Shaun Vivaris makes his feature film debut with the genre-bending Lisa Mania which stars Tenzin Dhondup, Carlos Flores, Minji Chang, and Olivia Day. Written and directed by Vivaris released the first trailer and a clip from the film which will make its world premiere on September 30 at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF).
Watch the trailer and clip below.
Lisa Mania follows Dom, a real estate businessman going through a midlife crisis, who goes to see his shrink about suspicions he has with his wife, Lisa. From there things begin spiraling downward and with what looks like mounting evidence of Lisa’s infidelity, a bad mix of drugs in his system, a hell being raised by a demon in the office, Dom’s problems only seem to worsen by the minute.
“As a rabid fan of idiosyncratic comedies like Burn After Reading and The Lobster, I have always wanted to see more outrageous, genre-blending films coming out of the Asian American community because I believe in order to truly break the boundaries the media has placed on us, we need to expand the ones we place on ourselves,” says Vivaris. “But my chief goal was just to make a fun film because at the end of the day we’re all just animals driven by chemicals swirling around in our heads, both natural and drug-induced, and there’s no better drug than a film that makes you laugh.”
He adds “My first introduction to LAAPFF and Visual Communications was through the Armed with a Camera film fellowship and the support and appreciation that the community there gave to even the smallest projects was inspiring, so I’m beyond thrilled to be able to return and premiere my first feature film with them.”
Lisa Mania marks Vivaris’ feature film directorial debut. It iis presented by Vivarium Film, SP Film Production and Visual Communications and produced by Sultan Pirzhan Uulu and Kristin Nomura. Written during a mandatory evacuation at the height of the 2018 California Wildfires, making the film was a way for Vivaris to scratch the itch of telling an oddball story led by a diverse cast. Lisa Mania explores the themes of relationship paranoia, the humor in miscommunication and presumption, and how humans are often so hyper-focused on our own problems that they fail to see the world burning around us or the love laid at our feet.
Check out the poster below.
