In one of the most pristine landscapes in the world, a team working to exploit oil resources of Alaska is tormented by an unseen evil. After one crewmember is found dead, a disorientation slowly claims the sanity of the other members of the team as each of them succumbs to an unknown fear.
This creeping dread bursts open when a malevolent wind brings down a plane that approaches the station. Explosions and carnage wreak havoc on the team and all functions fail in the camp, forcing two of the members out into the cold on a desperate bid for survival. As these two journey to find help, they find themselves utterly alone in a world that is unraveling—either they are being stalked by an invisible herd of menacing phantoms, or they are going mad.
This chilling supernatural drama is the latest offering from Larry Fessenden, an acclaimed director of intimate horror spectacles, whose trilogy of Horror (No Telling, Habit, and Wendigo) tackles themes of contemporary life—environmentalism, addiction, class conflict, aggression, fear and madness.
"Apocalyptic in title and tone, The Last Winter, written by Robert Leaver and Mr. Fessenden, breathes fresh air into a stale setup (an isolated group gone stir crazy or something) by insisting that our everyday horrors aren't a matter of arid news reports but of feverishly real, terrifying life."
- Manohla Dargis, New York Times
A discussion with Director Larry Fessenden and Producer Jeffrey Levy-Hinte will follow the screening.
Larry Fessenden has operated the production company Glass Eye Pix since 1985, with the mission of supporting individual voices in the arts. He has been a producer on various projects including Ilya Chaiken's forthcoming Liberty Kid, Douglas Buck's remake of DePalma's Sisters, Jeff Winner's Satellite, and David Gebroe's Zombie Honeymoon. Under his low budget horror banner ScareFlix, he has produced Ti West's The Roost and Trigger Man, and James Felix McKenney's The Off Season and Automotons. Two more Scareflix are slated to shoot in the Fall of 2006: Graham Reznick's I Can See You and Glenn McQuaid's I Sell the Dead. As a character actor, Fessenden has appeared in numerous films, including Neil Jordan's forthcoming The Brave One, Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers, Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead, and Steve Buscemi's Animal Factory. Fessenden stars in Habit, and the Sundance pictures Margarita Happy Hour and River of Grass.
Jeffrey Levy-Hinte most recently produced The Hawk is Dying, adapted from Harry Crews' novel and directed by Julian Goldberger, and starring Paul Giamatti, Michael Pitt, and Michelle Williams. The Hawk is Dying premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and screened in the 2006 Director's Fortnight at Cannes. Previously, Levy-Hinte produced Mysterious Skin, which screened at the 2004 Venice and Toronto Film Festivals and the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It was released in the US in May of 2005 to critical acclaim amd was nominated for IFP Gotham and Independent Spirit Awards. Levy-Hinte's other productions include Chain and Thirteen, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, and starring Holly Hunter, Nikki Reed and Evan Rachel Wood. Thirteen won the Dramatic Directing Award at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and went on to receive numerous awards and nominations, including Oscar, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Holly Hunter. Levy-Hinte also produced Laurel Canyon, Wendigo, American Saint, Limon, and High Art. He edited the Academy Award-winning documentary When We Were Kings. In 2003 Levy-Hinte was selected as one of Variety's "Producers to Watch".