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originally published: 01/18/2022

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- The ShowRoom Cinema, Asbury Park’s independent movie theater, will host a one night only screening of the documentary Salt In My Soul, Sunday, February 6th at 7:30pm.  Based on Mallory Smith’s posthumously published memoir of the same name, the film offers a rare look inside the mind of a young woman trying to live fully while dying.

Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of 3, Mallory turned to a secret diary to record her inner thoughts. Using that treasure trove of writing, and hours of audio and video discovered after her untimely death, the film is a classic coming of age story about choosing to live mindfully and joyously in the face of immense struggle.

A Q&A with the film’s director Will Battersby will follow the screening.

Seating is limited. Tickets are $15 and are available in advance at the box office or on the theater’s website, showroomcinemas.com. Copies of the book “Salt In My Soul” are available at the Asbury Book Cooperative, 623 Cookman Avenue, Asbury Park.

Will Battersby has been producing documentaries and features for 15 years. His narrative feature credits include SXSW favorite The Spine of Night, Stephen King’s A Good Marriage, starring Joan Allen; They Remain, starring Will Jackson Harper, and The Bleeding House, the first feature from Emmy Award-winning writer/director Philip Gelatt (Love, Death & Robots). Will served as Head of Development on Alex Gibney’s Oscar-nominated documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Stephen Soderbergh’s Bubble. 

 

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Will’s first documentary as producer, Trumbo, won the National Board of Review Freedom of Speech award. The film, about blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, was released by Samuel Goldwyn Films and had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. 

Salt in My Soul is Will’s second documentary as director. His first, The Canal, will be released by Showtime, which is currently adapting it into a limited series. Will is producing alongside Patricia Arquette, who will also direct. The Canal is the first feature documentary about the environmental tragedy in the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagara Falls and the extraordinary group of working class women who fought to save their families. 

Will is a partner at Reno Productions, a New York film, television and theatre production company that owns and operates the Westside Theatre. 

The ShowRoom Cinema is located at 707 Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park, New Jersey.