Split Ends For Sale (and Rental)

The film Split Ends was shot in and around Maplewood, South Orange and Clifton and involves lots of local talent—including South Orange's Peter McRobbie who also appears in Brokeback Mountain as Jake Gyllenhall's father—making it fun to watch on many levels for local viewers. It played at film festivals around the country and had its local premiere last October, but now it's really hit the big time—and the small screen.

The film has been released by Synergetic Distribution through its own official website,www.splitendsthemovie.com, as well as a variety of outlets, including Netflix (for rental) and Best Buy, Turner Classic Movies, Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, Wherehouse, CD Universe, AxelMusic, and others (for purchase).

As detailed in previous Patch article, Libby Christensen was inspired to write a screenplay about her experiences after being profiled in a 2002 New York Times article about her life and interesting times as owner of the Chelsea Set hair salon.

She began to collaborate on a screenplay based on the salon with good friend and Maplewood neighbor, Gila Zalon—an accomplished writer/producer/director in her own right. They came up with a "Capra-esque, David-versus-Goliath story set against a love-letter-to-small-town-life background—with a hint of Paranormal Activity," according to Patch writer and reviewer Lois Cantwell.

Split Ends has shown at the Garden State Film Festival (where it won an award), the Women's International Film Festival, the Tiburon International Film Festival and the Buffalo-Niagara Film Festival.