FILM

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Special Screenings of David Schwimmer’s Trust.  Screenwriter Andy Bellin will part in a Q&A Monday, May 16.

David Schwimmer’s second directorial film effort, Trust, has earned rave reviews for its sensitive handling of intense subject matter and its star performance by the young actress Liana Liberato, a native of Galveston. The story of a teenage girl targeted by an online sexual predator, Clive Owens and Catherine Keener star as the girl’s parents, giving nuanced performances of a family in distress.

 Q&A with screenwriter Andy Bellin (who co-wrote the script with Robert Festinger) follows the first screening. Courtesy of Millennium Entertainment, MFAH Films will present four special screenings.

“Trust is a compelling film about a timely subject,” said Marian Luntz, MFAH film and video curator. “Its ensemble cast gives strong performances as a family whose strong connections are tested by a stranger’s actions.”

David Schwimmer, who is a member of the Board of Directors of the Rape Foundation in Santa Monica, California, was profoundly affected by a father who spoke of how his daughter’s rape by an internet predator nearly destroyed his family. This account inspired Schwimmer to connect with his long-time friend Bellin to create the film and raise awareness about the victimization of children on the Internet. The story was developed over the course of seven years.

In Trust, Will and Lynn Cameron head a safe, suburban household of three children. When their 14-year-old daughter, Annie, befriends 16-year-old Charlie online, they think nothing of it. Charlie, however, is not who he claims to be, and this devastating revelation reverberates throughout the entire family.

The New York Times enthuses that “the mantle of social relevance can be a heavy one, but Trust. . .is neither preachy nor hysterically overreaching.” And TIME Magazine raves that teenage actress Liana Liberato, who plays Annie, is “flat-out terrific.”

Liana Liberato, the daughter of Rhondell and George Liberato, was 15 when Trust was filmed, and she won the Silver Hugo Best Actress Award for this role at the 2010 Chicago International Film Festival. She recently completed production on Joel Schumacher’s Trespass opposite Nicole Kidman and Nicolas Cage and will attend a program on dramatic writing at New York University this summer. Currently shooting a film in Europe, she is unable to attend the museum screenings.

To view the trailer and learn more about Trust, visit www.trustmovie2011.com.

About Special Guest Andy Bellin
Bellin had been studying for a master’s degree in astrophysics when he discovered a love for poker. He left school to play semipro poker for a decade and in 2002, he published his first novel, Poker Nation. His articles have appeared in Esquire, Details, and Maxim, among other publications. Bellin also served under George Plimpton as an editor at the Paris Review. Trust is his first produced screenplay. Bellin has a strong Houston connection as his wife, Kate, is a native Houstonian and daughter of Houstonians Susie and Sanford Criner.