Feature Film AFIN 079
Torn: Dark Bullets
Directed by 
Dan Rizzuto
AFIN 2020 Winner
- 2020
- 1h 36m
-
Canada - English
- Thriller
Stills
2 frames
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Credits
Written by
Produced by
Synopsis
A raw and unapologetic look into a police shooting, racism, and the connections they share.
Director's Statement
As a child, I was raised and adopted by a Black Family in the US before I moved to Canada. As the only white child in a group of predominantly minority friends and family, I witnessed but was never the focus of direct racism. I saw, as a white person, how my African American friends were treated differently by the Police than I was. I co-wrote Torn Dark Bullets as a story to try to explain not only the experiences and feelings of my friends and family but those of the policeman. I wanted to let my audience come to their conclusions about not only the black family in the story but also the policeman, it was important to me everyone had their say right or wrong. I like the idea of letting the audience agree or disagree on what is being said by all the characters in the story without trying to force a certain narrative. I have worked professionally on sets for 20 years and always had the idea of this film in my head. The actors I choose were all relative unknowns but I always admired their talent. Our lead, Sam raised adopted African American children so being the racist in the story and having to deliver racist lines was heart-wrenching for him and even brought him to tears some days, but it made the emotion in his performance very real. There were significant challenges in getting the film shot. In particular, one scene where Pearce was to shoot the unarmed teen was supposed to be shot in a skate park. We found out that the day of the shoot was also the anniversary of when a black teen was shot by the police at that very spot and a memorial for that teen was to happen. We had to move the shoot. But consequentially it spurred us on. For me, this was a proving ground for my abilities as a director and producer. Along with my producing partner, we pulled out every industry favour we had to get this done. I never slept and worked full time on other shows at the same time. I loved it.
From the Judges
From the Judges
Tight editing and a fine handling of sound and music are what the panel kept returning to, alongside performances that carry real weight. The gritty, dark texture of the piece found admirers, and it struck them as a film that commits fully to the tone it sets out for.
Director's Biography
Dan Rizzuto Director
With 20 years of onset experience, Dan really just fell into the Hollywood film industry because of his extensive Martial Arts and bodyguarding experience. Dan was discovered on the set of Dark Angel by 2nd unit Director Mike Mitchell where he was running a team of 4, bodyguarding Jessica Alba. Dan is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and a former professional fighter under the UFC legend Frank Shamrock. He also holds Instructor certification under the world-renowned Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Martial Arts Guru's, Ron Balicki and Diana Lee Inosanto. Dan is also the founding member of the M1 Fight Design community. What makes Dan unique with his fight choreography is his ability to draw from so many arts. Specifically the Filipino Art of Kali, where he specializes in Panatukan, Silat, single and double blade work and the mysterious Indonesian Sarong/Mahjong. Dan has risen to the challenge that the film industry brings with it and has broken barriers and taken giant leaps, never looking behind. Performing first as a Stuntman, Dan was quickly recognized for his unique fighting techniques and started getting hired as a Fight Choreographer, soon after. Recently Dan was hired as the Fight Coordinator/Choreographer on Netflix's TV's hit show Wu Assassins. Dan is working on Joe Carnahan's latest film, Boss Level, as the Fight Coordinator. Staring his Directing career Dan has been hired as a Director for several commercials and music videos, 2 of which have included Grammy Award-winning artists and producers. He has also started a production company called Cerebral Monkey Entertainment after 4 years of building, learning, and shadowing, and has now completed writing, producing and directing his first full-length Feature Film. It is called TORN, and is about a white police officer that shoots and kills a black teen and gets off the charges. What happens next is unlike anything you've seen in this type of film. Be on the lookout for its release, late 2019. When not working on set he can be found travelling the globe teaching seminars and training his own students at the M1 Fight Design Academy. Dan feels he is a Martial Artist before everything else that has fallen in love with the film industry.
Fuller cast & crew
Porsha Pointner Callie (as Porscha Pointner) 
Christina Lewall Sienna 
Brenda Crichlow Board member #2 
Blaine Anderson Detective Sans - Gagun Chhina Cab Driver
Jason Bell UC Cop
Producer
Scott Ian Bailey
Director of Photography
Pieter Stathis
Music
- Ainz Prasad
Editor
- Kevin Hale
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Torn: Dark Bullets was Winner of Best Actor at the AFIN International Film Festival 2020, a Top 100 Best Reviewed and IMDb-qualifying festival.
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