Jay Anania follows two experimental features – The Pagan Book of Arthur Rimbaud and Long Time Since – with The Citizen, a moody political thriller. The film focuses on an American journalist, John Owen, who follows a story down to El Salvador during the civil war and becomes romantically involved with a reclusive rebel leader’s girlfriend. On his return he’s investigated, and the film consists of flashbacks unfolding during the investigation. Stage actor Thomas McCarthy plays Owen, Italian film star Andrea di Stefano is the rebel leader, and Najwa Nimri (Lovers of the Arctic Circle) is the woman between them; also in the cast is Caroleen Feeney as the girlfriend who risks her life to save Owens’ name. "It’s an interior film," says Anania, "but compared to my other work, it’s a genuinely gripping yarn."

Anania, 48, was trained in visual design and started out as an editor for WGBH in Boston. He still earns a living shooting network news features in exotic spots like the Philippines, Pakistan, Sudan and Egypt. He made Rimbaud, his first feature, in ’96, and the film premiered in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section the following February. Berlin invited Long Time Since for ’98 but Anania couldn’t secure finishing funds in time to complete post, and the film ultimately premiered at Toronto last fall. Anania had a much easier time finding money for The Citizen, which Sunshine Amalgamedia is producing and financing for about four times the cost of Long Time Since. "By any standard it was a piece of cake," says Anania, a longtime client of attorney Jed Alpert, who Sunshine brought on board as president last year to head the multimedia company’s expansion into feature film production. Sunshine is also the company behind the new six-screen arthouse set to open down the street from the Angelika Film Center in New York later this year.

The bulk of The Citizen was shot in Costa Rica over 21 days in February following a three-day New York shoot. Anania had a month before that to ready the film’s key location, a hidden rebel camp in the jungle, but reports he still had to bring his grip package in from Miami by boat. The film’s cinematographer was Oliver Bokelberg, who also shot Long Time Since. Anania expects to deliver The Citizen in time for the fall festival circuit. All rights are available.

Cast: Thomas McCarthy, Najwa Nimri, Andrea di Stefano, Caroleen Feeney, Angel David. Crew: Producer, Gregory Little; Executive Producer, Jed Alpert; Associate Producer, Carrie Harvey; Screenwriter/Director/Editor, Jay Anania; Cinematographer, Oliver Bokelberg; Sound, Bill Kozy; Production Design, Luis Carlos Vasquez; Line Producer, Gretchen McGowan; Script Supervisor, Mariana Hellmund. Contact: Jed Alpert, Sunshine Amalgamedia Inc., 740 Broadway, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10003. Tel: (212) 995-2222, Fax: (212) 995-2221.

Adios, East Los - William Douglas Lansford
Adventures of a Catholic Atheist - John Mendoza
Bullfighter - Rune Bendixen
The Citizen - Jay Anania
Hit and Runway - Christopher Livingston
Jesus’ Son - Alison Maclean
The Photographer - Jeremy Stein
Wang Dang - Tom Noonan
The Young Unknowns - Catherine Jelski