A Wake is a riveting family drama from Director Scott Boswell (The Stranger in Us) that’s centered around secrets, lies, and true love. Driven by a desperate need to understand their loss, the children in a religious family clash with their parents as they prepare for the wake of their brother, Mitchel. Teenage Mason desperately tries to reach his lost identical twin through spiritual means. Precocious preteen Molly meticulously organizes the event expecting everything to go exactly as planned. Megan, their older sister, returns home after a long absence, no longer interested in repressing the truth. Their Baptist grandmother and parents attempt to maintain normalcy when an unexpected stranger, Jameson, arrives — forcing the family to face secrets and lies around Mitchel’s death.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW

This can be described as one of those feel good movies, that just so happens to have a queer subplot to it. Noah Urrea gives a powerful performance as the twin brothers, playing both Mason and Mitchell. The camera work done to make the scenes with both in the same room was done wonderfully. Kolton Stewart also gives a strong performance in the role of Jameson, Mitchell’s high school love that was hidden from everyone, except Mitchell’s younger sister Molly, who accidentally saw the two boys locking lips one day. 

It’s a relatable story for many queer youth, and especially those being raised within an overbearingly religious environment. The circumstances regarding Mitchell’s cause of death are blurred, and most likely for keeping the honour of the family name within the tight knit community. It’s his brother and sister who believe differently, and are no longer willing to keep quiet in the name of the lord, or to protect their family secrets.

“A Wake was the proverbial labor of love”, said Boswell. “It had to be because independent filmmaking is a rocky road — even more so when you’re exploring tough themes around loss and queer identity. After years of planning, the first reward came when I finally got to work with the cast, and then later when I met audiences at festivals.  Now I couldn’t be more excited by the film’s bigger release with Breaking Glass.”

“When we released Scott Boswell’s first feature The Stranger in Us in 2010, we recognized his immense talent as an up-and-coming filmmaker”, said Wolff. “Breaking Glass is thrilled to be releasing Boswell’s new film for American audiences to experience.”

 

A Wake will be released August 31 and be available on iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, through local cable & satellite providers, and on DVD. Available from Breaking Glass Pictures. 

Starring Noah Urrea (Netflix’s “Metal Lords”) of Now United fame, Kolton Stewart (Netflix’s “Lock & Key”; “The Expanse”; Disney’s upcoming Disenchanted), Sofia Rosinsky (Disney’s “Fast Layne”; upcoming series “Paper Girls”), and Megan Trout, A Wake won numerous awards during its festival run, including “Festival Favorite for a Feature Film” at Cinema Diverse, “Best LGBT Film” at the Big Apple Film Festival, and “Best Feature Film” at Gilbert Baker Film Festival.

Scott Boswell is a San Francisco-based filmmaker and professor of filmmaking who has completed numerous shorts and the award-winning feature film The Stranger in Us, which had its world premiere at Frameline in 2010. Throughout his film work, Scott has explored the challenges faced by queer youth. Prior to his current job teaching at San Francisco State University, Scott ran The Factory, a multi-award winning youth video collective based in Oakland. 

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.