iMordecai | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Marvin Samel |
Written by |
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Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Will Turner |
Edited by | Rick Grayson |
Music by | Matthew Kajcienski |
Distributed by | Greenwich Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5,000,000.00 |
Box office | $140,272[1] |
iMordecai is a 2022dramatic comedy film written, directed, and produced by Marvin Samel. The film, about aHolocaust survivor whose life changes when his son buys him aniPhone, starsJudd Hirsch,Carol Kane, andSean Astin. Based on Samel's real life experiences,iMordecai is his directorial debut.
Greenwich Entertainment releasediMordecai in select U.S. cinemas on February 24, 2023. The film’s digital and VOD release is scheduled for April 11, 2023.[2]
A Holocaust survivor’s confrontation with an iPhone challenges him to face the realities of the modern world.[3]
In 2014, Marvin Samel’s wife Netta gave birth to their twin daughters, and his mother Fela was diagnosed with dementia. As a coping mechanism, Samel began compiling the colorful stories of his family’s past that he had shared in order to entertain the audiences at cigar events he hosted.[4]
He decided the stories could be a basis for a film so started writing a screenplay and engaged veteran screenplay writer Rudy Gaines as his collaborator. When the script was completed, Dahlia Heyman, an award-winning screenwriter and former creative executive at World Film Group, came on board as a Producer. She introduced Samel to industry veteran, and award-winner in his own right, Allen Bain, who agreed to be the film’s Executive Producer.[5]
Heyman and Bain connected Samel with award-winning casting director Avy Kaufman who arranged a meeting between Judd Hirsch and Samel.Tony Award winner Stephanie J. Block signed on to play Samel’s wife Netta and a casting call turned up newcomer, Azia Dinea Hale, to play a key role in the film as a young iPhone techie.
iMordecai was shot on location inFlorida. The locations were personal to Samel and his parents as he made use of his parents' favorite spots for locations. Even though the film is shot in Miami, it has aNew York sensibility — the characters are all New Yorkers, viaPoland,Siberia,Israel — as Samel’s formative years were spent in New York.[6][7][8][9]
iMordecai had its theatrical release in South Florida, as Samel wanted to acknowledge the contribution and support he had received from the South Florida community where the film takes place, was shot and produced.[10] It then opened in New York City at theQuad Cinema.[11]