Comedy Film "Home Entertainment" Chosen as an Official Selection of 2018 Austin Film Festival

The comedy film "Home Entertainment" from award-winning writer Sonia Gumuchian and Katherine Eaton has been chosen as an Official Selection of the Austin Film Festival, where it is slated to have its world premiere. "Home Entertainment" will screen at the Rollins Theatre on October 28 at 8:45 p.m. and again on October 30 at the Galaxy Highland at 5 p.m. on screen 7 during the Austin Film Festival.

A film about a wealthy homeowner who rents out his posh Malibu mansion to an array of guests, "Home Entertainment" is the kind of laugh out loud comedy that will make you think twice about using a vacation rental site to book the baller pad that seems too good to be true.

Written, produced and directed by Gumuchian and Eaton, "Home Entertainment" stars four-time Young Artist Award winner Brock Ciarlelli from ABC's "The Middle," Meredith Thomas from the comedy series "Swedish Dicks," Jon Root from FOX's "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," and Heather McPhaul from the seven-time Golden Globe nominated HBO series "Veep."

"Home Entertainment" is one of approximately 150 films that will screen during the Austin Film Festival this year, which runs from October 25th to November 1st in Austin, TX and marks the festival's 25th anniversary.  Last year Gumuchian's script "Hi Again" became a Second Rounder by the Austin Film Festival's Script Competition, and as "Home Entertainment," which marks her debut as writer and director, prepares to have its world premiere at the festival, it appears things have come full circle for the talented filmmaker.

In a similar vein to the film "The Truman Show," "Home Entertainment" is an anthology that follows three separate waves of renters, none of which have any idea that they're being watched via live stream through the mansion's security camera footage by the eccentric homeowner and his group of rich dinner party guests.

"Each weekend comprises of its own story with different guests each time around," explains Eaton. "Our first weekend story is about a couple on a romantic weekend getaway that turns into a disaster. The second story revolves around a sexual nonconformist's unorthodox memorial party and Part 3 is about a super L.A. spirit guide meetup."

The dialogue in Gumuchian and Eaton's script and the actors spot-on timing combined with the bright lighting and scene pacing make "Home Entertainment" an impeccable comedy in the way of the story and visuals presented.

"We thought it would be interesting to talk about the state of privacy we live in today, and the extent to which technology has encouraged new types of behavior, including strange hobbies adopted by several of our characters," explained Gumuchian and Eaton in a director's statement "After making this film, we'll be paranoid enough to check every nook and cranny of our future vacation rentals and we encourage you to do the same."

A graduate of the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts, Gumuchian has worked with several major networks and studios, including ABC Studios, the Hallmark Channel, HBO and FOX where she learned the ins and outs of creative development. In addition to growing praise for "Home Entertainment,"Gumuchian has gained international attention for her scripts "Loyal Royals," "Hi Again," "Good Cop, Old Cop" and several others. Katherine Eaton, a USC alumna as well, is known for her on-screen work, which includes playing the lead role in the film "Why the Anderson Children Didn't Come to Dinner" from multi-award winning Canadian filmmaker Jamie Travis, the director behind the comedy film "For a Good Time Call" featuring Primetime Emmy nominee Seth Rogan ("This is The End"). Eaton is also known for her work as a floral designer for celebrities such as Heidi Montag, companies such as YouTube, Flora Health, The Fullest and Facebook, and events that include the Grammys.

"Home Entertainment" cinematographer and producer Jarod Wang says, "Working with Sonia and Katherine is simply seamless… Without them, there would be no project. Their script was very funny and well put together, it made it very easy for me to imagine the shots. You can tell they really appreciate the story and the art form and I think that makes them very strong filmmakers."

Aside from being a producer and the cinematographer on "Home Entertainment," Jarod Wang is also known for his work as a fashion photographer. He recently worked on projects such as "Changers' for the popular clothing label Opening Ceremony, as well as Kenzo's "The Everything."

The score for "Home Entertainment" was composed by Benjamin Sturley, who's performed on "Saturday Night Live," "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "Good Morning America" and is the guitarist for Selena Gomez and Noah Cyrus. The sound design was led by Sam Vargas ("Heart of Paradise," "Shark Lake") and the film's colorist was Sean Stack ("American Beauty Star," "JFK: A President Betrayed"), who was nominated for the Best Editing Award at the Hoboken International Film Festival for the film "Blood Punch."

A co-production between the U.S. and Canada, "Home Entertainment" was shot on location in Malibu, CA and took one year to complete.

Prior to "Home Entertainment," Gumuchian's original script and pilot "Loyal Royals" earned First Place at the Hollywood Hills Screenplay Competition, Fifth Place at the London Film Awards, the Best Unproduced Script Award from London Filmmaker Festival and was chosen as an Official Selection of the Atlanta Comedy Film Festival, an Official Finalist of the World Series of Screenwriting and a Semi-Finalist of the Screenplay Festival, among multiple other accolades.

Though Gumuchian has penned an impressive list of award-winning scripts over the years, she says, "Home Entertainment, has by far, been my favorite project."