2005 Great  Independent Film Festival

Following Bliss

Category: Narrative Feature 01 hr : 33 min
Director: Cleve Lamison

Taking place in "real time" Following Bliss tells the sometimes satirical and ultimately tragic story of Jack and Jenny Newman as their marriage disintegrates over the course of an evening. Once a carefree musician, Jack long ago quit his band, Bliss and accepted a corporate job with Jenny's father at "The Company." Tonight, the old band mates meet up at Jack's multimillion-dollar oceanfront home, where Jack learns that his old friend, Butch plans to follow in his footsteps, quit music and take a job at The Company. Jack takes Butch aside and tries to dissuade Butch from emulating his move to corporate America, a stifling move that has made Jack completely miserable. The band's drummer, Shocker, announces that he's put together a scheme to get the band back together that would require taking a yearlong tour for little or no money. Despite the protests of Jack's wife and Butch's fiancée, Jack decides to throw away the affluent lifestyle he's built with Jenny to chase his dreams of rock and roll stardom. And all hell breaks loose in the Newman home. Jenny braces for a fight to save her home and family. Jack prepares to fight for his freedom and art. When neither can change the other's mind, cruel words and crueler deeds quickly spiral out of control and lead to tragic consequences.

Principle Cast:

Ellen Bethea (The Siege (opposite Denzel Washington) One Life to Live (original Rachel Gannon), All My Children, The Practice)
Sean Patrick Reilly (Sleepers (Directed by Barry Levinson, starring Robert Dinero, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt and Kevin Bacon), Man of the Century (Winner of the Sundance Audience Award))
Reena Shah
Julian Rozzel Jr.
Cleve Lamison