ASHES UNDER
THE SAND

Ashes Under The Sand is a proof-of-concept short film written and directed by Richard LePow.

Inspired by the old yakuza films of Japan, Ashes Under The Sand offers a subversive take on the gangster genre. Instead of focusing on acts of violence, the film offers an introspective look at who is left and what they have become after the dust has settled.

Premiering in 2025.

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LOGLINE

When a routine “clean up” goes wrong, a group of low-level criminals hopes to outrun their fate at a cabin in the woods. Tensions reach a boiling point as old wounds reopen and love, loss, and regret threaten to tear decades of brotherhood apart.

SYNOPSIS

In the suburbs of South Brooklyn, Ray, Joey, and Carly Boy make an honest living cleaning up after the local mob. When they become the target of a brutal murderer, Ray must make a split-second decision that will change their lives forever. Using their connections within the criminal network, they hide from their pursuers in Upstate New York.

Their own internal struggles only drive them further apart. Joey has plans to start a family, Carly Boy looks after his mother with dementia, and Ray starts to question the violent world in which he came of age. As boredom and isolation set in, it doesn’t take long for them to regress. Trivial moments and childish games explode. The better we know someone, the deeper we can cut.

They learn the life they chose is as cold as the men who inhabit it, and there is no escaping the underworld, only sinking deeper into it.

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ABOUT THE WRITER

Richard LePow is a writer and director living in Brooklyn. He began his film career at the award-winning Firelight Films as a production assistant helping create over a dozen short documentaries for permanent display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He worked as a script coordinator at Left/Right before venturing out as a freelance writer.

Growing up playing handball in the empty concrete lots of Mill Basin, he was surrounded by people like the characters who inhabit his films. Richard’s looking forward to shining a light on his old neighborhood that managed to fly under the radar of an ever-changing city.

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CAST & CREW

Written and Directed by — Richard LePow
Produced by — Jonathan Argudo
Starring — Jacob A. Ware (Ray), Tristian Polania (Joey), Christian Forrest (Carly Boy), and John R. Smith, Jr. (Tech), Chris Ingvordsen (The hitman)
Cinematography — Mike Farino
Edited by — Erik Marika-Rich
Executive Producers — Jonathan Argudo, Mike Farino, & Richard LePow
1st AD — Jonathan Argudo
1st AC — Lidia Marukyan

Grip — Nestor Celaya
Costume Designer — Cassadee Hirsch
Costume Supervisor — Christina Coleman
Armorer — Chris Ingvordsen
Production Designer — Sophie Hewitt
Location Scouts — Chris Ingvordsen, Corey Tatarczuk
Utility Production Assistant — Amy Velez
Production Assistants — Oliver Wilson, Braxton Sonhs

Set Photographer — Oliver Wilson
Composer — Brendan Picone
Sound — Alan Kudan
Sound Designer/Mixer — Jonathan Argudo
Color — Mike Farino
Title/Credits Design — Jaime Justen

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CONTACT

ashesunderthesandmovie@gmail.com

Direct Contact: rmlepow@gmail.com

Instagram: @richardlepow

Home Synopsis About the writer Full Cast & Crew