Chicago Filmmakers to Debut Lanas Rain" at Music Box Theater

Debut achieves technology milestone as the first independent feature film converted to High Definition DVD; set to open February 27

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) February 28, 2004 --Lanas Rain," an independent film opening exclusively at Chicagos Music Box Theater on Friday in 35mm, marks a debut not only for local filmmakers and actors, but a first in the use of advanced digital technologies in an independent release. Following the Chicago engagement, Lanas Rain plans to rollout to other U.S. cities. Directed by Michael S. Ojeda and produced by Joel Goodman, Lanas Rain" is the first independent feature film to be encoded using Microsofts Window Media Video High Definition (WMV HD) format.

We are proud to be part of 'Lanas Rain. Artistically and technically, this new format (WMV HD) brings the home theatre experience to a whole new level allowing the consumer to view film-like quality for the first time," said Matthew S. Murphy and James M. McClain, principals of Schaumburg-based b|media, one of the local companies responsible for converting Lanas Rain" to WMV HD, as well as investors in the project.

Its one of the best and most ambitious Chicago-made independent movies in a very long time," said David Sikich, President of ISA Releasing, the Chicago-based movie distributor handling the theatrical distribution of the movie.

The stars of Lanas Rain" are Oksana Orlenko and Nickolai Stoilov, two real life Eastern European immigrants who give riveting performances in their American film debuts. The story follows the plight of a brother and sister during and following the Balkan Wars of the 1990's. They flee Eastern Europe and come to America with dreams of a better life. Lana's hopes are simple ones, but the transition to her new life in America is fraught with danger and deception, brought on by her brother Darko who has his own plans on how to survive in their new country.

Schaumburg-based b|media delivers innovative solutions to companies seeking effective, interactive media to brand, promote and educate. The current push of b|media into the High Definition market includes turnkey HD acquisition, editing, post production and compression all in-house at their facility in Schaumburg, Ill., offering the lowest HD prices in the country. With a unique blend of both the creative talent and technical expertise, b|media has worked with Ameritrade, Coca-Cola, Intuit and Nalco Company among other companies well known in the business to business and consumer arena. More information on the company is available at www.bmediaweb.com.