MIAMI BEACH FLORIDA - Sweet Tea Production, Inc. The independent film Red Dirt will World Premiere at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. The 2000 festival will mark the sixth year for the LAIFF which this year recieved over 1700 entries will present 79 of those films.

Red Dirt is a story of a young man at a crossroads in his life. It follows the blood bonds we make with our families, the people we love and the place we call home. Set in rural Mississippi, the film stars Karen Black(Five Easy Pieces, Easy Rider, The Player), Walton Goggins(The Apostle), Aleska Palladino(Many and Lo, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole) and Dan Montgomery(Last Man, Wasteland.)

Red Dirt is the first feature film for writer/director Tag Purvis. Purvis has completed four short films to date, including his most recent, America the Beautifull, which has been screened at over forty festivals internationally and broascast by CANAL+ in three of their principal markets. In addition to traditional filmmaking, Purvis has been recognized for his work as an installation artist and has exhibited in numerous venues throughout the U.S.

Born and raised in Meridian, Mississippi, Purvis chose to return to his birthplace with his right hand man Pablo Antonio Mirabal to shoot the film. Bearing a strong artistic background, production designer Mirabal drew inspiration for Red Dirt from a diverse group of artist spanning the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Artist such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Welty all had a hand in shaping the style that culminated in the creation of the film.

The music score was recorded at Capital studios under the leadership of Nathan Barr Barr, a classically trained cellist from New York, saw to it that the lush nature and emotion caputerd in the production was continued in the sound track as well.

Red Dirt is a Sweet Tea Prodution, and is being produced by Cyril Bijaoui. Bijaoui, holding a finance degree from New York University, carries on the business operations of the company and serves as a vital member of the collaborative group of filmamkers.

Red Dirt will screen Saturday, April 15th at 8pm at the Harmony Gold at 7655 Sunset Boulevard. An additional screening will be held on Monday, April 17th at 10:30am at the Directors Guild of America at 7920 Sunset Boulevard.

For tickets please call 1-888-ETM-TIXS and for additional information please contact us directly at 305.534.0208