Imprisoned: A Love Story Wrapped in a Revenge Thriller
Produced by Holly Levow and Paul Kampf
By Bel Hernandez
Holly Levow and Paul Kampf, partners of Equitas Entertainment Partners, are looking to disrupt the filmmaking status quo in Hollywood. They are doing it with their latest film Imprisoned which stars Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), Juan Pablo Raba (Narcos), Juana Acosta (Velvet), Jon Huertas (This is Us), Esai Morales (Ozark), Edward James Olmos (Mayans MC) and John Heard (Living Among Us).
Both Levow and Kampf (who wrote and directed Imprisoned) believe films can have a positive social impact while at the same time address diversity, equal pay, inclusion and collaboration. It’s Equitas’ mission to produce films that are “compelling and important projects that provide opportunities for the under-served in the film industry while closing the gender pay gap”.
So how does an attorney/businesswoman/philanthropist (Levow) working with high-tech startups, team up with a 25-year veteran in the entertainment industry (actor/writer/director Kampf) and decide they want to produce socially responsible and fiscally successful films? That is the question Latin Heat wanted answered, and so we sat down with Holly and Paul.
LATIN HEAT: How did you two meet?
HOLLY: Well, Paul and I met on set of our first feature film together in 2015 and we were connected through a mutual friend – the female screenwriter who wanted to create a feature that was very female driven and she was connected to Paul. He helped mentor her in the screenwriting process and eventually helped us create this feature. We shot it all up in Portland, Oregon, where I’m based now, that’s where we actually met.
LH: And what made you realize you “needed” to work together?
PAUL: I think the making of a film is really about who’s there. It’s really about the people. And so I think in our process of making that movie, we each had a chance to see how the other person looked at the process and how Holly is supportive and generous, and hopefully I was the same. I think that film was an example of how I work. That started our conversations about, well, if we’re going to continue building something together, it can’t just be a film at a time and have a great experience. What’s the purpose?
LH: You assembled an impressive cast for Imprisoned. So how did the cast come together?
PAUL: We met with Carla Hool who really, really, responded to the material. I love her taste in material and in actors and she was a big champion of our mission.
I had a lot of casting ideas, and she brought casting ideas and was able to get to anyone we felt was a good fit. We were able to sit down with every actor from Laurence [Fishburne] all the way through our cast in Puerto Rico and talk with them about what we’re trying to do with the film so that everyone who came on board knew what we were about.
When we received a quote for our female lead, we responded with something higher and they [agents] didn’t know what to do…
Levow
LH: You also did the unthinkable, you offered your actresses “equal pay”! How and why did you do it?
HOLLY: There are a lot of things that we wanted to do differently, one of them was closing that gender pay gap. So we made a mandate when we decided to get together and form our production company that we will only make film projects where we can have gender pay equity, meaning we will pay our female the same as our male in the same role. Imprisoned was no exception. We were met with skepticism in the industry. It was exciting and also discouraging to see that it doesn’t happen more often.
LH: What was the reaction?
HOLLY: So basically when we received a quote for our female lead, we responded with something higher and they [agents] didn’t know what to do, but they accepted it. They were a little skeptical about the whole situation. But ultimately, it came to fruition and it was very exciting.
LH: And tell us a little bit about the film. What is the film about?
PAUL: It’s simply a love story in the middle of a revenge thriller. It’s about someone who has paid his debt to society and found love and found redemption. He gets pulled back into the criminal system, not by his own doing, but by someone seeking revenge for something he had done years earlier. It really becomes a love triangle. In many ways it’s an allegory about what’s the best in us and how we overcome our demons. I think it surprisingly speaks to an audience in a way that a movie of this genre normally doesn’t.
LH: And it takes place in the prison?
PAUL: Yeah. It takes place in Puerto Rico and much of the film is about the prison system, or around it, or protesting it, or dealing with laws that are enacted around the death penalty.
LH: You have created partnerships in the community that will help bring attention to the issues in Imprisoned. Tell me about those partnerships.
PAUL: I’ll mention a few. So as an example, when we made this movie, we worked with a wonderful, non-profit organization in Puerto Rico that helps incarcerated men and women move out of the system and into opportunity. We were able to use almost 40 men who came out of the system in the movie as background extras, as well as a number of those in principal roles. We have built a relationship with this organization.
We’re now also working out a partnership with Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, which is an amazing organization. We want to try to find a way to provide opportunities for those in front and behind the camera who are looking to have a door open that might not ever be open for them. We’re also working with National Hispanic Foundation For the Arts, Esai Morales is one of the founders. We’re really about finding those partners who see our mission. That see how we are taking this movie into a different realm of social impact.
