By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Currently in the midst of a successful film-festival tour, EMPATHY, INC. plunges you into the dark side of cyber-tech. Check out an exclusive excerpt after the jump.
Having world-premiered at Chicago’s Cinepoclaypse and impressed audiences at this month’s Brooklyn Horror Festival, EMPATHY, INC. screens at the Austin Film Festival on Saturday and the Philadelphia Film Festival on Sunday. Directed by Yedidya Gorsetman and written by Mark Leidner, it stars Zack Robidas, Kathy Searle, Jay Klaitz, Eric Berryman, A.J. Cedeno, Charmaine Reedy, Fenton Lawless, Anthony Mangano and Karen Lynn Gorney. The synopsis: “Hotshot venture capitalist Joel [Robidas] has a multi-million dollar deal go up in smoke, and he and his actress wife Jessica [Searle] are forced to move in with her parents and start from scratch. At the lowest and most desperate moment in his life, Joel meets old friend Nicolaus [Berryman] and his business partner Lester [Klaitz], who are seeking investors in a new technology known as XVR—Xtreme Virtual Reality—for their company Empathy, Inc., which is said to offer the most realistic and moving experiences for users by placing them in the lives of the less fortunate. Joel gets the startup its funds, but soon discovers that the tech’s creators have far more sinister uses in store for their creation—and that the reality it provides its customers isn’t virtual.”