Wrath Mercy, a 25-year dream come true for writer/director Brian Whisenant is coming home to Mississippi with its world premiere at the Oxford Film Festival on Saturday, March 23 at 2:45 pm with a second screening on Sunday, March 24 at 2 pm.
Based on a play and Whisenant’s own life experience, Wrath Mercy tells the story of a young gay drug addict, Adam, who after a dangerous encounter with Mall, the drug dealer, meets a mysterious woman named Irina who gives him an opportunity to change his fate.
Wrath Mercy is based on a play written by Benjamin Craven that was first produced as a showcase at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1996 at the beloved Hartwig Arena Theatre. It made a huge impact on Whisenant who originally wanted to produce it as an acting showcase for himself.
As the years passed, having moved to New York City and then to Los Angeles, the dream faded as he became hopelessly addicted to drugs including crystal meth. After some time homeless in LA, Whisenant found himself back in Mississippi at the Haven House, a substance use facility that helped save his life.
“One day I quite dramatically told my therapist that my dreams were dead—that my biggest regret was throwing away a promising career as an actor and director. He asked if there was anything I might work on while still in treatment. Like a flash, I remembered Wrath Mercy. I dusted it off, took another pass at it and became determined to make it happen. Not as an actor this time, but as a director.”
After Whisenant moved back to Los Angeles, Oxford Film Festival produced a virtual table read of Wrath Mercy. Nineties star Natanya Ross became attached to star in the film in late 2022, and after a nationwide casting search for an openly queer actor to play the lead, Matthew Zimmerman joined the cast along with NYC actor Deb Radloff and Mississippi locals Carys Glynne and Brice Stone.
“In May of 2023, I went back to Mississippi to film Wrath Mercy, the greatest three days of my life,” Whisenant says.” With the guidance and friendship of my coproducer, Glenn Payne, an amazing camera team led by my vision-making cinematographer Michael Williams, a wonderful, local supporting cast, crew, and a slew of donations from $5 to $5000, my dream finally became a reality.”
When it came time to premiere the film, Oxford Film Festival was an obvious choice. Whisenant worked as the head programmer of LGBTQIA+ films for six years and spent many years acting and directing with Theatre Oxford as well as directing the Ox-Film produced, award winning short, The Golden Years, starring Johnny McPhail and Susan McPhail.
Wrath Mercy is an allegory. A fantasy based in reality. Whisenant says, “I wanted to show people what it feels like to be a gay crystal meth addict, why we might become addicted in the first place, while asking what may be the unanswerable question of why some drug addicts live and some don’t.”
Tickets available online: https://2024oxff.eventive.org/.