We’re really about finding those partners who see our mission. That see how we are taking this movie into a different realm of social impact.
Kampf
HOLLY: There are many different ways to create impact and you know, one of the ways is through our production practices, and one is through weaving in the social themes, in the actual content. Everything we do is rooted in this idea of diversity, equity, inclusion and collaboration. And we’re really trying to highlight social issues that are affecting us today, and mass incarceration is a huge problem facing us today. So we want to take this opportunity, this platform to highlight the issues, to talk about potential solutions and to drive audience members towards an action.
PAUL: What we’re really trying to do with this movie, and our partnerships – we’re trying to build an ecosystem. We’re trying to use this movie as a way of saying here’s a fictional story with themes that are important; [find] who our partners are that we can work with on mass incarceration; and build around it a way in which the film is not just a piece of entertainment, but a conversation that leads to action.
Then as we go forward with future films, what’s really going to be our learning curve is how do we build this system around it so that it’s sustainable as a social impact. That there is social currency, as much as there is currency because it’s a business. But we thankfully have an opportunity to look at what’s the social currency as well.
LH: And you were telling me you explained your mission to your talent and they totally bought into your vision.
PAUL: Yes it was really wonderful to be able to do that especially with someone who loves the piece of material. They’re actors, it’s a job and they have no requirement to have passion [for] our mission. But really everyone in this movie responded to the mission and what’s been a nice surprise is that they looked at the material as a story that they would want to be a part of, and that’s enticing to them.
LH: And you have a great cast. You have actors from Los Angeles, Colombia, Puerto Rico; Latino actors from all over.
PAUL: It’s this wonderful, unique melting pot. Juan Pablo Raba is Colombian and Juana Acosta is Colombian, but has been working in Spain for years, then there’s Edward James Olmos. Our film is about 25% in Spanish and it works very organically as an experience because when you [are] in Puerto Rico, people move between English and Spanish. That was important to us, that we don’t just try to tell the whitest version of this film, we try to tell an authentic version.
That would be our definition of success. That it permeates Hollywood and that this becomes the norm.
Levow
LH: You are now starting to roll out the film, however you’re not going the traditional distribution way.
PAUL: We are exploring the three-headed monster. We’re looking at the traditional distribution, looking for those partners that understand that our mission is important. So we’re exploring that, as we’re looking at some significant sponsors that are interested in getting involved to help us take the movie out in a more non-traditional way. It’s not just about the sale of the movie, it’s about how we can make a difference as we distribute it.
We’re looking at how we can give back, how can we give a portion of our ticket sales to organizations that we’re working with so that it isn’t just trying to reach communities, but also giving back to the community that’s supporting the movie. What we’re trying to achieve is that other people can see the financial benefit and the social impact benefit and steal our model.
LH: Exactly, so you want people to take this model and run with it.
HOLLY: That would be our definition of success. That it permeates Hollywood and that this becomes the norm. Paul alluded to the fact that, not only the actors, and the cast, but audience members, they’re craving this engagement and this ability to give back. I think, people want to get involved with the film and the project and what we’re trying to do, and we want to try to facilitate that with our audience members too. We definitely believe that you can be socially responsible and fiscally successful at the same time. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.
LH: You plan on having the world premiere of Imprisoned in Puerto Rico?
HOLLY: Yes, absolutely. We plan on having our premiere theatrical release in Puerto Rico. We feel very grateful to be able to have had this experience and really enjoyed all of our time there, with the cast and crew and we really want to bring it back to them so that they can see what they’ve worked on and share in the success. And also we want to highlight Puerto Rico to the world because we know there’s a lot of work left to be done there.
PAUL: We wrapped up about a month before the hurricane hit there. So it’s really important for us to go back there and celebrate the film, reconnect with a number of people and see what we can do with this film to make a difference.
LH: You’re going full circle – back to the source.
HOLLY: That’s it. Exactly.
LH: Hollywood says the Latino talent isn’t there. But you found the talent and employed them and with equal pay for the actresses. Where can we find out about the screenings and your partnerships and events?
They can go to theImprisonedmovie.com. You can also link to Equitasentertainment partners.com
PAUL: If anyone is interested in what we’re talking about, individuals, organizations that are interested in potentially exploring partnerships, please send us an email, write to us. We are very interested in figuring out ways to make a difference. We don’t have the answers, but we want to engage with people who have some ideas.
Facebook: @TheImprisonedMovie
Instagram: @TheImprisonedMovie
Twitter: @MovieImprisoned
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