Special preview of film made in Dennis showing Nov. 21 - 25 at Cape Cinema

Special Screening Friday, November 21 to Feature Stars & Creators of Film

Proceeds from this engagement will go to the completion of the film

DENNIS – Beginning Friday, November 21, 2008 Cape Cod Films will present a "work in progress" print of American Primitive at Cape Cinema.  The film will have multiple screenings through November 25.  On the evening of Friday, November 21 a special fundraiser screening with a reception, cast and crew and a film maker Q & A is available through advance ticket purchase.  

"We promised the denizens of Dennis, Provincetown and the Cape, that they would be the first to preview American Primitive, and now we’re delivering that promise," stated Gwen Wynne, creator of the film.

"We promised the denizens of Dennis, Provincetown and the Cape, that they would be the first to preview American Primitive, and now we’re delivering that promise," stated Gwen Wynne, creator of the film.

Based in part on her experiences growing up on Cape Cod, Gwen is the writer, producer and director of American Primitive.  The American Primitive of the title refers to Gwen’s father’s unique furniture making and restoration business.

"Cape Cinema is proud to continue its mission of providing the best in Cinema to the community.  And what would be better then hosting a special engagement of American Primitive,"  stated Eric Hart of Cape Cinema.  "I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the independent spirit of this area than by raising the funds needed to show this film to the American public."

The exciting ensemble cast feature talents including Susan Anspach (Five Easy Pieces, Play It Again Sam); Adam Pascal (Rent); Tate Donovan (The O.C., Damages); Stacey Dash, (Clueless); Josh Peck (The Wackness, Drake & Josh); and James Sikking (Ordinary People, Hill Street Blues).   Mary Beth Fielder partnered with Gwen Wynne as co-writer and is the executive producer of the film.

Shot on location and set in the early 1970s Cape Cod, American Primitive addresses the conflicting issue of place of family and same-sex relationships in our culture.  This seminal issue is still with us today—witnesses the heated demonstrations that have taken place all over the U.S. since the November 4 elections protesting laws prohibiting same-sex marriages.

Told mostly through the eyes of newly arrived, Dennis-Yarmouth student Madeline who, along with her widower father, Harry, and younger sister, move to the Cape.  Madeline’s emotional journey parallels the country’s loss of innocence and a time period when American society was redefining its national identity as well as personal views. Gender and sexual identity preoccupied the citizens of America. Like many in the country, Madeline and Harry, daughter and father, find themselves tackling ideas of sex and identity -- topics that seemed to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue in the early '70s but were actually still taboo in both traditional familial and personal settings. 
Cape Cod itself is an integral character in the American Primitive, reminding us that this area has always been on the forefront of progressive thought -- indeed, the abolitionists lived and created the Underground Railroad through Cape Cod and revolutionary colonials wrote and practiced their thoughts here.

Tickets for the special engagement can be purchased at Cape Cinema by calling 508.385.5644 or online here.  Visit the American Primitive website here.

Release courtesy of Cape Cod Films.

About Cape Cod Films: Cape Cod Films, LLC is a film production company that has been created to champion emerging filmmakers and tell stories that are often suppressed in our culture – both narrative and documentaries.  Its mission is to challenge audiences with the essential questions of our time.

About Cape Cinema: Opened in 1930, the Cape Cinema's quiet, colonial exterior belies the beautiful murals that adorn the walls of this historic theater. The Art Deco treatments indoors are hidden by the Cape's church-inspired design.  Inside the theater on the ceiling is a mural which is one of the largest indoor murals in the U.S.

The theater is located on an arts complex which also includes the Cape Playhouse and a museum off of Route 6A in Dennis Village. The theater seats around 315 and is modeled nearly exactly after a church located in Centerville, MA.