Local web series ZBURG Released
ZBURG is a web series shot in Ogdensburg, NY with cast and crew of locals co-created by Mark Valley and Ethan Henry.
Zburg Synopsis
ZBURG is a web series, an offbeat crime mystery, about a detective and the local characters who’s lives intersect or collide during a murder investigation. It’s told in short pieces with a season of 15 episodes of 7-8 minutes each. It was filmed in Ogdensburg, New York over the course of a year in three seasonal or episode arcs with a cast and crew of all locals.
The story explores the bizarre underworld of a post-industrial community as a haunted and sidelined former BCI detective Harry Mallette (played by Mark Valley) negotiates petty thieves, mysterious newcomers and hustlers of all ages to solve the murder of a local meth dealer as unemployment, an amphetamine epidemic and competition for drug territory hits a struggling fictional city on the Canadian border.
The show is a fun crime drama/comedy about surviving in a remote place, with fewer choices and the benefit or curse of a close-knit community. In Zburg we see that no one character is exactly who they seem at first glance. The personal struggles and motives define those who remain, hustling to survive in a post-industrial town. As an inescapable crisis grows around them, we see even Harry has a hidden past that’s brought him back and may just keep him there.
Shot on a shoestring budget on the Canadian border with an all-local North Country cast and crew, ZBURG demonstrates there is already innovation, creative talent and experimentation with new media going on in Ogdensburg and the surrounding area. Aside from acting and camera talent, most of the music was donated by local musicians Like Nick Leduc, Pat Duffy, and Jamie Wallace and sometimes inspired by the fictional story itself. Throughout the production, the project inspired a growing number of local creatives to network locally and initiate participation in future projects.
Already ZBURG has been recognized in the short film or web series category by:
St. Lawrence International Film Festival Official Selection
Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Semi-Finalist
Alternative Film Festival Toronto Semi-Finalist
Ramsgate International Film & TV Festival, England Official Selection
The majority of festival contests we’ve applied to have yet to announce selection and winners. We are keeping supporters updated on our website http://zburgny.com where the series season will be uploaded in its entirety on August 5th 7pm EST.
Message from Director and Writer Mark Valley –
I’m from Ogdensburg, New York and grew up there like any other kid trying to stay out of trouble. As a young teenager I threw a snowball at the wrong car and met someone from the other side of town. He was violent, gritty and living by different rules. I was lucky. I wondered what might have happened if I wasn’t. Decades later, I teamed up with local filmmaker Ethan Henry to develop this story and we started casting a host of locals interested in making a web series.
I wanted to make a regional product. So much of our news and entertainment is directed toward a national audience, a re-purposed set of stories that we have heard before from the usual places. I wanted to tell a story from an unusual place I hadn’t seen on screen before. A large swath of America stopped telling its own stories, and is losing its regional and personal identity; their own local flavor and history are being ignored in favor of more popular or provocative commercial choices.
With the invaluable support of the community we shot all over town. We tried to start a humorous and plausible story of people in conflict with a specific place as it changes right underneath them. I hope you enjoy it. It’s not exactly a promotional video for the chamber of commerce, but I think we’ve got a great start on something rough, unique, local, funny and at times, maybe meaningful.
Cast and Crew credits
Primary Cast:
Mark Valley Harry
Ethan Henry Billie
Nicole Morgan Silvia (Potsdam)
Dave Ferry Jake
Jon Turner Cameron/Derek
Garrett Briggs Charlie
Brady Shaver Piker
Aaron Morrow Tyler
Dave House Jr. Dylan
Chip Bracy Warren
Allexa Hooper Grace
Martha Valley Madeleine
Ryan Woodard Phillip
Crew:
April Turner Producer
Erin Cole Producer
Morgan Elliot Cinematography (Canton)
Music:
Nick LeDuc
Pat Duffy
Jamie Wallace
Rashid Allah
More information available at http://zburgny.com
Viewing available at vimeo.com/ondemand/zburg View entire season of 15 eps for $5
Contact:
Mark Valley
(323) 646-5432
+13236465432 Whatsapp
markvalley@gmail.com
zburgny.com