Sound of My Voice (2011)

Director:

Zal Batmanglij

Writers:

Brit Marling (written by)
Zal Batmanglij (written by)

Release Date:

3 August 2012 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A journalist and his girlfriend get pulled in while they investigate a cult whose leader claims to be from the future. |

Plot Keywords:

Cult | Journalist | Target Shooting | Female Nudity | Boyfriend Girlfriend Relationship

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Christopher Denham	...	Peter Aitken
Nicole Vicius	...	Lorna Michaelson
Brit Marling	...	Maggie
Davenia McFadden	...	Carol Briggs
Kandice Stroh	...	Joanne
Richard Wharton	...	Klaus
Christy Meyers	...	Mel
Alvin Lam	...	Lam
Constance Wu	...	Christine
Matthew Carey	...	Lyle
Jacob Price	...	PJ
David Haley	...	O'Shea
James Urbaniak	...	Mr. Pritchett
Annie O'Donnell	...	Mrs. Dewitt
Laura Leyva	...	Principal Garner
Travis Johns	...	Timothy
Ben Carroll	...	Officer 1
Piper Mackenzie Harris	...	Heidi
Tonita Castro	...	Lumala
Virginia Montero	...	Motel House Keeper
Amber Horn	...	Museum Guide
Edgar Martin	...	Officer 2
Sean Mandell	...	Street Kid
Sam Tiger	...	Party Goer
Jack Griffo	...	Young Peter
Kyle Hacker	...	Lucas
Sasha Wexler	...	Waitress
Michaela Haas	...	Abby Screen Double
Jane Widdop	...	Abby Screen Double
Samantha Garcia	...	School Girl
Alia Kahn	...	School Girl
Kristina Ortiz	...	School Girl (as Kristina Marie Ortiz)
Ema Vo	...	School Girl (as Ema Li Vo)
Marisa Imbroane	...	School Girl
Tiffany Martinez	...	School Girl
Gabrielle Pastore	...	School Girl
Hannah Johnson	...	Narrator
Avery Kristen Pohl	...	Abigail Pritchett (as Avery Pohl)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maeve Quinlan	...	Diane Winston (uncredited)
Ron Roggé	...	Tom Winston (uncredited)
Raelyn Tepper	...	Towel Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Zal Batmanglij

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Zal Batmanglij		written by
Brit Marling		written by

Produced by
Jennifer Glynn	....	line producer
Victoria Guenier	....	executive producer
Brit Marling	....	producer
Eric S. Richter	....	executive producer (as Eric Richter)
Hans Ritter	....	producer
Shelley Surpin	....	producer

Original Music by
Rostam Batmanglij

Cinematography by
Rachel Morrison

Film Editing by
Tamara Meem

Casting by
Danielle Aufiero
Amber Horn

Production Design by
Scott Enge

Set Decoration by
Alys Thompson

Costume Design by
Sarah de Sa Rego

Makeup Department
Abigail Bradley	....	additional hair stylist
Abigail Bradley	....	additional makeup artist
Dawn Subhasiriwatana	....	key hair stylist
Dawn Subhasiriwatana	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Rachel Garza	....	unit production manager
J.M. Logan	....	post-production supervisor
Otto Michael Penzato	....	production supervisor (as Otto Penzato)
Ron Dempsey	....	production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nicolas Duchemin Harvard	....	first assistant director
Chris Hughes	....	second assistant director (as Chris 'Buzz' Hughes)
Daniel J. Pico	....	additional second assistant director
Justin Trofholz	....	second second assistant director
Rico Savage	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Christian Arias	....	set dresser
Jane Bloomingdale Cisneros	....	donor: Maggie's basementbuilt a gift of
Cheryl Enge	....	construction crew
Ric Enge	....	construction crew
Cara Fitzgerald	....	set dresser
Brett Johnson	....	donor: Maggie's medical supplies a gift of
Jason Lamb	....	construction crew
Darren Manelski	....	donor: lego sculptures a gift of
Raelyn Tepper	....	set dresser
Christina Weston	....	property master

Sound Department
Josh Bissett	....	sound mixer
Matt Brailey	....	foley artist
Dustin Camilleri	....	sound effects editor
Tobias Enhus	....	supervising sound editor
Patrick Giraudi	....	adr recordist
Patrick Giraudi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Patrick Giraudi	....	sound supervisor
Patrick Giraudi	....	supervising sound editor
Will Riley	....	sound designer
Will Riley	....	sound editor
D. Chris Smith	....	sound effects editor
Xavier Sol	....	sound designer
Yu-Ting Su	....	foley recordist
Christina Turek	....	assistant sound editor
Milos Zivkovic	....	additional dialogue mixer
R.D. Floyd	....	post-production audio (uncredited)
Tom Ryan	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
John Soukup	....	sound transfer (uncredited)
Sam Vlahovich	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ian T. Barbella	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera (as Ian Barbella)
Natasha Bedu	....	camera operator: "b" camer
Tom Boyd	....	underwater camera operator
Brian Burns	....	gaffer
Mike Cahill	....	additional photography
Joshua Coffman	....	swing
Jonathan Helms	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Christopher Johnson	....	steadicam operator
Justin Stewart Johnson	....	best boy grip (as Justin Johnson)
Charles Labbe	....	second assistant camera
Abby Linne	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Edgar Martin	....	key grip
David Miller	....	swing
Ashley Pavicic	....	best boy electric
Dagan Reinhardt	....	best boy grip
Kelsey Risdon	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Ari Robbins	....	steadicam operator
Torrey Schoermer	....	swing
Joshua W. Smith	....	best boy electric (as Joshua Smith)
Evan Wilhelm	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Tasha Goldthwait	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Alex Bickel	....	colorist
Daniel Gradilla	....	second assistant editor
Alex Marsh King	....	first assistant editor
Paul Lavoie	....	digital intermediate production manager: FotoKem

