Email this page  Print this page

Scripting their future in film

Lourdes Gonzalez and crew are fresh from the fierce, frenetic 48 Hour Film Project, a competition in which teams are charged with creating a movie during one hot late July weekend.

If that sounds simple and fun, consider what they were given to use by contest organizers:

 

• A line of dialog the screenwriter must work into the plot;
• A character;
• A genre;
• And a prop that must be used in the film

Combine that with hiring a cast, choosing a place to shoot, and of course, the crippling summer heat that can easily sap energy, not to mention wreaking havoc with a cinematographer’s lighting.

These are challenges that Gonzalez and her filming partner, Matt de Jesus, try to take in stride. She and De Jesus work for New Horizons Film and Video in central Phoenix. Other members of the Deep Focus team include production assistant Karla Gonzalez and Dulce Estevez, an aspiring screenwriter.

“Matt and I work together. Other than that, the people (on their team) work in different areas,” Gonzalez explains “We’re the only two that know about production. It does help that we have that connection.”

Two local Latinos won a major competition (the Almost Famous Film Festival) earlier this year. Javier Gomez and Sixto Melendez, who work in the ABC 15 newsroom, were then invited to screen their seven-minute short, Laberinto Infierno, at Cannes Film Festival, where they hoped to find someone who would finance a full-length project.

For De Jesus, the goal is the same: to make an impression with a short film, on the way to making a full-length feature. The 48 Hour competition offered a way to get more attention, even though entering the contest meant a lot of pressure on team members.

“There may be drama, I don’t know!” he says, laughing. “This type of thing is very intense, where we’re trying to create something that will attract people.”