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Florissant Filmmaker Tackles . . .
Heroin Abuse with Suspenseful Film ‘Claimed’
The premiere of Claimed will be released Dec. 4 and have its first public showing at Prairie Commons Library Dec. 4 from 6-9 p.m. Florissant resident Elle Mercurio-Cherrier’s suspenseful, chilling film debut “will be sure to have your inner child sleep with one eye open,” said the writer and director. “This cast and crew may have raised ‘hell’ on set but not without raising some awareness of the heroin epidemic that sweeps throughout our area,” she said (#Horroroverheroin).
Claimed stars Steven C. Randall (Shakespeare’s Mummy), Stephen Potter (Four-Way Stop), Karen Druley (Going My Way), and local known Saint Louis author and director- April Floyd (Unique).
Claimed is a historical fiction film about an English colonization gone terribly wrong in a new world filled with unspeakable beauty and uncertainty. As Elle describes the short film:
“They arrived uninvited. They may have suffered a lack of supplies and preparation for the wilderness that had yet to be tamed. However, no nightmare would have prepared the uninvited colonists for the horror awaiting them. They came to claim a new world but it was them who were already claimed.”
#HorroroverHeroin is a cause that raises awareness of the heroin/opiate epidemic that not only claims lives here locally but nationally, said Mercurio-Cherrier. Started by Cherrie, who hopes to change the stigma that heroin addiction brings, the film encourages our communities to engage in discussion regarding recovery, awareness, and anti-drug education. She hopes one day “ we can shatter the hold and horror that heroin has over our communities.” Cherrier seeks to widen the horizons of the horror genre as well as dissolving the staggering statistics by turning the tables on drug addiction.
This summer’s filming of Claimed was held in Florissant and beautiful Hartford, IL. and included more than 134 cast and crew members, all who were volunteers. Most involved in the production of the film were emotionally invested in #HorroroverHeroin as well.
Claimed is a product of Bug-Juice Productions, founded by Stephen Province. Bug-Juice Productions partnered up with Mercurio-Cherrier to produce this film. Director and producer, Stephen Province said:
“As an independent horror filmmaker, and a father of sons living during an opioid crisis, Claimed has been a film project that has interested me from the beginning. I’ve been proud to be a part of Elle’s vision and lend my skills to this unique and scary story. I believe strongly in the mission behind it, advocating for the victims and communities against the heroin epidemic.”
ELLE MERCURIO-CHERRIER is an independent filmmaker from St. Louis and currently resides in Florissant. She is a mother of four and is personally invested in the success of Claimed and #HorroroverHeroin.
Although not affiliated with any particular organization she said she is in recovery from heroin herself and has been several years.
At the Florissant premier, there will be no charge for viewing, but donations will be accepted to enhance wider viewership of the film this year.
Elle Mercurio-Cherrier can be contacted at https://www.facebook.com/elle.mercuriocherrier.9 or call her at (314) 246-0454.
