This film is a true miracle, it’s a transformative movie about a man’s loss of his wife and son. It will really make you cry, it’s just so poignant. All shot on an IPhone. The family of director Vineesha Arora Sarin and her actor husband, Amit Sarin went on a road trip, a family vacation, but Vineesha decided to take footage of their trip and write and script and make a film. It’s more about a distraught man going on a journey to face death, but instead, meets life. It’s very beautiful, full of Vineesha’s heartfelt poetry. Between Mountains will give you something to think about. There is a lot about suicide prevention in this film as well. So there is much to take away. And coming back to the Chaplin Theater was so wonderful for me; I have not had any opportunity to see a film there since before March of 2020 when Covid shut everything down. Wherever you’re coming from in your life this film is very relatable, it just pulls at your heartstrings. The cinematography is astounding, you can’t fathom that it is all shot on an iPhone, but it is. The editing was also breathtaking. When this film gets released it would be so worth taking the time out to enjoy it, but make sure you bring some Kleenex, you will need it.
Press Release:
Female Filmmaker Dazzles At Raleigh Studios As Smartphone Narrative Feature Film Premieres To US Audiences, Securing Rave Reviews From Hollywood Foreign Press Association & Industry Professionals
“Vineesha Arora Sarin, remember that name – she’s the first female director to make a film on an iPhone, and she’s managed to capture the beauty of nature in all its splendor. Her feature film, Between Mountains is a meditative essay on loss and redemption, the end result, a brilliant and heartfelt experience. The cast, led by her husband & well-known Bollywood actor Amit Sarin was phenomenal – it was amazing to see the raw emotion that his performance triggered from the audience.”
Noel De Souza – Journalist, Actor & Member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
On August 27that Raleigh Studios – Between Mountains, winner of the Best Narrative Feature at the recent AFI World Peace Initiative (In association with the United Nations) Karl Bardosh Cell Phone Cinema Humanitarian Awards during Marche du Film, premiered for US audiences. Filmmaker Vineesha Arora Sarin opened eyes and melted hearts with her powerful conceptualization of extreme pain and mental illness. Arora Sarin has trailblazed a new path for female filmmakers, representative for the first time that a female has directed, produced, and written a smartphone narrative feature film.
“I am overwhelmed at the first response towards this very humble project. The feeling that this family road trip adventure during the peak of Covid 19 turned into an actual film is still something I haven’t yet fully processed. I didn’t know when I started shooting films on my phone that I’d be making history one day as the first Asian filmmaker to do so. None of it seems real. But I’m very excited that the pandemic turned my filmmaking dreams to reality. And the format / medium didn’t matter. I simply wanted to tell my stories, and I wanted to tell them now – my phone gave me the instant means to do just that.”
Vineesha Arora Sarin – Between Mountains, Director/Producer/Writer
Comprised by members of The Hollywood Foreign Press Association and other entertainment professionals, the film and filmmaker were celebrated by a packed audience at the historic Chaplin Theater. There wasn’t a dry eye to be found, guests were overcome by emotion – both by the story and the visuals to which Arora Sarin was able to capture using a cell phone. Veteran Director Dwight H. Little, known for Marked for Death, Rapid Fire, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, Murder at 1600 and Halloween 4, said “Between Mountains is a beautifully realized Film – Poem with haunting images and often profound insights about grief, loss, and recovery.”
Between Mountains stars Bollywood sensation Amit Sarin who was recognized as “Best Actor” at the Karl Bardosh Cell Phone Cinema Humanitarian Awards for his work on the film. His performance explores mental health from the perspective of a single characterization – his characters extreme loss and how quickly one can fall. The feature film takes audiences on a progressive journey of self-discovery, enlightenment, and recovery. A recently widowed father reaches his breaking point after also losing his young son to an untimely sudden death. Overcome with sadness Amit sets out on a broken road with the intent of ending his life. His journey soon takes the path of an ethereal and metaphysical illumination – experiencing first-hand the universe’s power to heal.
So moved by the film, New Generation In Action’s AFI World Peace Initiative Founder, Princess Angelique A. Monet, decided to acquire the project. Monet has a long-standing track record of promoting world peace, diversity, and inclusion around the world. Monet’s UN supported organization has a long history as the only organization with “Consultative Status” for ECOSOC that promotes world peace, and under-served/under-represented people and honors “films of purpose.” Hollywood veterans have received the organizations highest honors – such as Danny Glover, Graham Greene, Ron Perlman, Jeff Bridges, the late Peter O’Toole and most recently two-time Oscar nominee Barry Alexander Brown.
