Border vigilantes Bill Greer (Grillo) and his son Jackson (Allyn) are on patrol when Jackson accidentally kills a Mexican immigrant boy. Bill tries to take the blame but Texas Ranger Ramirez (Lopez) sees through the lie, spurring Jackson to flee south on horseback across the Rio Grande – to become a gringo “illegal alien” in Mexico. Chased by Texas Rangers and Mexican federales, Jackson journeys across deserts and mountains to seek forgiveness from the dead boy’s vengeful father (Jimenez), as he falls in love with the land he was taught to hate.
FOLCS offered a screening of No Man’s Land, in partnership with IFC Films ahead of a Conversation on the film with director, Conor Allyn, and lead actor and writer Jake Allyn on January 25, 2021.
Conor Allyn
Director
Conor Allyn is a co-founder of Margate House Films, a family-run production company launched with Rob Allyn and Jake Allyn in 2007, which is focused on curating a diversified slate of film and television projects that showcase underrepresented voices and push the boundaries of genre filmmaking. Aimed at a global audience, the award-winning outfit is based in Southern California with extensive operations in the US, Asia and Latin America.
Conor directed and produced the upcoming IFC Film No Man’s Land, releasing January 22, 2021, which was co-written, produced by and starring Jake Allyn and also produced by Rob Allyn. The film also stars Frank Grillo, Jorge A. Jimenez, Esmeralda Pimentel, Andie MacDowell and George Lopez. Under the Margate banner, Conor is also currently in post-production on Michael Haussman’s Rajah starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, which he executive produced. Conor is also an executive producer on this year’s official Mexican Oscar entry for best foreign language feature I’m No Longer Here.
A graduate of Georgetown University, Conor spent three years in Indonesia where he wrote and directed the award-winning Red & White trilogy, and has since written and directed eleven films across three continents, including the Netflix original Walk Ride Rodeo, IFC Films’ action thriller Java Heat starring Kellan Lutz and Mickey Rourke, and dark satire Pocket Listing, starring Rob Lowe and Burt Reynolds. His films have won Best Picture, Best Director and Official Selections at film festivals in Rome, Taormina, Bangkok, Dallas, Amsterdam, and Los Angeles.
Outside of independent features, Conor has written and executive produced twelve made-for-television movies. He is currently writing and producing an anthology film series with the Lifetime network based on the true-crime books of The New York Times best-selling author Ann Rule, and is in pre-production on Southern Stories’ Ride, which he will direct from an original screenplay from Jake Allyn and Josh Plasse.
Conor currently resides in Los Angeles.
Jake Allyn
Actor, Writer
Jake Allyn is a co-founder of Margate House Films, a family-run production company launched with Rob Allyn and Conor Allyn in 2007, which is focused on curating a diversified slate of films, documentaries and television that showcase underrepresented voices and push the boundaries. Aimed at a global audience, the award-winning outfit is based in Southern California with extensive operations in the US, Asia and Latin America.
Jake co-wrote, produced and stars in the upcoming IFC Film No Man’s Land, releasing January 22, 2021, which was directed by Conor Allyn and also stars Frank Grillo, Jorge A. Jimenez, Esmeralda Pimentel, Andie MacDowell and George Lopez. Under the Margate banner, Jake is also currently in post-production on Michael Haussman’s Rajah starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, which he executive produced.
Jake is currently in pre-production on Southern Stories’ Ride, which he wrote alongside Josh Plasse, and Conor Allyn is set to direct. Additional screenwriting credits include Conor Allyn’s Forsaken and ExPatriot.
Recent film credits include Netflix’s action-thriller Sweet Girl, alongside Jason Momoa and Marisa Tomei and Blumhouse’s Run Sweetheart Run, directed by Shana Feste, which was acquired by Amazon Studios following its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
Television credits include the MGM’s series The Baxters, based on The New York Times best selling The Baxter Family, which was greenlit for three consecutive seasons and is produced by Roma Downey & Will Packer. Jake’s breakout role came in BET’s social drama The Quad, starring Anika Noni Rose and Roben Santiago Hudson. The series scored a 100% Rotten Tomatoes, made The New York Times “Top Shows To Watch” list, and was nominated for Best Drama at the ABFF Awards.
Jake currently resides in Los Angeles.