Press Room
Blood Star Press Room
Welcome to the official press room for Blood Star, the independent psychological desert thriller directed by Lawrence Jacomelli and starring Britni Camacho and John Schwab. Journalists, critics, festival programmers, exhibitors and media partners can access the official press kit, production notes, approved stills, key artwork, biographies, technical specifications and contact information below.
For interviews, screening enquiries and further information, contact
Victoria Taylor — Press & Sales
victoria@beast.agency01 — The Film
About Blood Star
A young petty thief crossing the New Mexico desert becomes the target of a psychopathic sheriff and must rely on raw instinct and street smarts to survive.
Bobbi Torres is driving alone through the desert when she is stopped and tormented by Sheriff Bilstein, a small-town lawman who uses his badge to isolate and control vulnerable women.
After the sheriff forces her car from the road, Bobbi continues on foot and seeks help at an isolated diner. What initially appears to be a chance of escape soon becomes another stage in Bilstein’s escalating game.
With no telephone, no vehicle and no authority she can trust, Bobbi must use the instincts and street smarts that have shaped her life to survive the desert and turn the sheriff’s methods against him.
In this gritty desert noir, petty thief Roberta “Bobbi” Torres is driving through the New Mexico desert when she attracts the attention of Sheriff Bilstein, a psychopathic small-town lawman who views his badge as a licence to prey on vulnerable women.
What begins as an apparently routine encounter quickly becomes a calculated campaign of intimidation and control. Isolated on an empty highway and far from anyone who might help her, Bobbi discovers that Bilstein is not enforcing the law—he is using it as a weapon.
Stripped of her phone, her car and eventually her voice, Bobbi is forced into a brutal game of cat and mouse across an unforgiving desert landscape. With no authority she can trust and nowhere left to run, she must rely on raw instinct, resilience and street smarts to survive—and reclaim her power in a place where the law has become another form of control.
The complete synopsis, including third-act plot details, is reserved for the downloadable press kit rather than published here.
02 — The Facts
Technical Information
03 — Cast
Principal Cast
Britni Camacho
as Roberta “Bobbi” Torres
John Schwab
as Sheriff Bilstein
Sydney Brumfield
as Amy
Travis Lincoln Cox
as Ed
Felix Merback
as Blake
Wyomi Reed
as the First Victim
Joseph Lopez
as the Diner Boss
Brandon Brown
as the Truck Driver
Gwen Van Dam
as Ma
Arthur Roberts
as Pa
Camacho’s previous credits include the Amazon series I’m a Virgo and ABC’s The Rookie. Schwab’s screen credits include Masters of the Air, The Diplomat, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Queen’s Gambit, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Annihilation and Zero Dark Thirty.
04 — Q&A
Director’s Statement
At its centre, Blood Star is a story about power: who possesses it, how it is abused and what happens when the person charged with protecting you becomes the person you most need protection from.
The film began with a simple but frightening premise. A woman is alone on an empty road, pursued by a man whose badge gives him authority, credibility and almost complete control over the story. He does not need to hide from the law because, in this place, he is the law.
We wanted to make a thriller that worked as a tense and immediate piece of genre cinema while also confronting the coercion, misogyny and institutional protection that allow predators to operate. Bobbi is not presented as a conventional, uncomplicated victim. She is flawed, resourceful, angry and frequently impulsive. Her survival does not come from suddenly becoming fearless; it comes from refusing to be erased.
The desert was essential to the film. It appears vast and open, yet offers nowhere to hide. The landscape creates the illusion of freedom while making Bobbi completely visible and dangerously isolated. The road, traditionally a symbol of escape, becomes a controlled corridor through which Bilstein can pursue her.
More than a desert chase film, Blood Star is a story about erasure—the psychological, emotional and literal theft of a woman’s voice—and the fight to reclaim it.
— Lawrence Jacomelli, Writer and Director
05 — Production
Production Story
10 DAYS
Shot in just ten days
~20 CREW
A small international crew
REMOTE
Produced remotely from the UK
70 MIN
Fully animaticised before the shoot
Blood Star was produced remotely from the United Kingdom and filmed in the California desert over ten principal photography days with a crew of approximately 20 people. Much of the American crew was recruited through Staff Me Up and interviewed remotely through weeks of video calls. The filmmakers built a small production around a limited cast, a carefully controlled group of locations and a precise visual plan.
Before filming, Lawrence Jacomelli photographed and storyboarded every planned frame with actors, then edited the images into a complete 70-minute animatic with voices, temporary music and sound effects. This allowed the entire film to be tested before principal photography and established exactly which material had to be captured during the ten-day schedule.
The preparation proved critical when production encountered desert vegetation caused by unprecedented rainfall, sandstorms, flooding, permitting difficulties and the failure of the original hero car only two days before filming. Because the film had already been thoroughly visualised, the production could adapt without losing its central design.
06 — Cinematography
Visual Approach
Cinematographer Pascal Combes-Knoke and Lawrence Jacomelli designed the film to capture both the scale of the desert and the extreme isolation of its central character.
The production selected RED Gemini cameras for their low-light performance, compact construction and ability to move quickly between configurations. The lighter camera body was particularly valuable for vehicle interiors, exterior car rigs and gimbal work during the compressed schedule.
