The Team
Our producing partner Veronica Salas has stepped down from her role to take care of personal matters but has offered her help if we ever need it. We wish her the best. We recently welcomed a new member to the team, Joel Tejada. Veronica, Sandra and I met Joel while we were all making student films at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA and we've been friends and collaborators ever since.
Wedding Gig
I stopped doing videography a few years ago to focus on making narratives but we made an exception for our friends Shasha and Dennis and shot their wedding this past weekend. Congratulations to the newlyweds! Thank you for having us, it was an honor!
Super Gabby
It has been nearly a year since principal photography started on Super Gabby. For those who don't know, we were unable to complete the short due to unforeseen circumstances we ran into on set but we managed to shoot enough footage for a teaser trailer and some proof of concept scenes to relaunch our fundraising efforts to finish the project. However, this time around we're aiming for a feature length film version of the story after the production team and I deemed the story too ambitious for a short film. I am currently in the process of writing and extending the screenplay and we intend to bring back the original cast. We are happy to announce that the teaser trailer is complete and will officially premiere at Pictoclik's Latinas in Cinema Film Festival on July 23rd, 2016 (info below). Our illustrator, Chris Shannon Jr, who illustrated some posters used in the film and Gabby's favorite comic book heroine, Scorpion Girl, is currently working on new designs for our promotional materials.
Pictoclik Presents Latinas in Cinema Film Festival
From pictoclik.com: Join us as we celebrate Latinas in Cinema July 23rd at Delancey Street Theater. Showcase includes short films from around the world featuring a strong Latina on screen or behind the scenes in a key position.
2016 Lineup
“Parable” Diana Rodriguez | Sci-Fi Thriller “Stranger Danger” Annique Arredondo | Comedy “Mercedes: Portrait of Street Sweeper” Amie Williams | Documentary “Couch Potato Chronicles” Lainnie Felan | Sci-Fi Comedy “Otto” Sinhué Benavides | Mystery Suspense “Vici” Johnny Kirk | Drama
A portion of all of our showcase ticket sales go towards a local feature project in development and to foster growth in the film community. Our featured filmmaker/producer Sandra Lopez will be using the funds raised for her feature Super Gabby.
Doors open at 6pm for the pre-party General Admission Tickets includes one drink ticket at the pre-party, keepsake program book. Click to buy: Pre-sale $25 | Early Bird $30 | Reg Price $40 VIP Ticket includes two drink tickets at the pre-party, RSVP seating, keepsake program book and official poster. Click to buy: Pre-sale $35 | Early Bird $40 | Reg Price $50
And that's all for now, thanks for checking us out!
Until next time, Adrian Nava Writer/Director
1 Comment
Howdy,
Thank you for keeping up with our blog or checking it out for the first time. Let's get to it! Aztekgram We are now on Instagram!
Recent Events We recently shot a dance video directed by Aztek Studio producer Veronica Salas at Wilson's Dance Studio in Pittsburg, California starring the studio's owner, Hannah Wilson. The video was shot on a Blackmagic URSA Mini and we had a FloLight representative on site who provided the lighting equipment. The fog machine we borrowed did not work and I made a joke of using the FloLight rep's electric cigarette vaporizer, well that's exactly what we ended up using along with Hannah's husband's vaporizer to "smoke" up the scene. They had the entire room smelling like Skittles. Hey, sometimes you have to improvise on set to solve problems. Fun times. We wrapped the shoot with an interview with Hannah and called it a day.
Pictoclik Events
In the last post, I shared news that Sandra and I had become Pictoclik board members. We invite filmmakers, actors and film lovers to visit pictoclik.com to learn more about workshops and events in the Bay Area geared toward both actors and filmmakers for learning and networking opportunities. Have a short film idea? Pictoclik wants to be an Executive Producer this year and award one lucky filmmaker $1500 to create a short film: PITCH TANK: FILMMAKER EDITION
You can also submit your film(s) to the following:
PICTOCLIK SHOWCASE: LATINAS IN CINEMA PICTOCLIK SHOWCASE: BATTLE OF THE FILM SCHOOLS 4TH ANNUAL PICTOCLIK FILM FESTIVAL
The Rage Short Film Kickstarter
The Rage crew is quite close to meeting their budget goal for their psychological thriller short film! The screenplay is written by our talented friend and Super Gabby actor L. Jeffrey Moore who will also be producing and acting in the film. Check out their Kickstarter campaign and please consider donating and/or sharing!
