Twisted (1996 film)

Not to be confused with Twister (1996 film).
Twisted
Directed by Seth Michael Donsky
Produced by Adrian Agromonte (producer)
Bernard Arbit, Barry Witz, Mark Weiner (executive producer)
Written by Seth Michael Donsky
Music by Q. Lazzarus
Cinematography Hernan Toro
Edited by Tom McArdle
Distributed by Leisure Time Features
Release dates
  • 1997 (1997)
Running time
 100 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $150,000 (estimated)

Twisted is a film written and directed by Seth Michael Donsky. His debut film, it was released in 1997. The film, a Don Quixote and Miravista Films production, is a retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel Oliver Twist set in a New York City contemporary underground populated by drag queens, drug abusers and hustlers. The film was an official selection and debuted in 1997 at the 47th Berlin International Film Festival, and was also screened as an official selection at the Seattle International Film Festival. Donsky's film was made prior to Jacob Tierney's similar film Twist, starring American actor Nick Stahl.

Donsky's Twisted was re-discovered by the Museum of Modern Art in 2013, included in their Charles Dickens bicentenary film series http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1339 and subsequently accepted into their permanent film collection.

Synopsis

William Hickey stars as Andre, the lecherous brothel owner that trades in young men. Exploiting his young charges through paternalism and drugs, Andre sets his sights on Lee (Keivyn McNeil Graves), a ten-year-old, black, runaway orphan. Through Andre, Lee quickly becomes immersed in New York's sleazy underbelly of drug dealers and street hustlers. The boy's only hope for survival is the aspiring songwriter Angel (David Norona), himself a former hustler and drug dealer. Angel befriends Lee and rescues him from the wiles of Andre's cohort Fine Art (Jean Loup Wolfman), who attempts to profit on Lee's tender age. Eventually, Andre's petty empire is vanquished by Shiniqua (Billy Porter), a powerfully wise and glamorous drag queen whose fiercely maternal spirit is every bit the match for the depraved denizens of the brothel.[1]

Cast

Awards

The film was an official selection at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival. Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) New York screened Twisted and granted the director an honorarium for his work

References

  1. ↑ TLA Video's Twisted page
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.