Sammie Purcell

Atlanta

Associate Editor at Rough Draft Atlanta

film critic and writer at @RoughDraftATL • words in @ajc and @screenqueenz • co-host of @ratedebate1 and HDYA • pretending my life is movie since 1994

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Articles

Out on Film announces recipients for second annual Filmmaker Fund

1 week ago | roughdraftatlanta.com | Sammie Purcell

Out on Film, Atlanta's LGBTQ+ film festival, has announced the recipients of its annual Filmmaker Fund. This is the second year that Out on Film has held the fund, according to a press release. The fund was started as a way to champion queer artists, and this year's group consists of seven filmmakers. Each filmmaker has received up to $2,500. This year's grants totaled over $15,000, made possibly by a 2024 Kickstarter campaign.
ðŸ˜´ 'Amateur' = asleep at the wheel

1 week ago | roughdraftatlanta.com | Sammie Purcell

April 11 - It's Friday, and the kids are alright. A class at Emory University is hosting a student-run film festival - The Aperture International Student Film Festival - from April 15-17 with film screenings at the Plaza. These kids reached out to top film schools all over the world and garnered more than 100 submissions, ultimately choosing 16 movies to screen. I talked with their professor, James Pellerito, ahead of the festival next week - you can learn more about the fest here.
Emory class presents inaugural student film festival

1 week ago | roughdraftatlanta.com | Sammie Purcell

A class at Emory University is putting on the school's first student-run film festival. The Aperture International Student Film Festival runs from April 15-17 and is free to attend. Movie screenings will take place on April 15 at the Plaza Theatre, with blocks at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. The other two days will be for students only. The festival was completely set up and programmed by students in Professor James Pellerito's class, Creating a Film Festival.
Ray Mendoza and Kit Connor talk memory and preparing for 'Warfare'

1 week ago | roughdraftatlanta.com | Sammie Purcell

While making "Warfare," writer/director Ray Mendoza had to contend with the tricky matter of memory. The film is about a platoon of Navy SEALS on a mission gone horribly wrong. The mission is based on one that Mendoza, a former SEAL, actually experienced, the film's events a conglomeration of the memories of Mendoza and other members of the SEAL team that were there that day.
‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’ and leaving the past behind

1 week ago | saportareport.com | Sammie Purcell

There’s something to be said for predictability – for coziness and safety, so to speak. And “The Ballad of Wallis Island” might be the coziest movie to come along in quite awhile. And I mean that in the most positive way possible.
'The Amateur' is asleep at the wheel

1 week ago | roughdraftatlanta.com | Sammie Purcell

For the first time since "Mr. Robot," Rami Malek is returning to the wonderful world of hacking the world wide web. In "The Amateur," directed by James Hawes and co-written by Gary Spinelli and Ken Nolan, Malek plays Charles Heller, a CIA cryptographer who, after his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, blackmails the CIA into sending him out into the field so he can avenge her death.
'The Ballad of Wallis Island' and leaving the past behind

1 week ago | roughdraftatlanta.com | Sammie Purcell

There's something to be said for predictability - for coziness and safety, so to speak. And "The Ballad of Wallis Island" might be the coziest movie to come along in quite awhile. And I mean that in the most positive way possible.
'Carter and the End' gets apocalyptic at Swampfest

2 weeks ago | roughdraftatlanta.com | Sammie Purcell

Making a movie is hard enough in a controlled environment. Making one in armageddon-inspired chaos? That's another story. That's exactly what filmmakers Charlotte Geissler and Kiki Griffin aimed to do with "Carter and the End," a fictional story that takes place within the boundaries of a real-world event. The film was shot at Swampfest, a Florida festival that celebrates the world of BMX and skateboarding.
This week at the Farmers Market

2 weeks ago | roughdraftatlanta.com | Sammie Purcell

Rough Draft Atlanta is partnering with Community Farmers Markets to let you know what's in season at your local market. Each week, we'll share a list of ingredients that are farm fresh as well as a couple of recipes including those products that you can try at home.
Top 5 Music Biopics and a 45-day window ultimatum

2 weeks ago | roughdraftatlanta.com | Sammie Purcell

Welcome to Crash Zoom, a podcast where we take a deep dive into film and entertainment industry news! Each week, join Rough Draft Atlanta Associate Editor Sammie Purcell and indie filmmaker Aaron Strand as they explore how things happening at the highest level trickle down and affect the independent artist. This week, Sammie and Aaron discuss their favorite music biopics, what went down at CinemaCon last week, and more.