Night exteriors were photographed using distant HMI sources to create the appearance of moonlight extending across the desert. Cooke S4/i lenses were generally used at T2.0, with the opening sequence photographed on a 35mm lens.
07 — Festivals
Festival Journey
08 — Reviews
Selected Press
Beautifully shot, with a real feel for its seedy, run-down, middle-of-nowhere locations.
GRIMMFEST →Each publication name and quotation links directly to its original article, review or authorised source.
09 — Availability
Distribution
Blood Star has secured distribution across key international territories, following its festival launch at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival.
PLAION Pictures
Quiver Distribution
Swift Distribution
Meteor Film
For current rental and purchase options in each territory, visit the official watch page.
For international sales and distribution enquiries: Victoria Taylor — victoria@beast.agency
10 — Assets
Approved Press Materials
The following official assets are available for editorial coverage of Blood Star.
📁 Press Kit
- Approved logline and full synopsis
- Technical specifications
- Director’s and cinematographer’s statements
- Cast and filmmaker biographies
- Production story
- Behind-the-scenes photography
- Concept artwork and animatic material
- Billing block
- Production and distribution information
📷 Photography
- Landscape film stills
- Portrait film stills
- Behind-the-scenes photographs
- Britni Camacho as Bobbi
- John Schwab as Sheriff Bilstein
- Lawrence Jacomelli, director
- Victoria Taylor, writer and producer
- Approved captions and photography credits
Approved images may be used by journalists, reviewers, broadcasters, podcasters, festival programmers and recognised editorial publications in connection with coverage of Blood Star. Please retain all supplied captions and photography credits.
🎨 Artwork
- UK theatrical poster
- US poster
- International key art
- Portrait artwork
- Landscape artwork
- Square social artwork
- Festival laurels
- Title treatment and logo
🎬 Video
- Official trailer
- 60-second trailer
- 30-second trailer
- Selected film clips
- Behind-the-scenes documentary
- Embeddable trailer link
- Broadcast-quality trailer file
For broadcast-quality files or footage not included in the public download folder, contact victoria@beast.agency.
11 — Media
Interview Opportunities
The filmmakers and principal cast are available, subject to schedule, for selected interviews, podcasts, festival discussions and editorial features. Potential subjects include:
Making an independent feature in ten shooting days
Filming in extreme desert conditions
Creating cinematic production value with a small crew
The influence of Jaws, Duel and the American road thriller
The representation of coercive control and institutional power
Directing performance-led genre cinema
The visual language and cinematography of Blood Star
Sound design as a central part of psychological tension
Moving from commercials into independent feature filmmaking
The international festival and distribution journey
Building a commercially accessible film without abandoning creative authorship
Interview subjects may include Lawrence Jacomelli (director, co-writer and producer), Victoria Taylor (story, co-writer and producer), Britni Camacho (Bobbi Torres), John Schwab (Sheriff Bilstein) and Pascal Combes-Knoke (director of photography). Please include the publication or programme, proposed subject, format and deadline with your request.
12 — Rights and Usage
Editorial Use Only
Press materials on this page may be used solely for editorial coverage of Blood Star. Images must not be materially altered, sold or used for commercial advertising without prior written permission.
Please retain all supplied captions and photography credits when publishing images.
13 — The Team
Filmmaker Biographies
Lawrence Jacomelli
Director, Writer and Producer
Lawrence Jacomelli made his feature directorial debut with Blood Star following an international career directing commercials and branded films, with campaigns for brands including IKEA, Pepsi, Toyota, Lexus, McDonald’s, Burger King, Swatch and T-Mobile.
The film was shot over ten days in the California desert before premiering at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival and continuing to festivals across Europe and North America.
Lawrence co-founded Beast Films with Victoria Taylor and later established Fastback Films to develop and produce director-led narrative projects.
Victoria Taylor
Writer and Producer
Victoria Taylor is a British writer, producer and co-founder of Beast Films and Fastback Films. She originated the story that became Blood Star and co-wrote the screenplay with Lawrence Jacomelli and George Kelly.
As a producer, Victoria helped develop the film from its earliest concept through financing, production, festival strategy and international distribution.
Britni Camacho
Bobbi
Britni Camacho leads Blood Star as Roberta “Bobbi” Torres, a young woman forced into a brutal struggle for survival after becoming the target of a predatory sheriff. Her previous credits include the Amazon series I’m a Virgo and ABC’s The Rookie.
The role places Camacho at the centre of the film’s sustained physical and psychological pressure, balancing defiance, fear, anger and vulnerability as Bobbi fights to resist a man determined to control both her body and her story.
John Schwab
Sheriff Bilstein
John Schwab plays Sheriff Bilstein, a small-town lawman who uses the authority of his badge to isolate, intimidate and prey upon vulnerable women. His screen credits include Masters of the Air, The Diplomat, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Queen’s Gambit, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Annihilation and Zero Dark Thirty.
Schwab’s performance avoids the distance of a conventional screen monster. Bilstein is calm, credible and outwardly controlled, making his violence more disturbing because it is protected by the appearance of legitimacy.