BayView Entertainment, Inc have released the film Florence which follows writer-director Skip Shea’s reflective horror films, Trinity and Seeds, as the third and final installment of his artistic statement on his abuse as a youth.
A pioneer in the “trauma horror” sub-genre, 2016’s Trinity was inspired by a chance encounter Shea had with the clergy member who decades earlier abused him when he was child.
Seeds, a 2020 Rondo Award Winner for Best Independent Feature, continued the exploration of abuse and clandestine cover-ups in a compelling tale intermingling the secrets of the church and a New England cult.
Now with Florence, Shea creates, in the words of the film’s tagline, “An internal narrative gone mad.” When the title character shares a “special drink” with Father Billy, she’s launched on a confusing journey into her psyche and Dante’s Circles of Hell… while a masked, robed killer circles closer and closer.
Helping Shea tell his tale is legendary Italian writer-director Luigi Cozzi, who contributed some scenes. Cozzi’s involvement is appropriate, given the heavy influence foreign directors with a penchant for absurdism have had on his style.
“I looked to the greatest absurdist filmmakers for inspiration,”
Real life can be stranger than fiction, and the filming of Shea’s latest film brought everything full circle, when the treatment center where he was abused became an arts center: “They let me shoot scenes there,” he explains. “Then it caught fire, and I went back into the ruins and shot what is now a big part of the ending of Florence.”
“We have always been impressed with Skip’s artistic vision in telling his tales,” says BayView Entertainment VP of Acquisitions, Peter Castro. “He always brings his points across in meaningful ways, engaging and entertaining viewers.”
Florence is available on streaming video platforms worldwide including on Hoopla and Plex.
About BayView Entertainment, LLC
BayView Entertainment, LLC is a leading independent distributor of feature films, fitness, and special-interest content. With hit narrative films Skinamarink and Robot Monster, plus legendary documentaries On Any Given Sunday and The Endless Summer leading the way, BayView is one of the fastest-growing names in the field.