Ahead of its world premiere at next month’s Popcorn Frights 10th Anniversary Festival, we’re excited to today bring you an exclusive trailer for Ross Partridge’s (Stranger Things, Room 104) maternal horror Birthrite.
Starring Alice Kremelberg (The Sinner, She Came from the Woods), Jennifer Lafleur (Nope), Juani Feliz (Harlem, Civil War) and Michael Chernus (Orange is the New Black, Spider-Man: Homecoming), Birthrite is the second feature from Partridge following 2015’s Lamb, and is written by Patch Darragh and Erin Gann.
The plot synopsis reads as follows:
When a pregnant woman is bequeathed a home from an estranged aunt, she and her girlfriend leave the city behind to begin a new chapter. But when a karmic debt threatens the life of their unborn child, they soon discover their place in the cursed history of the town.
In a statement, Partridge (whose own experience with his wife’s traumatic childbirth inspired his desire to make the film) spoke to the deeper themes found inside Birthrite:
Birthrite is a sort of elegy about our collective consciousness. How certain rights and assumed freedoms have been ripped from us and balance on the verge of extinction. What will it take for us all to rise from this nightmare and reclaim our liberty? Our lead character, Wren, is up against such a force here: A demon’s wrath. Faced with a bloodline of evil she eventually discovers that she must make the ultimate sacrifice to protect her child.
We are so thrilled and honored to be a part of Popcorn Frights 10th Anniversary Festival, a trailblazing festival dedicated to this great genre and the amazing fans who bring so much energy and excitement to the movie-making community.
After its screening at SXSW 2016, Partridge’s Lamb was deemed one of Variety’s “Breakout Films” of the fest, as well as winning the Independent Spirit Piaget Producers Award, Independent Visions Best Film Award at Sarasota Film Festival, Best Film at Hell’s Half Mile, and the Ultra Indie Best Film Award at Woodstock Film Festival. Needless to say, Birthrite is a film you don’t want to miss from such a talented filmmaker.
If you’re lucky enough to be heading to Popcorn Frights, don’t miss the world premiere of Birthrite on Sunday, August 11 – where Partridge and Lafleur will be in attendance to introduce the film and participate in a sure-to-be unmissable Q&A.
