Echo Chamber - 432 - Part Four (After The Act + ForeFans (aka ‘Watch Me’)
Things just kept growing, BUT, this is the last instalment of @EchoChamberFP this week!!!
'Part FOUR' is thanks to Kelli McNeil-Yellen @kellimcneilyellen who really delivered the goods, with two films from a crazy creative couple! Both films are raw explorations of intimacy, relationships, trust, regret and love, but from completely different directions. THEN we get to sit down with the couple and really get into story techniques, capturing intimacy, the art of improvisation and a LOT more!!! Plus the world premiere of their latest offering 'ForeFans' at The Castle Cinema Hackney, 18:30, 10th June 2026!!!
'After the Act' is directed by Sarah Jayne Portelli & Ivan Malekin, with Malekin also serving as writer. A devastating meditation on love and intimacy, unfolding over 24 hours as three friends (Laura Petracco, Jacob Lefton, Jessica Sy) face the quiet wreckage of their choices.
Watch the conversation with Sarah Jayne Portelli & Ivan Malekin, HERE!
In 'Part Four' we have:
After the Act - Poster
After the Act
Watch Review: Here.
Admiral Kino, Vienna, World Premiere: 3rd December 2025
Sputnik Kino in Berlin: 9th December 2025
Eclipse Cinema, Melbourne: 11th - 21st December 2025
US Theatrical Release Date: 12th September 2025
UK Theatrical Release Date: 12th January 2026
US Digital Release Date: 2nd April 2024
UK Digital Release Date: 8th October 2025
Director: Sarah Jayne Portelli, Ivan Malekin
Cast: Laura Petracco, Jacob Lefton, Jessica Sy, Alexandra Johansson, Anna-Maria Okot, Mukesh Lynch, Laura Allbones, Louis Caesar, Angela Chambers, Alper Çiçekli, Phelora Felim, Moana Kraft, Anne Laure Lécrivain, Aladdin Mannai, Cécile Marchal, Amir Miller, Yuval Miller, Jane Roques-Ficher, Seif Allah Tarhouni
Credit: NewCircleFilms, Nexus Production Group, Spitshine VFX
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 75 min
Cert: 18
Trailer: Here.
Digital Platforms: Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube, Google, Vudu, Vubiquity, Cox, and Comcast
Watch via Apple TV+: Here.
Website: Here.
ForeFans (aka 'Watch Me’) - Poster
ForeFans (aka 'Watch Me’)
Watch Review: Here.
The Castle Cinema, Hackney, London, World Premiere: 10th June 2026
Buy Tickets: Here.
Cines Embajadores Madrid
20:00, 25th June 2026
Buy Tickets: Here.
Film Noir Cinema, Brooklyn, New York
19:00, 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 21st, 22nd August 2026
Buy Tickets: Here.
Kino Loop, Z-cinema Berlin, Germany: 1st September 2026
Love & Hope International Film Festival, Barcelona, Spain: October 2026
Director: Ivan Malekin
Cast: Anastasia Kor, Nicolas Hackenberg, Andrea Véguez, Antoine Topin, Ivona Tomiek, Dorian Jusup, Sarah Jayne Portelli, Ivan Malekin, Jelena Vojkovic
Credit: NewCircleFilms, Nexus Production Group, Spitshine VFX
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 94 min
Cert: 18
Trailer: Here.
Website: Here.
Watch the conversation with Sarah Jayne Portelli & Ivan Malekin, HERE!
Ivan Malekin
Ivan Malekin
Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, Cinematographer
Ivan Malekin is an Australian-Croatian producer, director, and editor whose work includes narrative feature films, documentaries, and web series. Since 2007, he has been creating original and daring films that often incorporate improvisation, blurring the lines between performance and real life. A graduate in professional writing and editing, Ivan began his career as a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist before discovering filmmaking. In 2007, he co-founded Nexus Production Group in Melbourne, a collective built on creativity, originality, and collaboration. Today, Nexus is based in Malta with a network of collaborators in Croatia, Australia, the United States, and beyond. Ivan's documentary work includes Cats of Malta (2023), which screened in Japanese cinemas and aired on PBS in the United States, and No Woman is an Island (2024), which represented Malta at the European Parliament in Brussels to help bring about legislative change. His narrative films are often improvised and explore raw human emotions with an unfiltered lens. He has directed and produced feature films such as Friends, Foes & Fireworks (2018), In Corpore (2020), and Machination (2022), as well as the ongoing web series Life Improvvisvised, filmed in numerous countries around the world. In 2021, Ivan published his first book, Improv for Indie Filmmakers, a practical guide to his unique approach to storytelling. His upcoming projects include the feature films After the Act (2025) and ForeFans (2026).
Follow Ivan via:
IMDb: Here.
Linkedin: Here.
Sarah Jayne Portelli
Sarah Jayne Portelli
Actor, Producer, Director, Set Decorator, Wardrobe Director, Writer
Sarah Jayne is an Australian storyteller, film director and occasional writer for hire who calls Europe home. She began her film career in her home town of Melbourne during 2006 taking on various roles within the art department for film and television and has also worked on short films in Sydney.
Follow Sarah Jayne via:
IMDb: Here.
Linkedin: Here.
Instagram: @the_sarah.jayne
Instagram: @through.my.vintage.lens
*(Music)
'The Big Payback' (Instrumental) by EPMD - 2020