THE MULBERRY BUSH

The Mulberry Bush

(2016)

Written and Directed by NEIL LABUTE

With VICTOR SLEZAK and J.J. KANDEL

World Premiere | September 15, 2016 (Tribeca Film Festival)

Running Time: 17 Minutes (Black & White)

Filmed on location in Central Park, NYC

Two men sit next to each other on an autumn day in Central Park. They make small talk about the weather and the joys of summer. When the conversation turns personal, however, it becomes clear that this is no random encounter, and they are headed toward a startling confrontation.

Neil LaBute began working in film in 1997 with his feature debut, In the Company of Men, which made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival.The film went on to win the Filmmaker Trophy as well as the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best First Feature. In addition to Sundance, it screened at the Cannes, Edinburgh, New Directors/New Films, London and Deauville Film Festivals and won two Independent Spirit Awards.

Following In the Company of Men, LaBute established himself as a playwright and film & television writer/director.  Among his films are Your Friends and Neighbors, Nurse Betty, The Shape of Things, Lakeview Terrace, Some Velvet Morning, Dirty Weekend and the upcoming Out Of The Blue.  In television, he has created two series for DirecTV, ten x ten (a collection of filmed monologues) and Billy & Billie (a half-hour comedy starring Adam Brody). LaBute also served as showrunner on the series Van Helsing, which ran for five seasons on SYFY.

Film and television credits include 10K written and directed by Neil LaBute; Chuck with Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts; Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker (Best Picture 2010) both directed by Academy Award® winner Kathryn Bigelow; We Need To Talk About Kevin; Billie & Billy (DirecTV); and Law & Order (NBC).

New York theater credits include 10K written and directed by Neil LaBute; The Mulberry Bush by Neil LaBute directed by Maria Mileaf; Falling Short and Jonathan’s Blaze both directed by Academy Award® and Golden Globe® winner Alexander Dinelaris; The Killing (World Premiere) by William Inge; Sundance directed by Matthew Penn; Intermission by Will Eno; and The Great Pretenders directed by Billy Hopkins with Amy Irving. Kandel is an actor member of Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City, SAG-AFTRA, and Actors’ Equity Association.

As a teenager, Victor Slezak was accepted into legendary Uta Hagen’s acting class which lead to studies with Kim Stanley, Geraldine Page and Wynn Handman.

He is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio and the Ensemble Studio Theatre and has worked with iconic film directors such as Clint Eastwood, John Boorman, Stephen Frears, Mary Harron, John Frankenheimer, Philip Noyce, Tony Scott, Neil LaBute, Mike Newell and Peter Bogdanovich.

Victor has also played opposite the formidable actresses Geraldine Page, Kathleen Turner, Elizabeth Ashley and Sada Thompson.

He began his career in regional theatre where he played major roles in classics such as Lord Berowne in Shakespeare’s Loves Labours Lost and Jacques in As You Like It, as well as modern masters including Arthur Miller, Ibsen, John Steinbeck, and Tennessee Williams.

Victor has appeared on Broadway, off Broadway and has had a hand in developing new works with established as well as up and coming playwrights.

Currently he is appearing on numerous top TV shows, be they on network, cable or streaming during this new Golden Age of Television. Victor's latest endeavors include The Interestings for Amazon, The OA for Netflix and President U.S. Grant on Hell On Wheels for AMC.