CHICAGO, IL, USA, November 12, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The thriving Chicago film scene has given us iconic midwest flavored holiday stories like "Home Alone" and "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"... but Chicago has long been the home of indie film talent as well. 25 years ago, filmmaker Jerry Vasilatos began his journey as an independent filmmaker with a dream to make a Christmas movie, going from script to screen with "Solstice", a Chicago Christmas story which was broadcast into millions of households as Lifetime Television's Original World Premiere Movie in 1994.

This year, the newly restored 25th Anniversary Edition with a brand new orchestral score has garnered nominations and awards including Best Drama and Best Score at the Action on Film Megafest, Hollywood Dreams International Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Awards and Los Angeles Independent Film Festival.

On November 27th, 2019 the 25th Anniversary Restoration of "Solstice" will be released on Amazon Prime with the Blu-ray following on December 15th. The Limited Edition Blu-ray release, featuring 140 minutes of bonus content including newly produced behind the scenes programs, commentary tracks and foreign subtitling in French, German, Greek, Russian and Spanish, is available for pre-order on Indiegogo at: www.solsticebluray.com

Harkening other perennial Christmas classics like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Mr. Krueger's Christmas", "Solstice" deals with personal seasonal introspections as relevant today as they were 25 years ago." I hope the message of the story helps provide some hope and comfort to audiences during their own reflections on what the holidays should be about" said the director. "The film was restored after scanning the original camera negative in 2K and the sound mix recreated from the original reel to reel elements. Along with composer Balint Sapszon's new score recorded by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra, the film looks and sounds better now than when it was originally released. The limited edition Blu-Ray makes a great stocking stuffer for viewing with family and friends."

Set in frigid, mid-winter Chicago, SOLSTICE tells the story of Nick (played by Michael Kelley, creator of ABC's "Revenge" in his earlier acting days), a disillusioned young man who encounters a variety of characters that help him regain a sense of hope and optimism during a lonely Christmas Eve. Vasilatos went through some tough times – even losing hope - just like Nick in the film, whose character was inspired by the true events and emotional struggles in Vasilatos’ life at the time. Vasilatos produced "Solstice" on his own dime with a personal injury settlement he received after losing his leg in a traumatic subway injury with a desire to reframe his life to tell stories of redemption and second chances - a story like his film "Solstice". Today Vasilatos has turned tragedy into triumph even going so far as to invent a device made to provide greater mobility for other amputees, cane and crutch users in need of temporary or permanent support called the EZ-Walk. The director's next feature film project, "Shelter Me" has also won awards in several scriptwriting competitions and also placed as a quarter-finalist in this year's Slamdance. It is being developed with Chicago Media Angels and Cinespace Studios, with a quarter of first money commitments in place towards the budget.

With the ability to adapt and overcome, a passion for filmmaking and the ingenuity for creating cutting edge products, Vasilatos has had a successful career and sees nothing getting in the way of his ongoing endeavors.

The 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray of "Solstice", along with other perks including the award-winning score on CD, DVDs and film poster, are all available on Indiegogo at: www.solsticebluray.com.

Media Contacts:

Kristi Dunn Kucera at 310.435.3248 or kristi@kdkpublicity.com
Jerry Vasilatos at 323.309.7691 or jerry@nitestar.com

For more information on Solstice visit: www.solsticemovie.com
For more information on Jerry Vasilatos: www.jerryvasilatos.com
Solstice on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SolsticeTheNightBeforeChristmasMovie/
Solstice on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MovieSolstice
Solstice on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solsticemovie/

Jerry Vasilatos
Nitestar Productions
+1 323-309-7691
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