Ode the movie

OVERVIEW

ODE is a whimsical comedy/drama with magic realism and was written to honor writer/director/producer Brian Kowalchuk's mom who passed away a few years ago. But it also particularly honors caring single mothers and fathers.

Logline: Through the accidental intervention of a corrupt psychic gypsy, a literature professor on the verge of a nervous breakdown exchanges mortalities with his quirky mom as they struggle to live truer lives. Mysterious images lead them to an abandoned World War Two dance hall where the unrequited dreams are finally realized.

ODE is a mystical journey into the infinite world of the human heart and spirit. A journey through the complex layers of what the forces of nature can offer, in this case, a psychic gypsy simply trying to pay her rent. Or so it seems.

Read ODE's First 30 Pages Here

Director Sample:
The Cindy Sequence

PRODUCTION LOCATIONS

Los Angeles

& Arizona

22 Days

"We don’t leave any room for the mystery and magic and the great wonders of Life. We don’t allow Life to lead us down the unbeaten paths to new places and new adventures and new dreams. We become afraid of change. And we lose hope."
- Marny Larmike (ODE female lead character)

TEAM

Brian Kowalchuk
(writer/director/producer)

Charles Matthau
(Role of Doctor Joe, script reference)
A respected filmmaker and actor (Freaky Deaky, The Sugar Shack, Hanging Up, The Grass Harp).

Brad Watson
(Music supervisor)
The house keyboard player at the Kibbitz Room on Tuesdays, and Sundays at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Plays keyboard in tribute bands for The Doors, and Tom Petty.

Filmmaker biography

In the legit theater, Brian Kowalchuk has directed and stage-managed several plays, largely under the auspices of Equity theater plans in New York City and Los Angeles. Wrote three plays, including Sniper: A Love Story which was produced at The Tamarind Theater in Los Angeles and later adapted to make the feature film The Billy Armstrong Situation. This film, which he also produced and directed, received a strong recommendation from a Midnight Madness programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and is available on Amazon Prime Video.

Theater productions worked on include Our Town by Thornton Wilder, produced Off-Off-Broadway at the New York Theater Ensemble, and, The Valiant by Halworthy Hall and Robert Middlemass, produced at The Attic Theater in Los Angeles.

ODE placed well in the PAGE, Final Draft Big Break, and The Script Lab screenwriting competitions. Other scripts written by Brian have placed well in reputable screenwriting competitions like the Nicholl Fellowship, Screen Craft, WeScreenplay, Outstanding Screenplays, Filmmatic, and ISA Table Read Hollywood. Has also received good coverage from Black List readers. And Brian has done paid coverage for a major Academy Award winning production company.