Indie Comedy "Wallie's Gals" Makes NY Premiere at Valkyrie International Film Fest

BOSTON - March 19, 2024 - PRLog -- Shot entirely in New England, the independent comedy Wallie's Gals, directed by Quincy, MA resident Mary C. Ferrara, will make its NY premiere as an official selection of the Valkyrie International Film Festival (VIFF) on Saturday, March 23, 2024.

The five-day Valkyrie International Film Festival will showcase over 72 films directed by women, with Wallie's Gals as the sole feature-length narrative film selected for this year's event. Following the film, there will be a Q&A session with director and creator Mary C. Ferrara. For tickets and festival information, visit www.valkyriefilmfest.com.

Wallie's Gals is an unabashed comedy feature about a group of offbeat co-workers thrown together at a discount clothes store with a nostalgic look back at the fashion and music of the 80s.

Under the umbrella of her production company, Call it a Whim Productions, Ferrara has drawn both national and international accolades for her writing and directing. In Wallie's Gals, the young employees of a down-and-out discount store band together to help their beloved boss, Wallie, keep the store's doors open. The story moves between 80s flashbacks to the present day when the more mature versions of the central characters reunite to swap stories.

When Ferrara started working on the project, creating roles for older actresses was very important. "I just love watching comedies, and I love playing comedic roles, but there is a distinct lack of good roles written specifically for women over 40," explains Ferrara, "so I just decided to write something for all my fellow actresses 'of a certain age'."

Drawing on her own history of working at a discount store in her youth, Ferrara started the script by writing about the nostalgia of revisiting glory days. As the characters developed, she decided to also introduce the younger versions in flashback scenes. The film stars New England-based actresses Roe Pacheco, Danielle K. Gensler, Audrey Noone, Therese Lloyd, and director Ferrara as the current-day main characters and Christie Devine, Casey Schryer, Christina Costello, Jennifer Reagan, and Devon Padley as their younger selves.

"I really wanted to bring back that wonderful mix of broad comedy and heartwarming moments that was such a hallmark of 80s movies and TV shows." Ferrara explains, "we just don't see enough of that these days."

In addition to recently being nominated for Best Comedy at the Valkyrie Festival, Wallie's Gals has accrued a number of awards and nominations since its inception. Early accolades for the concept and script led to awards for the final film, garnering Best Ensemble Cast from the Mindfield Film Festival in Albuquerque, NM, and more recently being awarded The Shawna Spirit Award at the Massachusetts-based Shawna Shea Film Festival.