Entertainment
Actress/Model Cheryl Vienna Lands Exciting, New Role in Indie, “Freaky Tales,” Set to Make Its World Premiere at Sundance Film Festival
LOS ANGELES — After spending 25 years in Corporate America and quitting a nine-to-five job to pursue her life-long goal of being an actress, Cheryl Vienna is excited to announce her first film role in FREAKY TALES, written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (HALF NELSON and CAPTAIN MARVEL). The indie will make its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, set to kick off January 18–28, 2024 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. Vienna is part of an ensemble cast, starring Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn and Jay Ellis. For more information about the festival, visit Festival.Sundance.org.
With a record number of 17,435 entries, the festival announced 91 projects selected for the feature films, episodic and new frontier lineup. This year marks the 40th edition of the festival, bringing together audiences in Utah and beyond to celebrate Sundance’s rich history of supporting engaging new stories and groundbreaking independent artists.
A native of Indianapolis, Vienna moved to Los Angeles in 2021 to lead a more creative lifestyle with aspirations of becoming a full-time actress and model. She has been in demand, booking tv commercials, print ad campaigns and tv roles consistently since her arrival to LA. Audiences will recognize her from several prominent tv commercials running nationally, including Paychex and Floor & Decor. Vienna is also featured in print advertising for beauty brand Haus Labs by Lady Gaga; previously displayed in almost 500 Sephora stores across the country; the global leader in the eyewear industry, Foster Grant, currently displayed in Walgreens and CVS drugstores nationwide and print ads promoting the skincare brand Dermalogica, which can be found in-store and online. Other television credits include Hallmark’s “The Holiday Stocking” and BET’s “The Black Hamptons.”
“I’m so glad I decided to take a leap of faith and pursue a career in acting full time in Los Angeles. It’s been an exciting chapter in my life and I was thrilled to work with such respected directors as Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck on their newest project,” said Vienna.
For more about CHERYL VIENNA, visit her IMDB page at https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6968792/
FREAKY TALES | U.S.A. | runtime: 106 minutes
Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Movie Synopsis:
In 1987 Oakland, a mysterious force guides The Town’s underdogs in four interconnected tales: Teen punks defend their turf against Nazi skinheads; a rap duo battles for hip-hop immortality; a weary henchman gets a shot at redemption; and an NBA All Star settles the score. Basically another day in the Bay.In addition to Vienna, the cast includes Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Normani Kordei Hamilton, Dominique Thorne and Ji-young Yoo.
ABOUT CHERYL VIENNA, actress/model (formerly credited as Cheryl Ash-Simpson)
With more than25 years of executive roles in International Trade Compliance and Quality in the automotive, chemical and aerospace industries, Cheryl Vienna is a former international trade compliance executive who’s worked with a plethora of companies, such as Pratt & Whitney, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Rolls Royce Corp., and the Mays Chemical Company. She has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology and a master’s in industrial technology from Purdue University. A native of Indianapolis, Vienna moved to Los Angeles in 2021 to lead a more creative lifestyle and pursue her passion of acting and modeling. She has been booking tv commercials, print ad campaigns and tv roles consistently since her arrival to LA.
As a filmmaker, Vienna served as executive producer (credited as Cheryl Ash-Simpson) on the documentary, SUNSHINE, NOODLES AND ME, which captures her diagnosis with Stage IIA breast cancer three days before her wedding day and chronicles her treatment; loss of her hair, and her new lease on life in a new country, far, far away. It was shot on location in Malaysia, Singapore, Indianapolis and Dallas. The doc hit the film festival circuit back in 2015, and nabbed official selections in the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) and the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival (GCUFF) as well as winning first place in the Capital City Black Film Festival (CCBFF) and third place at the 8th Annual Kingdomwood Christian Film Festival (KCFF), respectively. The intimate vérité cancer documentary also premiered on KLCS-TV, an LA affiliate of PBS, on National Pink Day on June 23, 2015 — an awareness day to celebrate the color of pink, which is also the color for breast cancer awareness.
SUNSHINE, NOODLES AND ME is co-directed and co-produced by Joyce Fitzpatrick of FlatCat Productions and Brian Shackelford of TunnelVizion Entertainment.
