by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent

Okay, so you win a big Audience Award at AFI's Fest, which wrapped Nov. 14, and then you get hit by a Brangelina Wave. No, it's not a tropical storm, it is a huge media storm of press coverage coming off the Academy's Governor Awards where Angelina Jolie won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award a few days later. But. Pay no attention to those Beautiful People in front of the curtain, the real news coming out of Hollywood is up-and-coming talent, like Simon Hawkins and Zeke Hawkins, two brothers who made their first feature film, We Gotta Get Out of This Place.

Simon Hawkins, 29 with the goatee, looks marginally older, but Zeke has four years on him. They are from Darien, Connecticut, and both attended film school. They finish each other's sentences.

Mostly they made short films, but the feature just screened has been described as "a breathless Texas neo-noir with deliciously dark shades of hardboiled novelist Jim Thompson." Written by Dutch Southern, We Gotta Get Out of This Place has also been eloquently condensed as "a sad love letter to a dying way of life in rural America, and a searing indictment of the depravity that can fester in a small town." (Imagine those lines read by the MovieFone Voice with heavy bass behind it.)

Minus the hyperbolic prose, We Gotta Get Out of This Place is a seat-filler, a bright and brash creative effort by the brothers Hawkins. It has William Devane in it, which always signals some twist or turn.

Before you think 'Coen Bros,' that comparison has already been made into a cliche. Zeke and Simon have got their own thing going on.

Even though they are in talks for a distribution deal, with a lot of heat coming off this award as well as a sell-out crowd earlier in Toronto, they are not repped yet.

(Calling all agents, managers, momagers!)  

After winning the crowd favorite nod, and a grant for $60,000 from Panavision, the Hawkins Bros sifted through their Inbox, Texts, and Voicemails full of "Congratulations!" to join us in this exclusive interview:

Who edited the film, Simon or both?

Simon edited the film. I sat nearby and drank too much Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

What about story-boarded shorts to long form? Did you fill in with edits, or did it come together as shot?

We usually shot list with our DP and sometimes make floor plans for the crew. Some scenes came together basically as we planned them, and other sections we found in the editing process.

As far as distribution negotiations, are you kept up-to-speed with ongoing talks, or just in the loop after the deal is struck?

We have a sales team and producing team that are handling the day to day of distribution negotiations, and we are kept in the loop along the way. It looks promising that we'll have both domestic and international deals figured out soon.

What will be on the one-sheet, or do you guys get a say in marketing?

We don't know how involved we'll be in the marketing. It will probably depend on distribution, but we'd love to be a part of it. Up until this point, we've been very involved with our producers in putting together the poster, potential trailers, publicity stills, and other marketing materials, etc.

Total budget, if you can discuss, also ballpark for marketing?

Our production budget was very low. (They are not at liberty to discuss the specifics.) And our marketing budget will be determined by distribution.

What has been the heat off the award win, or since you guys have a deal in play, how much can you get involved on talks about other projects?

We've received a bunch of emails and texts from friends to congratulate us. In regards to this award leading to any new career opportunities, it's probably too early to tell.

Next idea, or anything in development?

We're working on a couple different ideas. And we've been reading some scripts that have been sent to us. Just like with "We Gotta Get Out of this Place," we love movies like "28 Days Later," "Let The Right One In," and "Out of Sight" - movies that merge smart genre-based narratives with artistic & dramatic sensibilities. We're particularly excited about a "home invasion" movie that we're working on.

Some key things you guys learned about feature length from this film, or is anything transferable?

A feature film is much more of a marathon and the most important thing is perseverance.

Was AFI the biggest crowd, since people were actually turned away for space reasons?

In Toronto, we premiered to a sold out crowd in a theater that held 900 people. In Austin, at Fantastic Fest, we premiered in a theater that held 200. The screening sold out, so they opened up a second screening simultaneously, and that theater sold out too. At AFI Fest, we premiered in a theater that held 450 people. The screening sold out, and we actually had to turn away about 150 people. Overall, we've had really amazing and supportive audiences.

Were you already repped, or does this necessarily change those relationships?

We don't currently have representation. We've met with a bunch of really cool people, and we'll hopefully have that figured out shortly.

Anything you'd like to add, nods, thank-you's?

We'd just like to send out a huge thank you to our producers, Justin Duprie and Brian Udovich, our parents, and the American Film Institute.

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE stars Mackenzie Davis, Logan Huffman, Jeremy Allen White, William Devane, Jon Gries, and Mark Pelligrino; edited by Simon Hawkins, and shot by Jeff Bierman, with a stand-out score by Jonathan Keevil. Look for it soon at a theatre near you...

AFI Fest 2013 was presented by Audi.

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