shift. Ben's art is that he imagines himself stopping time. This way, he can appreciate the artistic beauty of the frozen world and the people inside it - especially Sharon, the quiet checkout girl, who perhaps holds the answer to solving the problem of Ben's insomnia.

The film, which is being sold internationally by Gaumont International, was described by Variety reviewer Justin Chang as "slickly charming, genteelly erotic and directed with supreme polish". It is one of the few UK indie films to hit movie screens in the US in the past year . The feature includes the 18 minute Oscar-nominated short film of the same title within its running time. Writer/director Sean Ellis wrote the script for the feature length version in 7 days.

CASHBACK could well emerge as one of the sleeper hits of the summer on the indie circuit. To view the film's trailer, log on to: http://www.moviecentre.net/upcomingmovies/trailer/movie_id_2399.htm

Sandy Mandelberger, Coming Attractions Editor