M. J. Solomon Productions is an independent film production company that was created by Dr. Malcolm W. Rector. Its goal is to produce unique, thought-provoking, entertaining films that will appeal to a moviegoing audience that is growing increasingly disenchanted with the repetitious plots, remakes and sequels that are being churned out by the larger production studios. Thus far, M. J. Solomon Productions has succeeded in this endeavor.

Dr. Rector and M. J. Solomon Productions have just wrapped post-production on A Haunting at Giger State University, a horror feature film. Boasting a compact, talented cast, the film revolves around two music students who agree to work late in a university’s music library after the campus closes for the summer, a typically mundane task. The events that follow, however, will push the students to the brink of insanity and leave them fighting for their lives.

To learn more and to view production stills, please view the film's Press Kit.

The first project M. J. Solomon Productions embarked upon was The Contest. Written, directed and scored by Dr. Rector, The Contest is a short romantic comedy based upon a full-length script that reached the final round in the Sundance Feature Film Program. A romantic comedy that revolves around a classical composition competition and boasts a widely varied cast, it was shown at the 2002 Jamerican International Film and Music Festival, deemed one of the top ten film festivals in the world by e!Entertainment.

Michael is a young classical composition student, who is chosen as a finalist in an international composition competition. When he arrives at the competition, he falls in love with Beverly, one of the pianists who will be performing his two-piano pieces. Unfortunately her jealous ex-boyfriend is the other and could very well sabotage Michael’s chances of winning the contest if he pursues Beverly.

Full of humor and high jinks, The Contest defies the usual convention of painting the classical music realm in only dismal disquietude and instead gives audiences an unparalleled glimpse into the life of classical composition and performance majors of the twenty-first century. Dr. Rector was uniquely qualified to write and direct this film. He earned a doctoral degree in music composition from the prestigious Rice University and is a classical and jazz pianist. He composed all of the modern classical pieces performed in The Contest and composed and arranged the pop and R and B songs as well.

The Contest made it’s television debut in 2004 on TVTV.

The Stairwell is a short film that was also written, directed and scored by Dr. Malcolm Rector and produced by M. J. Solomon Productions in association with Hawk in Flyte Productions. A surreal drama in which a man must face the darkness that has guided him throughout his life, The Stairwell was shown at the 2002 Jamerican International Film and Music Festival, where it won the Final Draft award for best short script. Dr. Rector had the very rare honor of having both of his short films chosen to be screened the same year at the renowned festival.

Old, alone and bitterly disappointed by the direction his life has taken, Nicholas sits in a small, cheap motel room and reflects upon the decisions that have led him there. His thoughts carry him up a symbolic stairwell of life, flooding him with grief, horror and desolation, reminding him that there is blood on his hands that will never wash off and making him question the dark entity that has guided him through it all.

The Stairwell boasts a compact, very talented cast and has been described as having a David Lynch-like quality that has left more than one audience speechless.

M. J. Solomon Productions’ most recent short film is Fallen Diva, a surreal drama that tells the story of a much lauded diva who abandons her family for her singing career as drugs lead her down a dark, destructive path. Starring jazz singer Adia Ledbetter, it was filmed in late 2007-early 2008 and is currently making the film festival circuit.

Fallen Diva was written, directed, produced and scored by Dr. Rector.

Because Dr. Rector is also an award-winning composer and loves music of almost every genre, it was only natural that his production company M. J. Solomon Productions would delve into the music video industry. That’s Life is the first music video it produced and was an official selection of the 2004 Toronto Online Film Festival.

Music enthusiasts of all ages know that the songs of the 60’s and 70’s were suffused with social and political commentary that is more often than not absent in today’s pop and R and B tunes. That’s Life deviates from current trends and focuses on the growing apathy of mankind as violence becomes the norm. Riots, domestic abuse, war, famine, racism, political oppression and matricide are just a few of the issues tackled in this singular pop/rock video that features the vocal stylings of G. D. Lovelady. All of the instrumentation was performed by M and J Music Summit and arranged by Dr. Rector.

M. J. Solomon Productions’ third music video, Wack Attack (Crack Attack) was shot in early summer 2007 and has already begun making the film festival circuit. A rock song performed in the sultry voice of Adia, it reveals the duality of a crack addict's existence by exploring the truth versus the crack user's fanstasy that all is well.

Few will argue with the fact that the United States’s war with Iraq will always spark heated debate, regardless of the outcome. Those against the war are usually vociferously against it and those in favor of it are equally obstreperous. Should one side or the other state an opinion, tempers swiftly ignite and very little listening is actually done. For this reason, X-Man will no doubt kindle controversy.

While the debate continues to rage safely in public forums and behind closed doors, X-Man focuses on the horrors faced by the soldiers who are actually waging the war and who are sometimes forgotten beyond their use as political pawns by both pro-war and antiwar activists.

X-Man was composed and arranged by Dr. Rector and performed by the group 4, featuring Adia. Thus far it has been chosen as an Official Selection of the Toronto Independent Film Festival,Official Selection of the New York City Independent Film Festival,Official Selection of the Cannes Independent Film Festival, an Official Selection of the London Independent Film Festival, an Official Selection of the Hollywood Black Film Festival, Official Selection of the San Diego Black Film Festival and and Official Finalist in the Canada International Film Festival. It also won the Silver Remi Award for Creative Excellence at Worldfest - Houston International Film Festival.

Dr. Rector and M. J. Solomon Productions are currently in pre-production on two feature films, one of which is scheduled to begin production in Summer 2010.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Rector and the past and pending projects of M. J. Solomon Productions, please follow the links provided.

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