HEARTBEATS – Written and Directed by Duane Adler
Starring Krystal Ellsworth, Amitash Pradhan, Aneesha Joshi, Paul McGillion, Salman Yussuf Khan, Justin Chon, and Daphne Zuniga
Opens March 9 in Toronto (Yonge & Dundas Toronto, Winston Churchill Oakville/Mississauga), and March 16 in Vancouver (The Park Theatre)
March 1, Toronto, ON Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) is pleased to announce the Canadian theatrical release of HEARTBEATS, written and directed by Duane Adler (Step Up, Save the Last Dance) and starring Krystal Ellsworth (Glee), Amitash Pradhan (Velai Illa Pattadhaari), Aneesha Joshi (Padmavat, Simran) Paul McGillion (Stargate Atlantis, The Killing, The X-Files). HEARTBEATS opens March 9 in Toronto (Yonge & Dundas), and on March 16 in Vancouver (The Park Theatre), followed by the home entertainment release on April 3 (iTunes/VOD/DVD).
Kelli (Ellsworth), an aspiring dancer, gave up her passion to enroll in law school when her older brother passed away. Unbeknownst to her parents (McGillion, Zuniga), her studies were short-lived, and she quickly returned to pursue her dance career. When her parents discover her secret, they force Kelli to drop out of dance and travel to India on a family trip to attend a wedding. What begins as a reluctant family trip turns into a journey of self-discovery when Kelli meets Aseem (Pradhan), a fellow aspiring dancer. As Aseem and Kelli fall in love, she learns more about herself than she ever imagined possible. In the tradition of SAVE THE LAST DANCE and DIRTY DANCING, HEARTBEATS is a journey of love, courage and redemption.
Duane Adler is one of Hollywood’s top writers of edgy, music‐driven dramas. Films written or directed by Adler have grossed over $780 million at the box office, and two of the films he has written are two of the highest grossing teen romances of the past 40 years in SAVE THE LAST DANCE and STEP UP.
HEARTBEATS marks his second directed film and builds on the international appeal of dance and music, while taking the storyline and characters to a global level. “I pride myself on the diverse stories I have been able to tell over my career. I was fortunate enough to expand on this cultural variety by shooting HEARTBEATS entirely in India, with a predominantly Indian cast that I am immensely proud of and excited to introduce to the world,” Adler said.
HEARTBEATS is produced by Sriram Das, Andrea Chung and Karine Martin.
ABOUT PACIFIC NORTHWEST PICTURES
The Vancouver-based company was launched in 2010 and acquires, produces and releases international and Canadian filmed entertainment through all distribution platforms including theatrical, DVD, on demand, cable and broadcast television, and online.
PNP’s recent releases include The Limehouse Golem starring Bill Nighy, The Queen of Spain starring Penelope Cruz, Nicole Garcia’s From the Land of the Moon with Marion Cotillard, the political thriller Drone starring Sean Bean, A Man Called Ove, nominated for two Academy Awards, the fascinating documentary film David Lynch: The Art Life, and Terence Davies’ acclaimed A Quiet Passion starring Cynthia Nixon. Current releases include the critically acclaimed debut film from the UK’s Francis Lee, God’s Own Country and Takashi Miike’s 100th feature film, Blade of the Immortal.