Three years since erecting his vision onto limited webseries format, director Christian Sesma is finally poised to lend exclusive screening audiences to his latest feature thriller, Vigilante Diaries. The film has been in post production since late last year after wrapping with the surprise addition of martial arts star Michael Jai White to the cast, and with the festivals lining up, this season, word from Screendaily has it that Cinetel has acquired world wide rights and will be presenting the film to respective markets this year.
The film stars White along with lead actor Paul Sloan, and co-stars Jason Mewes, Quinton Rampage and Michael Madsen from an original script and concept based on a graphic novel which centers on a documentary filmmaker’s exploits as he follows a team of rogue mercenaries who set out in search of the infamous Vigilante while they dodge the notorious hidden dangers set by the vengeful Mr. Moreau. I’ve previously spoken to Sesma from time to time in the few years he’s spent rolling cameras in the U.S. and the U.K. as production continued, joined by longtime friend and film cohorts, co-writer and star Sloan and Director of Photography A.J. Rickert-Epstein.
There’s definitely a sense of authenticity and appreciation for the source material they’ve created and the universe they’re setting up. That said,
even when I interviewed Sesma back in 2014, things were still in flux. Nevertheless and in retrospect, I’d say the following was moreso a confirmation of the formula they had finally mapped out as they were still building when I asked him what kind of film fans could expect after a truncated webseries:
“I think they can expect a full movie now; The ideas we played with in just a few minutes before are now full story arcs and such. It’s just a fun action comedy packed with characters in a bloody, gun-filled, violent romp through this hyper-stylized world of a real-world superhero and his sidekick, foreign mob bosses and one fish-out-of-water character who started it all with a web documentary called Vigilante Diaries. I hope we get to expand the world into something bigger, better and more bananas!”
If there is anything Sesma is capable of, it’s definitely bananas. Lots, and lots of fun bananas; The Nightcrew was certainly a blast and so I can fully attest to his abilities.
The film is headed for a private screening at the Arclight in Los Angeles before opening up the Berlinale next month on February 11. Mike Hatton produced yhe film via his Ton Of Hats banner along with Asko Akopyan of Oscar Gold Productions and Nick Vallelonga of Vallelonga Productions.
Stay tuned!
