Brookfield Film Company Sells Thriller Series 'Anonymous'

BROOKFIELD — Brianna Bauch said she was shocked to learn the thriller TV series that she and two other local actors finished filming in August 2022 was sold to a global distributor last summer. “It was an opportunity to be creative, especially during a time where there wasn’t a lot of work, and an opportunity to hone my craft,” the Newtown actor said about filming the Connecticut-based drama “Anonymous.” “It wasn’t my thought really to make it something bigger. It’s humbling, it exceeded expectations.”

The seven-episode series that follows a young woman whose world spirals out of control after she encounters the hacker group called “Anonymous,” according to Kaleidoscope Film Distribution’s website.

Filmed by the Brookfield-based Lion Pride Studios in partnership with Bethel-based Mack Media, the series features Bauch, 26; Brianna Bowman, 32, of Bethel; and Meghan Matturro, 30, of Redding in the leading roles.

Lion Pride Studios, which finished editing the series in December 2022, sold “Anonymous” to the global entertainment distributor Kaleidoscope Film Distribution in the United Kingdom last August, according to a Lion Pride representative. “Anonymous” will be showcased at a later date by the U.K.-based ICON Film Distribution, owned by Academy Award-winning director Mel Gibson.

Joshua De Leon, director of "Anonymous," said the company reached out to 300 distributors and planned to showcase “Anonymous” as a YouTube series and on the streaming service Tubi. The sale to Kaleidoscope Films marked a milestone achievement for Lion Pride Studios, given the company’s “extremely low budget” for the show, the representative said.

“We had to find people in Connecticut that were willing to work for free,” De Leon said. There was "a lot of risk involved in this. … It was a collaborative effort, really.”
But there was “a lot of passion in the room” on the production of “Anonymous,” along with a “want and will to work and make it the best it can be,” Bauch said.
“I’m very proud of the work that we’ve done,” Bowman said. “It was not only an opportunity to do what I love to do, but to show others this is possible.”

While Bauch, Bowman and Matturro have worked together on previous productions, they’ll be making their TV debuts with the premiere of “Anonymous.”
Bauch said she worked with Bowman and Matturro on a 2014 film project called “The Beloved,” which was not released. The three actors were reunited for the filming of “Buttercup,” a live action “Powerpuff Girls” short film produced by Lion Pride Studios and starring Bowman as Buttercup, Matturro as Blossom and Bauch as Bubbles.
Bowman and Matturro also starred in a short film called “Not So Silent Night” produced by Lion Pride Studios in 2020.

Matturro could not be reached for comment about "Anonymous." When Bauch, Bowman and Matturro became involved with “Anonymous,” there was “a camaraderie of helping each other” between them and the Lion Pride Studios crew, Bowman said. “It was this environment of ‘we’re here to work, but we’re working on what we love,’” she said. “We already have this relationship and the foundation of stories we want to tell.”

Filming for “Anonymous” began January 2021, and the actors completed filming in August 2022, according to De Leon. Filming was based in Connecticut, using various locations in Southington, Plainville, Newtown and Cheshire.

“It was such an exploration of the story and what we have inside of us,” Bauch said. “We kept getting our episodes right before filming, so we had to dive into the trajectory of the characters. It kept us on our toes.”

Bauch was cast in the leading role of Breeze, whom Bauch described as a young woman who searches for passion in her life and questions what she stands for after joining “Anonymous.”
Bowman said it was “a challenge but fun” to play her character, Slack, another leading role whom Bowman described as someone trying to find herself in a way “that’s way more destructive.” She described Matturro’s character Raven, a supporting character, as someone who “can lean either way in how her story is going to define or shape who she is.”

“They’re all in a place of discovery and how they move forward in a way that makes sense to them, whether it’s the right way or the wrong way,” Bauch said of their characters.
The show’s storylines also create opportunities for conversations and exploring difficult topics, including cult involvement, racial injustice, sexual abuse and mental abuse, Bowman said.
“We need to be constantly open to hard discussions and shedding light to the injustices in the world,” she said. “We want to continue pushing the envelope. What’s really unique about ‘Anonymous’ is it’s really opening the door for discussion. The power of what we do is it informs, it opens thoughts, it can be the beginning of an action. These are stories that need to be known.”
Lion Pride Studios is working to meet with investors on a new filming project, De Leon said. Once the project is approved, he said Bauch, Bowman and Matturro would be offered roles.
Meanwhile, Bauch, a member of the Actors Equity Association, said she is busy with "audition season" in New York City and will perform as Sue Snell in "Carrie the Musical," which will run April 25 to May 5 with Theater Zone in Naples, Fla.

By Kaitlin Lyle,Staff Writer - NewsTimes