Calvin to Host National Film Premiere

March 23, 2004 == MEDIA ADVISORY

A quirky movie about romance tours to Russia will be the centerpiece of a
Calvin Around Town event on April 15.

"A Foreign Affair" was written by 1993 Calvin College graduate Geert
Heetebrij, who also worked on the film as a producer. The film premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival and opens in theaters in May.

The premise of the film, which stars David Arquette (Scream, Eight Legged
Freaks), Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother Where Art Thou, Holes) and Emily Mortimer
(Lovely & Amazing, Bright Young Things) is relatively simple: two brothers
have for years relied on their mother to care for them and are thrown for a
loop when she dies. Their solution? Go on a two-week romance tour in search of
a wife who can replace mom in the cooking and cleaning department.

Blake Nelson plays older brother Jake. He hatches the idea to go to Russia for
a wife. Arquette plays younger brother Josh, a painfully shy homebody whose
world is rocked when mom dies.
 
When they get to St. Petersburg, Jake methodically interviews one potential
Russian bride after another, attracting the attention of a journalist
(Mortimer) filming a documentary on the romance tour phenomenon. But Josh,
unable to get with Jake's program, is transformed by the city and its women
into an outgoing playboy, putting his brother's plan in jeopardy.
 
Both Heetebrij and director Helmut Schleppi felt the only way to tell a
realistic story about romance tours would be to actually experience one. They
contacted Phoenix-based A Foreign Affair (AFA) about joining a tour (after
getting the permission of their wives!) and soon thereafter they were on their
way to Russia.
 
There they had a chance to talk at length with "fellow tour members." Many
were too busy to waste time on anything but finding a wife, but others became
more responsive when they learned the two were only there for the research and
weren't part of the competition.
 
The on-site experience got, at some points, surreal for Heetebrij and
Schleppi. At the end of one night, after being back in their hotel room for
not more than a few minutes, the phone rang. "Hotel Security asked if we
wanted them to send us a young lady," Schleppi recalls. Heetebrij politely
declined the offer. But that was when the first stage of writing the script
began.

On the third day, they met a witty French journalist named Angela who had just
spent six grueling months covering the war in Chechnya and then was assigned to
complete a story on romance tours. She was deeply offended by the entire tour
phenomenon but, strangely enough, seemed to warm up to both Schleppi and
Heetebrij, although she did tell them that "Men are beasts and you should show
that in your film."

When they weren't talking to tour clients or would-be brides, Schleppi and
Heetebrij spent time on pre-production scouting around the St. Petersburg area.
They visited the city's Theatrical Institute to scout for actresses and various
film schools in the region for other crew and affordable equipment.
 
The April 15 Grand Rapids screening, scheduled before the film opens in a
limited theatrical release, will mark the first-ever showing of "A Foreign
Affair" film in commercial theaters. Heetebrij will attend this premiere in
Grand Rapids and will take part in a special post-screening panel discussion on
the making of the movie.

NOTE: Heetebrij will be available for interviews on Wednesday, April 14 and
Thursday, April 15. At the premiere introductions to the audience will be at
6:45 pm and the 90-minute film will begin at 7 in two theaters. Following the
film there will be a discussion with dessert and beverages.

For a high-res picture of Heetebriji see:
http://www.calvin.edu/alumni/chapters/michigan/grand_rapids/cat/2003_04/images_foreign-affair/heetebrij_geert.jpg

For more on the film see http://www.aforeignaffair.net

Also see http://www.calvin.edu/alumni/chapters/michigan/grand_rapids/cat/

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Received on Tue Mar 23 13:18:37 2004