At the time of writing this, they announced a new stretch goal and new rewards for contributors. Your Film Recommendations Have you seen any really good, bad or so-bad-it's-good films recently? Mainstream, indie, obscure, whatever, comment below and share. I'd love to hear your suggestions. Alright, that's it for this one, folks. Thanks! Viva el arte, Adrian Nava Happy New Year, everyone! We had our first meeting of the year recently and Super Gabby is going to keep us busy for quite awhile but we also have various new projects planned which I will share news about in upcoming posts. Pictoclik Rebekah Renne, the President and Founder of Pictoclik in San Francisco, reached out to local filmmakers, including Aztek Studio producer Sandra and myself, with an awesome pitch to become board members. What is Pictoclik? It's a film festival but it's also more than that. From the Pictoclik website: Pictoclik is a collective for filmmakers, talent and movie lovers alike. Founded in 2012, our goal is to unite emerging and established industry professionals through fun and engaging events, workshops, screenings and our annual film festival. How could we pass up the opportunity to be part of such a great organization that truly represents the core values of what we love to do? I am proud to announce that Sandra and I are now Pictoclik board members and we invite all to visit pictoclik.com to learn more about workshops and events in the Bay Area geared toward both actors and filmmakers for learning and networking opportunities. YOU CAN SUBMIT YOUR FILM(S) TO THESE PICTOCLIK EVENTS NOW: The Rage Our friend and Super Gabby actor L. Jeffrey Moore is currently seeking crowdfunding on Kickstarter for a short film he wrote titled The Rage. "The Rage is a psychological thriller about relationships and the choices we make when we are angry." Please click here or the image to visit their Kickstarter page and check out their campaign. Browse the rewards and consider donating! Thank You
That's it for now, keeping this one short. Thank you for your continued interest in our projects and for all your support. Look out for the next post! Until next time, Adrian Nava P.S. Planning to revamp the website soon! Take Five has been selected to screen tomorrow – Saturday, September 19th, 2015 – at the Shortz! Film Festival at the El Rey Theater at 230 W. 2nd Street in Chico, California. It is scheduled to screen during the 7 to 8pm fourth block. FILM FEST SCHEDULESeptember 18-20, 2015 Friday, Sept. 18th : Doors Open 6:30pm Film Time 7:00pm Saturday, Sept. 19th : Doors Open 12:30pm Film Time 1:00pm Sunday, Sept. 20th : Doors Open 1:30pm Film Time 2:00pm Get your tickets at chicotix.com or at the door $10/Day or $20 Weekend Pass For more information contact [email protected] Take Five Action/Comedy On a quiet night, a peaceful stranger enters a restroom to find a violent situation unfolding. SCREENINGS / AWARDS • 8th Aspiring Minds Film Festival 2013 Pleasant Hill, CA - World Premiere (out of competition) • Pictoclik Film Festival 2013 San Francisco, CA - Winner: Judge's Emerging Filmmaker Award • Las Positas Film Festival 2014 Livermore, CA • Block n' Roll Film Festival 2015 Oakland, CA - Official Selection Take Five has been selected to screen at the Block n' Roll Film Festival at the historic Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, California, on Wednesday, August 26th, 2015. Doors open at 6:30pm, show starts at 7:00pm and runs till 10:00pm. Click HERE for tickets. Take Five Action/Comedy On a quiet night, a peaceful stranger enters a restroom to find a violent situation unfolding. SCREENINGS / AWARDS • 8th Aspiring Minds Film Festival 2013 Pleasant Hill, CA - World Premiere (out of competition) • Pictoclik Film Festival 2013 San Francisco, CA - Winner: Judge's Emerging Filmmaker Award • Las Positas Film Festival 2014 Livermore, CA • Shortz! Film Festival 2015 Chico, CA - Official Selection MOVIE POSTER Earn Your Life Pictures and director David Fernandez Jr released the official movie poster for "A Father's Journey" yesterday and it is glorious. Of course my opinion is biased as I served as 1st assistant director on the film but I believe you would agree that it definitely evokes a sense of appeal. STORYLINE A tragic accident has a man go on a journey of twist and turns toward a path of healing. "A Father's Journey" is a feature film based on a true story starring actor/director, David Fernandez Jr. (End of Watch, Paul, Yes Man, Sons of Anarchy, Weeds, Justified), Joey Medina (Original Latin Kings of Comedy, Zombie Strippers!), Lou Pizarro (creator and star of truTV's hit show, Operation Repo), Mayra Leal (Machete, Line of Duty), and a talented cast of emerging actors and actresses! PREMIERE AFJ will have its world premiere at the Las Vegas Latino & International Film Festival Sunday, May 31st, 2015. Some big names in Latino entertainment will be in attendance; confirmed guests include Lily Estefan and Raul De Molina of Univision's El Gordo y La Flaca and one of Mexico's most acclaimed and popular actresses, Kate Del Castillo (La Reina del Sur)! TRAILER According to Statistics in the description box, the trailer has 234,720 views! Over and over Hollywood pumps out films that depict Latinos in stereotypical and less than savory roles. "A Father's Journey" aims to tell a positive and universal story with heart. I am honored to be a part of the AFJ family and we cannot wait to share this film with the world. Please support Latino cinema! Con corazón, Adrian Nava For more information, please visit:
www.afathersjourneymovie.com YouTube IMDb www.davidfernandezjr.com |
Archives
September 2016
Categories |