12th Floor
When a wheelchair-bound woman moves back in with her disabled mother, she finds that much more goes on in the independent living apartment complex than she could possibly imagine.
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John R. KitchDirector"Earth Wept for the Moon", "Drive-ins Driven Out?"
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John R. KitchWriter"Earth Wept for the Moon"
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Alicia N. SmithWriter
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John R. KitchProducer"Earth Wept for the Moon", "Drive-ins Driven Out?"
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Alicia N. SmithProducer
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Alicia N. SmithKey Cast"A"
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Rocky ChaelKey Cast"Ed"
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Rozanne DevineKey Cast"Mildred"
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Maureen SmithKey Cast"Mo"
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Mary Gay RogersKey Cast"Plant Lady"
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Donald WhiteKey Cast"War Historian"
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Petra Chambers AllenKey Cast"Dancing Woman"
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Bob AllenKey Cast"Dancing Man"
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John R. KitchKey Cast"Joel"
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Anthony LongDirector of Photography
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La'Ron CooperProduction Sound Mixer & Boom Operator
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John R. KitchEditor
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Alicia N. SmithEditor
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Project Type:Feature
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Genres:Drama, Thriller
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Runtime:1 hour 59 minutes 15 seconds
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Completion Date:August 13, 2018
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Kansas City FilmFest InternationalKansas City, Missouri
United States
April 13, 2019
North American Premiere
Official Selection
John R. Kitch is an independent filmmaker whose credits include the feature film "12th Floor", and the short films "Drive-ins Driven Out?" and "Earth Wept for the Moon".
In August 2018, Kitch completed post production on "12th Floor", the first full-length feature film produced by his independent production company. He produced it with filmmaker and actress Alicia N. Smith. "12th Floor" was honored as an official selection of Kansas City FilmFest International 2019.
Kitch was the director for "Team What's In The Box?" for the 48 Hour Film Challenges in Kansas City and Des Moines. They created the short films "Blood Iron" (Kansas City 2012), "Feelgood" (Des Moines 2013), and "General Justice" (Kansas City 2013). "General Justice" garnered two awards for Best Writing and Best Choreography. The team won four awards for their 2013 National Film Challenge entry, "Good Morning, Justin", including runner-up for the sponsored Go-Pro Challenge. Kitch has also completed assignments with the Media Team for the Kansas City FilmFest, creating a series of interviews with guest filmmakers.
"Drive-ins Driven Out?" has gone on to play in major Midwestern film festivals. "Sizzled", another short film written and directed by Kitch, was also an official selection of Kansas City FilmFest 2014 by way of the Kansas City Fringe Fest.
In June 2013, Kitch completed his B.A. in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production. While attending film school, he received a scholarship for outstanding academic achievement. He graduated with high honors.
Kitch is an avid reader and researcher of psychology, myths, and world history/politics. He keeps an eye out for the next story all the while.
I first met Alicia N. Smith at art school, where I was studying filmmaking and she was studying photography.
I was working in a computer lab during after hours (as I usually did), and she came up to me, introduced herself, and started talking. Never had I ever encountered someone so outgoing, forward, and to-the-point. Alicia struck me as such an energetic soul, so much so that I didn't initially realize there was anything physically different about her. I would later learn about her disability, something challenging that she conquers daily. From then on, we were friends, and it continues to be an honor to work with her in many aspects of life and art.
Alicia and I developed "12th Floor" as a fictional, drama-infused mirror to our lives, but more importantly as a message to the filmmaking community that disabled actors and artists have a rightful place in a medium that is experiencing an exciting change with diversity. As a character in the film, Alicia experiences real struggles that those with disabilities face (decreased mobility, lack in range of motion, physical and emotional pain, relationship challenges), and then things are taken to another level with the introduction of a dramatic storyline. Now, an audience gets to see that no one should be underestimated or ignored simply because they look, move, and live differently.
Alicia and I are proud and excited to present "12th Floor", a story that we hope will inspire as much as it will entertain.
- John R. Kitch, director