"La Serenata" is the Imagen Award WINNER for Best Short Film!!!

A quick update:
WE WON!!!

A HUGE congratulations to a wonderful and deserving cast and crew! Also, a warm THANK YOU to all who voted for us!

"La Serenata" is still in the festival circuit, so if you missed your chance to watch it online, keep an eye out for it at a film festival near you!

"La Serenata" is an Imagen Foundation Short Film Competition Finalist!

Another year, another update.

Just when I thought this summer would pass without much fanfare, I receive news that "La Serenata (The Serenade)," a short film I worked on last summer, is a finalist for the 2019 Imagen Foundation's Short Film Competition! This is the second year in a row AdeRisa Productions has had a film in the running (if you recall, "Amigas with Benefits" won last year's competition).

Still from "La Serenata."

"La Serenata" (written by Ernesto Javier Martínez and directed by Adelina Anthony) is a lovely, heartfelt story about a young boy who asks his father to help him write a song so that he can serenade his schoolyard crush.

To watch "La Serenata" and VOTE, please visit: https://www.imagen.org/vote/short-films/

Voting in the competition is open until July 31, 2019 (next Wednesday). Everyone is allowed one vote per day.

Thank you!!!

Things I Miss When I Take a Break from Social Media...

When you spend more than an hour glued to social media, you need to take a break. That was me for most of last year, so I turned off all notifications and went into hibernation mode where the social network was concerned.

Doing that is very freeing. Unfortunately, it makes you miss things like this:
"Amigas with Benefits" won the award for Best Short Film in the prestigious Imagen Foundation's 2nd Annual Imagen Awards for Short/Student Films and Web Series!

Congrats to the entire cast and crew, but more importantly, many many MANY THANKS to all the people who voted for us!

"Amigas with Benefits" continues to make the rounds in the film festival circuit, so keep an eye out for it at a film festival near you (you can follow on Facebook for more up-to-date information)!

Coming to a Screen Near You: Amigas with Benefits, Entropy, and Bruising for Besos!

Nearly a year has passed since the last update! Yikes!

A couple of projects that I've worked on over the past year or so are making their way to a screen near you.

First up is "Amigas with Benefits," a short film I shot for writer/director Adelina Anthony.


"Amigas with Benefits" is a dramedy about two elderly women who have their wedding ruined by a family member. It premieres this July (next month) at Outfest 2017.

Next is Entropy, a sci-fi feature written and directed by Gabriel Anderson. I had the privilege of being the gaffer (a.k.a. chief lighting technician) on this daring film.


From the website:

A brilliant, but hermetic and hard-living woman discovers an anomalous cosmic force that projects the end of the universe to be a mere two weeks away. The terminal diagnosis for all existence compels her to confront her own fear and isolation, and leads her to pursue another woman who may offer the promise of salvation.

Entropy made its premiere at this year's IFS Film Festival, winning the award for "Best Science-Fiction Film." Visit the movie's website for information about future screenings.

And last, but definitely not least, Bruising for Besos is a feature film (also written and directed by Adelina Anthony) I gaffed a few years ago.


It has already had a successful run in festivals all over the world over the last year. It is still being showcased in community screenings across the country (definitely try to catch one near you!) and will be released online later this year.

Congratulations to "Sick World" and "Ripe"!!!

First and foremost, a huge congrats to director Hyunmi Park and her documentary, Sick World! We just got back from the Canada International Film Festival in Vancouver, B.C., where Sick World won a Royal Reel Award for Best Documentary Feature. Yay!

Next, I would like to congratulate all of the cast, crew, and supporters of Ripe, which will screen this June at the Women's International Film & Arts Festival in Miami, FL. This was the first narrative feature film that I was hired to shoot, and I'm excited that this fun, little movie will finally get its chance on the big screen!

* * *

The summer of 2012 was an interesting time in my life. My dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the year before, and his health began declining rapidly soon after. Not long after the diagnosis, I decided to take time off from work so that I could assist my family at home.

Around March 2012, my friend Hyunmi called to tell me about a documentary she was developing and invited me to shoot for her that entire summer. I was hesitant to go due to the circumstances at home, but after much consideration and deliberation with my family, I decided to make the trek to South Korea. About a month in, my dad passed, and I had to make the trip back home. My family thought it would be best for me to finish out the shoot, so a couple of weeks after the funeral services, I was on a plane back to South Korea.

With about a month left of production on Sick World, I received an email from Lauren and Karin, two gals I had met a couple of years before on a short film they hired me to shoot. They had just finished writing a feature-length screenplay and were excited to produce it. They wanted to shoot it at the end of August and were wondering if I would be available to shoot it for them. I told them that I was out of the country and didn't think it would work out, since I would be getting back stateside the day they wanted to start production. They pushed the dates back for me, and the day after I got home, I was in a car heading to California's Central Valley to start principal photography on Ripe.

I am extremely proud of these two projects and are excited to see them finally getting their spotlight on the festival circuit.  I will continue posting more updates about these movies, so please check them out if they are ever playing near you!

Congrats to "Narcissist"!!!

Congrats to Eric Casaccio and the "Narcissist" team for winning the Audience Award for Best Short at the Boston LGBT Film Festival and an Honorable Mention for the Jury Award for Best LGBT Film at the Sene Film, Music, and Arts Festival in Rhode Island!!! A wonderful premiere, to say the least!


For more info on upcoming screenings, please visit:
http://www.narcissistthemovie.com/screenings.html

Congrats to Hunter Lee Hughes and "Dumbass Filmmakers!"

Our wonderful little web series, "Dumbass Filmmakers," screened at LAWebfest this past weekend. We're happy to report that it garnered 4 awards, including Outstanding Director for Hunter Lee Hughes! Yay!

"blowing up"

"triple minority", a short film written/directed by amber sharp that i worked on a couple of years ago, does not cease to amaze.  not only has it won several awards at various film festivals, but it is still getting requests to screen (which isn't something that happens too often, especially so long after it was made).  it will appear on bet j's "the best shorts" program before the end of the month, so be sure to check your local cable listings for air date/times.

also, amber's other project "don't go" is also getting major play at film festivals.  please check the tour page on the website for a screening near you.