AZAR Productions announces that its New York City based darkly comedic feature film Armless, which tackles a bizarre new medical condition, Body Identity Integrity Disorder, will have its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in the NEXT (<=>) category, which is a "new section composed of eight American films selected for their innovative and original work in low- and no-budget filmmaking." The film is helmed by Emmy Award winning director Habib Azar from a screenplay by Obie Award winner Kyle Jarrow, based on his play of the same name (winner of the Overall Excellence Award at the NY Fringe Festival 2006). Jarrow's other theater works include A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant, Hostage Song, and the upcoming Whisper House with Duncan Sheik, opening in January 2010 at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.
Body Identity Integrity Disorder (B.I.I.D.) is a recently defined psychological condition in which an individual paradoxically doesn't feel "whole" unless he loses one or more major limbs. Sufferers have been known to sever arms or legs in attempt to achieve their ideal body form. Strange as it sounds, this real-life condition has sprung up in pop culture with increasing frequency-in episodes of "Nip/Tuck" and "Grey's Anatomy" among others. Unlike many pop culture treatments of B.I.I.D., which aim to shock, Armless explores the metaphorical resonance of B.I.I.D.-as a symbol for the secrets that all of us have. It is a quirkily funny, strangely poignant story about love, lies, marriage... and amputation.
Filmed in New York City by a New York City based team, Armless is an independently made first feature by Habib Azar, and is based on the award-winning play of the same name by Kyle Jarrow, called "a sleek, taut comedic drama" by New York Magazine and "an affecting comedy [both] droll and humane" by The Village Voice. The film features the talents of Janel Moloney ("The West Wing"), Daniel London (Old Joy, Synecdoche, New York), Zoe Lister-Jones (Arranged), Matt Walton (Burn After Reading), Keith Powell ("30 Rock"), and Laurie Kennedy (Winter Passing, "Law & Order").
Armless tells the story of a man who suffers from Body Integrity Identity Disorder. When he leaves his wife and goes to find a doctor willing to amputate his arms, it triggers a twisted romp filled with mistaken identities, missed chances, and tragic consequences. Armless utilizes the structure of a classic farce, combining it with a darkly philosophical tone. It also explores the ways in which a culture with so much wealth can come to fetishize suffering. But at its heart, Armless is a fable about acceptance-a meditation on trust, love and marriage.
More info can be found at www.armlessthemovie.com.
