Apostasy Blues

After a cult leader “raptures” alone with his followers’ donation money, two cult members reenter the secular world to embark on a manhunt for their swindler from rural Ohio to New York City.

  • Peter Pavlakis
    Director
  • Peter Pavlakis
    Writer
  • Peter Pavlakis
    Producer
  • Chris Pasi
    Producer
  • Lauren Orlando
    Producer
  • Cordie Hirsch
    Key Cast
    "Edyn"
  • Michael Morgan
    Key Cast
    "Troy"
  • Reed Birney
    Key Cast
    "Stephen"
  • Claire Burns
    Key Cast
    "Maria"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Comedy Drama
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 29 minutes 29 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 17, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    85,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital RAW
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.90∶1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Peter Pavlakis

Peter Pavlakis is a Brooklyn-based Cinematographer and Director.
He has a BFA in film directing from The School of Visual Arts in New York City. He started his career shooting documentary projects for NGOs in Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia, then he moved back to New York to focus on narrative and commercial work. As a DP, he shot the feature film “Rehab Cabin” that screened at the Austin Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, the Portland International Film Festival and was distributed through Gravitas Ventures. He contributed additional cinematography to the documentary “Takeover” that screened at Tribeca film festival and was shortlisted for a best short documentary Oscar. He’s shot 30 short films that have screened at festivals across the world. His commercial work has won Telly Awards for branded content. While “Stranger than Paradise” will be Peter’s first feature as a director, he’s directed the short films “This Whole Emotion Thing”, “The Last Hundred Feet” and “The Picker”.

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Director Statement

Millenialls (of which I am one) are the least religious generation in American history. And we’re wondering what to replace religion with. Maybe you try to replace it with fun, but that can feel empty. Maybe you try to replace it with money and work, but that’s unhealthy too. Where else can we find meaning and fulfillment in life? Maybe it was the community that religion gave us all along? Can we find that community outside religion, through friendship? Even with people who we don’t have much in common with?

Based on these notes and the synopsis, you might think it’s strange that I’m describing this as a comedy. But this is all funny. We all have causes in our lives that we’re more sure about than we should be, we all regret mistakes we made. So many depictions of cult members ridicule them or make them seem crazy, but I think the impulses that make someone join a cult are deeply human and in
all of us.