Deniliquin Pastoral Times article for “Artful Gambit”

Deniliquin actor and model Kelly Pantaleoni has starred in a film that will appear at the upcoming 2014 Festival De Cannes in France.

Artful Gambit, a short film made in the US, is a surreal psychological thriller that dives into the twisted mind of a newly admitted mental patient.

Pantaleoni, who has lived in the US since 2009, plays the protagonist role of that patient, Catherine, who was found to be her husband’s killer.

‘‘Artful Gambit was written by my buddy, Sig, who stayed with me and friends when he moved to Los Angeles from New York,’’ Pantaleoni told the Pastoral Times.

‘‘I was cast as the lead without hesitation; he must of saw a bit of crazy in me after living together!’’

Artful Gambit’s writer, Sig Culhane, produced the short film in August last year at Burbank, LA.

Pantaleoni said she was hysterical when she discovered it was chosen to appear at Cannes, which is held from May 14 to 25.

‘‘I was so excited, I jumped all over the hotel room,’’ she said.

‘‘It was such a surprise; I hadn’t heard anything about the film in months and I wasn’t sure what was to come of it. It was the best news I could have possibly hoped for.’’

Along with other crew and cast members, the aspiring actress will make her way to Cannes next week for the screening.

‘‘I’ll be going for the duration of the festival, leaving LA on May 13,’’ she said.

‘‘The festival will be a great opportunity to promote the film, network, meet some heavy hitters in the industry and enjoy the south of France.’’

Since moving to Los Angeles 3 years ago, Pantaleoni has had the opportunity to be involved in a number of acting and modelling roles.

‘‘I’ve done music videos with Avril Lavigne, TV shows like Californication, and I can even be spotted in Marvel’s film The Avengers.

‘‘I’ve been a Guess spokesmodel for four years, working for them at their annual Coachella music festival pool party just recently.’’

But fame has not made Pantaleoni forget her roots.

While back in Deniliquin visiting her family in 2012, she starred in Lee Kernaghan’s music video Beautiful Noise, which was filmed on the Hay plains following the Ute Muster weekend.