Music Department
Hamilton Berry	....	musician: cello
Andrew Bulbrook	....	musician: violin
Fernando Lodeiro	....	score pro tools engineer
Kasia Middleton	....	assistant music editor
Arthur Moeller	....	musician: violin
H. Scott Salinas	....	additional music editor
Shane Stoneback	....	score recordist

Transportation Department
Henrique Cisneros	....	donor: film vehicles a gift of
Jay Duff	....	driver
Ron Duke	....	transportation coordinator
Finley Sperling	....	donor: school bus a gift of
Ryder Sperling	....	donor: school bus a gift of

Other crew
Glenn Akers	....	assistant: Zal Balmanglij
Jamie Babbit	....	donor: hydroponic garden a gift of
Evelyn Belasco	....	script supervisor
Cecilia Cisneros	....	donor: Maggie;s worms a gift of
Jamie Coghill	....	production legal services: Surpin & Mayerson
Phil Eisenhower	....	studio teacher
Darren Ellison	....	security
Sean Mandell	....	location scout
Megan McHugh	....	location manager
Todd Pliss	....	studio teacher
Jen Smith	....	chef: Full Moon Catering
Shelley Surpin	....	production legal services: Surpin & Mayerson (as Shelley H. Surpin)
Sam Tiger	....	assistant production office coordinator
Martha E. Windahl	....	catering assistant: Full Moon Catering (as Martha Windahl)
Carol A. Compton	....	script clearance (uncredited)
Brian O'Shea	....	world sales executive (uncredited)

Thanks
Jamie Babbit	....	special thanks
Mike Cahill	....	special thanks
Alex Marsh King	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Skyscraper Films

Distributors

• 20th Century Fox (2012) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Fox Searchlight Pictures (2012) (Australia) (all media)
• Fox Searchlight Pictures (2012) (UK) (all media)
• Fox Searchlight Pictures (2012) (USA) (all media)

Other Companies

• ABS Payroll & Production Accounting Services  payroll services
• Alan Siegel Entertainment  filmmaker's rep
• Burns Trust for the Arts  donor: La Brea Tar Pits a gift of
• Cinerep / AMPS  generators (as Cinerep AMPS)
• Cineworks  grip & electric equipment
• Company 3  color timing
• Company 3  digital intermediate
• Critical Mass Productions  audio post-production
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• EVS & Hydroflex  camera support equipment
• FotoKem  additional digital intermediate
• Full Moon Pickles Catering  catering (as Full Moon Catering)
• Hollywood Honeywagon & Production Vehicles  honeywagon (as Hollywood Honeywagons)
• HydroFlex  underwater camera housing
• Image Resources  audio post-production
• IndieClear  script clearance
• Pollution Studios  soundstage
• Production Truck, The  location supplies and expendables
• Superfad  title design
• Surpin, Mayersohn & Edelstone  production legal services (as Surpin & Mayersohn)
• Union  post-production services
• Virtualmix  audio post-production

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language including some sexual references, and brief drug use

Runtime:

USA:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Datasat

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:14A (Ontario) | UK:15 | Australia:MA15+ | Singapore:NC-16

Company:

Skyscraper Films

Trivia:

The first in an intended trilogy of films following Maggie and her cult. Though well-received, Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij have said they do not know if the subsequent films will ever be produced.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Peter & Laura were blindfolded at the beginning of the film, before being driven to Maggie's location for the first time, the blindfolds changed from being narrow to wide and then back to narrow again

Quotes:

Peter Aitken:Somewhere in the valley, there is a woman living in a basement. She's actually amassing followers. these people believe that she will actually lead them to salvation, or whatever. And yes, she's dangerous - but we have to see this thing through. All the way.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards (2013) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Either You Stay Or You Go

Sound of My Voice is Best of the Fest

I saw this film at SXSW where it was playing following the film's premiere at Sundance. The film is about 2 documentary filmmakers who are determined to expose a cultleader, played by Brit Marling, as a fraud. The more time they spend with the cult, however, the more the filmmaker's relationship to each other is tested -- one continues to dismiss the cult as a hoax while the other considers the possibility, ever so slight, that the central claim of the cult leader may be true. Unlike many low-budget Indie films, the pacing was superb -- there was never a dull moment that made the film feel slow. This is partly due to the film's well-crafted suspense - we, as an audience, are constantly asking ourselves the same question that the protagonists ask: could the cult leader possibly be telling the truth? This film leaves you guessing until the end and when the answer is finally revealed, you are left with a desire for more. The only weakness is a few confusing scenes - (e.g., an FBI investigator debugs her hotel room without explanation. A young girl behaves strangely in class and its never revealed why.) According to interviews, director Zal Batmanglij is working on a trilogy that will continue the story -- very exciting news. Perhaps most satisfying about this film is that it shows that you can make a compelling story come to life on a shoe-string budget. I think this film would play well to mainstream audiences and it deserves a wider release.