An LA Story: Limited Time Showcase Opportunity

17 May

Written by Calista Judith

It’s no secret that LA is the film epicenter of the world. Yet, with so many people there to make their dreams a reality, it’s difficult to stand out. VMP strives to make passion projects that reflect the philosophical works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Alexander Grin, and others like them. Notes From the New World is a contemporary retelling of Dostoyevsky’s Notes From Underground.

During the production of Notes From the New World, VM Productions ran into their fair share of roadblocks and hurdles. Consequently, what was expected to a simple, promotional documentary became its own drama-thriller story, except this time the subjects are real.

_{Vitaly and some of the gang, last day, Malibu, Notes From the New World}

An LA Story: The Making of Notes From the New World is that documentary. Now featured in the Lift-Off Sessions 2025: Volume #4, a monthly competition that features a wide range of new and emerging indie content. This weekend, tune into their features segment to watch our journey to making Notes From the New World. Moreover, be sure to vote for it after watching all the good films featured in the showcase!

The Lift-Off Sessions

Festivals and independent filmmakers work hand in hand to curate specialized, imaginative film collections to audiences that love watching them. An LA Story is specifically tailored to explore the film making process from idea to distribution, highlighting the unique challenges that low-budget films face.

The Lift-Off Sessions (physical location: the famous Pinewood Studios in London, UK) value fostering a digital connection with global audiences. They strive to connect people with a wide range of grassroots independent film talent. Furthermore, An LA Story not only fits this mission, it explores it in its content.

For this weekend, don’t miss the online event! Use this link to purchase a ticket and watch the unique tale of An LA Story. Voting closes Sunday night (5.18.2025), so don’t forget to vote after watching! We’re so grateful for this opportunity to share this story with you.

Manifestation and Macbeth

Macbeth offers a conversation about inevitability. If he never met the witches, would he have avoided his fate? Was it bound to happen anyway? The Notes production ran into its own collection of hurdles, each seeming to stem from the story itself.

An LA Story follows the VMP cast and crew as they passionately prepare for the Notes production, and then the constant pitfalls faced by it. It’s a story of perseverance and artistic integrity, not often seen in today’s fast-paced world.

Like Macbeth, Vitaly Sumin and company explored the missing screenwriter, Robert Hurley, accidentally involving the occult and the Russian mafia. In doing so, cast and crew alike faced numerous production problems, like the loss of main actors and their initial filming space. After much deliberation, the production felt cursed… or maybe members of the Russian Mafia really didn’t want this film (Notes From a New World) to be made.