IGU Wins 5 in AC

In a triumphant homecoming for it's East Coast Premiere, Ice Grill, USA won 5 awards at the Downbeach Film Festival's AC Cinefest. With a packed house to open the festival including stars Connor Fox, Tyler Noble, Michael Angelo Ortiz, Los Jones, Ray McKnight, Rory Dunwoody and Kevin Interdonato, the Ice Grill, USA movement rolled on with five jury awards: Audience Award: Best of Fest, Best Young Actor for Connor Fox, Best Supporting Actor for Michael Angelo Ortiz, Best New Jersey Based Feature and Best New Directors for Mark Bernardi and Greg Santarsiero. Some coverage of the weekend's events follows here:

http://blogs.atlanticcityweekly.com/ac-central/2009/10/23/ice-grill-usa-wins-audience-award/

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/chuck_darrow/20091016_CasiNotes__Downbeach_Film_Festival_is_in_a_Garden_State_of_mind.html

http://www.shorenewstoday.com/news.php?id=5449

http://www.philly2philly.com/entertainment/2009/10/20/22148/the_downbeach_film_festival_presents_the_atlantic_city_cinefest

IGU October: East Coast Premieres

Following an award winning world premiere in Los Angeles, Ice Grill, USAcomes home for its East Coast premieres.

First (oh so appropriately) in Atlantic City as the opening film of the Downbeach Film Festival on Friday night 10/16/09 at 7:30pm at the screening room at Resorts Hotel & Casino. The screening will be followed by a Q&A and a reception running until midnight. The following afternoon at 1:30pm, the IGU creators, Greg Santarsiero and Mark Bernardi, will take part in the "Independent Filmmaking in the 21st Century" panel also held at Resorts. Tickets are available now online here:https://downbeachfilmfestival.ticketleap.com/buy-tickets/film/downbeach-film-festival-opening-night-film-and-reception/atlantic-city/002ADEDC-CF59-49C7-861F-5C9636D0F07

The following Friday, on 10/23/09 at 10:00pm, IGU arrives at the birthplace of the Enlightened Party movement, the setting of Rise By Sin, our home away from home--Philadelphia, PA as a spotlight screening in the prestigious FirstGlance Philly 12 Film Fest held at the Franklin Theatre at the Franklin Institute in center city Philadelphia. Tickets for this hot event are available now for presale (so get em while you can) here: http://www.firstglancefilms.com/buytickets

IGU Wins Jury Prize at World Premiere in LA

Ice Grill, USA wins the Best Feature Bronze Jury Prize at the Cinema City Int'l Film Festival in Los Angeles on September 12, 2009.

After a strong world premiere screening attended by the writer/producer/director team of Mark Bernardi and Greg Santarsiero, and IGU stars Tyler Noble, Los Jones, John Antorino and Frankie DiVita, as well as IGU female lead Denise Ramirez's sister Dania (X-Men) and Napoleon Dynamite's Efren Ramirez (no relation), IGU received stellar scores being edged out by the award-winning feature Like Dandelion Dust starring Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper and Cole Hauser.

Look for the East Coast premieres of Ice Grill, USA this October.

IGU World Premiere: Los Angeles, 9/11/09

Ice Grill, USA is set to make its world premiere as part of the Cinema City Int'l Film Festival. The premiere will be screened at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, 9/11/09 at 4:45pm. Be there.

The IGU MySpace is LIVE...

The official MySpace page for Ice Grill, USA is live.

So check it out, add us, top friend us and tell your peoples to do the same.

http://www.myspace.com/icegrillusa

Ice Grill, USA's First Major Review

"If you're looking for an example of under-evolved hypermasculinity, you can find it in the pleasure pit of Atlantic City, NJ. In Ice Grill, USA, co-filmmakers Mark Bernardi and Greg Santarsiero, who spent their younger years near AC, craft a tale of class-consciousness, sexual favors, and underground violence in the town's ugly underbelly."

Read more of IGU's first major review which dropped today on AMC's filmcritic.com, penned by esteemed film critic Eric Meyerson here:

http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/reviews/Ice-Grill-USA

Player Profile: Rory Dunwoody

This week we're going to feature one of the other critical players that made IGU the vivid, enigmatic universe that it is--Rory Dunwoody. In his few scenes, Rory stole the show as Marc "The Piss Guy" Bevilaqua, a reformed criminal who has turned to God after finding his life's calling supplying clean urine to prospective casino employees and parolees alike.

Rory has been family since day one, starring in both of our films, and on a personal level is an absolute joy to work with and a blast simply to be around. He's a witty, charismatic and extremely talented method actor who truly becomes each character he undertakes. He is a unique and authentic practitioner of his very signature brand of craft. What follows is a little info on the man behind the madness.

Rory Dunwoody grew up in Philadelphia and attended St. Joseph's Prep High School, which is known for its theater program's successful alumni. Having appeared in plays from the age of 12, Rory debuted in the Bernardi and Santarsiero debut film Rise by Sin. While living in Japan for three and a half years, Rory co-starred in a Japanese TV Movie 'Jiku Keisatsu' (Time Police), appeared in the feature film 'Baruto no Gakuen' (The Ode to Joy), co-starred in a documentary and was featured in several months issues of 'Spymaster' magazine as a fashion model. After returning to the US, he appeared, after some consideration, in a smaller role as Marc 'The Piss Guy' Bevilaqua in Ice Grill, USA. Now back living in the NY area and settled, Rory is committed to his craft and will no doubt be leaving his mark on films for many years to come.