Weyer burst onto the indie scene with her edgy NYU MFA thesis film, The Salesman and Other Adventures, which won the Best Short prize at the Sundance festival in 1995. Originally from Seattle, Weyer came to New York to enter NYU's Ph.D. program in film theory, but after taking a hands-on filmmaking workshop she realized that she would rather make films than deconstruct them. Gena was workshopped at the Sundance Filmmakers' Lab in June '95. Weyer and producer Margot Bridger then hooked up with Good Machine's Ted Hope to move ahead with the production. The film slotted into Good Machine's "Good Fear" series, a group of five arthouse horror films financed by a joint venture between Good Machine and Kardana Films.

Gena rolled June 4 in New Jersey, with Salesman cinematographer Elliot Rockett shooting 35mm color. Like Salesman, Gena's set in a faded city without reference to a specific time. Weyer spent two months seeing girls for Gena and had opened her search to video submissions from other states before she spotted newcomer Aesha Waks in an NYU short, The Money Shot. The filmmakers expect a print by mid-November; rights are available.

Cast: Aesha Waks, Summer Phoenix, Paul Lazar, J. Smith Cameron, Sam Rockwell, Brendan Sexton, Jr., Heather Matarazzo, Kirk Acevedo. Crew: Producers, Margot Bridger, Ted Hope; Executive Producers, Tom Caruso, John Hart, James Schamus; Screenwriter/ Director, Hannah Weyer; Cinematographer, Elliot Rockett; Production Designer, Susan Block; Casting, Laura Rosenthal; Editor, Meg Reticker. Contact: Mary Jane Skalski, Good Machine, 526 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10001. Tel: (212) 229-1046, Fax: (212) 255-4308.

Arresting Gena - Hannah Weyer
Asbury Park - Chriss Williams
bye-bye Babushka - Rebecca Feig
Glam - Josh Evans
The House of Yes - Dan Waters
Hurricane - Morgan Freeman
In the Company of Men - Neil LaBute
The Offering - Howard Posner
The Regulars - Patrick Keegan
Yellow - Chris Chan Lee