Production On “AWOL” Completed Award-Winning Short Film To Feature Length, Actress Lola Kirke Joins Cast As Main Character In Lesbian Romantic Drama Set In Penn.

Principal photography has been completed for a feature length version of the award winning short film "AWOL," now starring Lola Kirke, who recently co-starred in "Mistress America" appeared in "Gone Girl" and has been named one of Variety's Top Ten Actors to Watch in 2015.

"AWOL" premiered as a short film at Sundance in 2011, winning awards from Kodak, Technicolor and Women in Film. The short film was also featured in the New York Times as one several in a feature article "Big Movies Coming in Short Packages." AWOL the feature was chosen for Film Independent's Fast Track Fellowship and the IFP's Narrative Completion Lab, and received grants from the Jerome Foundation and Frameline. The project was one of three nominees for the Calvin Klein Live the Dream grant at the 2013 Gotham Awards.

Joey, 18, falls hard for Rayna, 27, a sexy, married mother of two. Threatened by Rayna's husband, fired from her job at the local dairy, and without many economic opportunities, Joey reluctantly joins the Army. Days before deployment to Afghanistan and still wildly in love, Joey returns home to rural Pennsylvania and plans to go AWOL with Rayna and her kids.

"I am thrilled that we have finished production on the feature length 'AWOL," said Producer Laura Teodosio, who most recently was Executive Producer on the acclaimed feature "Love is Strange."

"AWOL, set in rural post-industrial America highlights the lives of people from various classes and communities near Wilkes-Barre, PA. Our lead characters navigate family and the military while falling in love in a land of limited economic opportunity," continued Teodosio. "The relationship between Joey and Rayna, portrayed brilliantly by Lola Kirke and Breeda Wool, is the heart of the film's message about love, loss and growing up," concluded Teodosio.

"To think of AWOL merely as "a lesbian love story" might win it some followers while turning others away. But in reality, Deb Shoval's vision is much larger and universal," said Lola Kirke, AWOL's lead. "Most simply, it is an honest narrative about growing up and falling in love and how incredible but also inconvenient that can be when everything, from your age to your financial position (to a husband!) goes against your being with that person. There is no shortage of this kind of story out there, perhaps because there is no shortage of this kind of pain and joy in real life. People need to make movies about it and people need to see them; both experiences can be healing and enlightening, and that's what my experience on this shoot has been. It is a very special film and I am so happy to be a part of it," concluded Kirke.

Other producers include Jessica Caldwell ("Electrick Children") and Executive Producers Jim Lande and Scott Nadler (both from "Love Is Strange"). Expected release 2016.

CAST:

Lola Kirke ("Mistress America", "Gone Girl", "Mozart in the Jungle") as Joey.
Breeda Wool ("Betas", "Unreal") as Rayna.
Ted Welch ("The Help", "True Blood") as Pete.
Bill Sage ("Boardwalk Empire", "Nurse Jackie", "American Psycho") as Roy.
Dale Soules ("Orange is the New Black") as Ruthie.
Britne Oldford ("Ravenswood" "American Horror Story" "Skins") as Haley.

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AWOL on SLATED: https://www.slated.com/films/7006