Edward Oleschak Movies

Philippe Caland directs and stars in this karmic drama about a hip, new age clothing designer from Lebanon who attempts to engineer redemption after realizing that a mistake from his past may have destroyed his entire future. Amer Atrash (Caland) is a first generation immigrant who's perpetually on the verge of the American Dream. But despite his repeated attempts to achieve financial success, it seems that complications always arise at the eleventh hour that set him directly back to square one. Now, after years of struggling, Amer is set to debut a cutting edge clothing line that could put him on top of the world. When the rug is pulled out from under Amer's feet once again, his efforts to hustle his way through the predicament ultimately amount to naught. Later, when Amer's wife Sherry (Virginia Madsen) admits that she's been feeling neglected and needs time to decide whether it's worth working to save their marriage, the dejected designer tells her a secret that he's never revealed to another living soul. Fifteen years earlier, Amer was involved in an accident that left a man named Phillip Blackman (Forest Whitaker) wheelchair bound. Could it be that all of Amer's current life problems somehow stem back to that one fateful night? Upon hearing Amer's story, Sherry encourages her husband to seek out Phillip and make amends. Later, after locating Phillip's beautiful wife Kitty (Minnie Driver), Amer begs for forgiveness by citing all the bad things that have happened to him since the accident. When Phillip and Amer set out on a journey designed to alter Amer's current state of mind and finally bring him nearer to enlightenment, the lives of both men are profoundly changed in ways that neither could have ever anticipated. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this bizarre comic fantasy, Duke Osso (Rod Steiger) is the leader of a strange underground nation. Osso's spouse Hera (Malgorzata Potocka) has designs on usurping her husband's rule, and with the help of court jester Balthasar (Dieter Meier), she intends to seize power with the use of a magical crystal that can heal the sick and bring the dead back to life. But in order for the crystal to work, Hera and Balthasar need music, so they try to lure Rumo (Zbigniew Zamachowski), a poor fiddle player, into the underground world by using the affections of Mira (Cornelia Grolimund), Osso's beautiful daughter, as bait. Lightmaker was directed by Dieter Meier, who (in addition to playing Balthasar) is also the leader of the electronic dance/pop group Yello; Boris Blank, his creative partner in the band, composed the film's musical score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Richard Zelniker wrote and directed this low-budget drama, set in Los Angeles. When Mitch (Burr Steers) visits his brother David (James Patrick Stuart) in LA, he brings along sexy Kim (Lisa Collins) and a romantic triangle quickly develops. Shown at the 1997 Boston Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this old-fashioned screwball comedy, two Hollywood screenwriters have numerous disastrous, heated encounters before they realize the obvious and find romance. It all begins in catastrophe-ridden LA after yet another earthquake. Zina is driving her car on the freeway when she runs into Davis while trying get out from under a cracked overpass. They start out civil enough but soon find themselves fighting tooth and nail over who is at fault. Later the two instant enemies find that they run into each other wherever they go, be it a trendy restaurant or a major party. When they both begin vying for the opportunity to write the same script, the fireworks begin in earnest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide