'Pretty Rosebud' Film Sweeps Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema With Five Top Awards
Movie poster of the acclaimed feature film "Pretty Rosebud"
The controversial motion picture "Pretty Rosebud," directed by Oscar Torre and starring/written by Chuti Tiu, swept the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema (IIFC) on January 11, winning five awards: Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Tiu) and Best Cinematography (Tarina Reed). This is a first in IIFC's history.
Torre and Tiu are the husband and wife team of Handle With Care Productions. "Pretty Rosebud" is their first feature.
"Pretty Rosebud" tells the story of Cissy (Tiu), a career-driven woman who seems to have an ideal life, but striving to be the perfect wife and daughter has pushed Cissy to her breaking point. Her childless marriage to unemployed architect Phil (Kipp Shiotani) has grown stale, and the cultural / religious pressures of her traditional Asian, Catholic parents propel her to defy societal taboos, unveiling shocking truths and revelatory consequences.
This is the first time Tiu and Torre have worked together. Ironically enough, the happy couple chose to produce a story depicting an estranged marriage. Both Tiu and Torre have each gone through a divorce in the past, and although the story was inspired by some true events, Tiu said, "I'm very happy to say this is not autobiographical. I gave my imagination a wide, wide berth." She adds that, "the film addresses the challenges that many professional women face - to be everything to everyone at the expense of herself... and to have kids on top of it."
Torre, who also has a supporting role in the movie, was drawn to directing the feature because he "saw that the characters were flawed. Real. And I could relate to that." He emphasizes that many people can relate to the monumental pressures that are put on us by our parents and our upbringing, and "we're ultimately compelled to either please or rebel against them." But as one character in the movie puts it, "You have to live your life on your terms. No one else is gonna do it for you." Apparently, Torre and Tiu are doing just that.
About Oscar Torre
Oscar Torre makes his directorial debut with "Pretty Rosebud." In front of the camera, Torre was most recently seen in Todd Phillips's "The Hangover III" (with Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis.) Torre's breakthrough role was in the critically acclaimed Lions Gate film, "Ladron Que Roba A Ladron" directed by Joe Menendez. In television, Torre is widely recognized for playing “Santo” in CBS's "Cane" opposite Jimmy Smits, Academy Award® winner Rita Moreno and Hector Elizondo. Torre, of Cuban descent, was born and raised in Miami, Florida.
About Chuti Tiu
Actress Chuti Tiu's credits range from Shawn Levy's "The Internship" (with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson) to Oscar® nominee Oren Moverman's "Rampart" starring Woody Harrelson. "Pretty Rosebud" is Tiu's first screenplay to be produced. Several of her television credits include: "Two Broke Girls" (CBS), "Weeds" (SHO), "Raising Hope" (FOX), and "24" (FOX). A Northwestern University graduate of Chinese, Filipina and Spanish descent, Tiu is a former Miss Illinois and winner of America's Junior Miss. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
About Handle With Care Productions
Handle With Care Productions is a film and television production company formed by wife and husband team, Chuti Tiu and Oscar Torre. Their objective is to tell stories that celebrate the human spirit, encourage understanding and call humanity to action. Pretty Rosebud is their first produced feature film; Lunarticking is in pre-production, as well as a short and several co-productions.
About Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema
The Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema (IIFC) is an annual, competitive, independent film and arts festival held every January in Idyllwild, California. Founded in 2009, it's been called "the greatest little film festival on earth" by IndieFilm.com and described "like a mini Sundance" by The Hollywood Reporter.
For more information, contact O'Farrell Talent Management at 818-985-3136, or prettyrosebud@icloud.com.
Press release courtesy of Online PR Media: http://bit.ly/1m9319j
Eileen O'Farrell
O'Farrell Talent Management
818-985-3136
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