The Naples International Film Festival concluded last night with Desdemona: A Love Story taking home the BIG ONE! Desdemona was presented the fest’s top award for Best Feature Film. We are extremely honored by this award. Star Denton Blane Everett and producer James LaMarr had a great time at this fest – the staff was amazing and the whole experience was top notch. Starting with a black tie gala & a special screening of the award-winning documentary The Cove, the festival concluded with a luxurious evening ocean cruise. We’ve got much to celebrate – this is our 2nd consecutive festival at which the film has received top honors - the Boston Film Festival recently awarded Desdemona with Best Feature Film, Best Cinematography and Best Actor for Jorge A. Jimenez. Desdemona: A Love Story is on a roll – congrats to all involved! Next up? The St. Louis International Film Festival next weekend. We screen on Saturday, Nov 21 @ 5:30 PM. Click here for more details. Thanks for your support!
The 25th annual Boston Film Festival concluded this past Thursday night with Desdemona: A Love Story taking home TOP HONORS! Festival director Robin Dawson presented us with the fest’s top awards for Best Feature, Best Cinematography & Best Actor for Jorge A. Jimenez! We couldn’t be more thrilled about the film’s success in Boston. We’re in great company, as last year’s Best Feature was Appaloosa, and Jorge is sharing acting honors with this year’s Best Actress winner Uma Thurman. Next up? The St. Louis International Film Festival and the Naples International Film Festival, both in November. Desdemona: A Love Story is on a roll – congrats to all involved! Here is a photo with the cast and crew just before our New England premiere on Closing Night:  From L to R: Zach Humphreys (assistant camera/gaffer), James LaMarr (producer/actor), Denton Blane Everett (actor), Jorge A. Jimenez (actor), & Philip Roy (cinematographer/editor)
First of all, we previously posted the announcement about Boston Film Festival’s selection of our film, along with the screening details. Well, that has changed a bit – the festival director called us and told us that they love the film so much, they’ve decided to showcase it as the festival’s CLOSING NIGHT FILM! This is huge, as festivals are known for their Opening and Closing Night films. And with Uma Thurman’s new film Motherhood opening, we’re in great company! We are now screening at 7pm on Thursday, September 24 at the Landmark Theatre in Kendall Square. Please visit the Boston Film Festivals website for complete details and a link to buy tickets: http://www.bostonfilmfestival.org/ Please forward to your friends in the area and help us pack the house! Secondly, more BIG NEWS! Desdemona was just selected by the St. Louis International Film Festival! This is another big, prestigious festival whose past participants include some little films like Slumdog Millionaire and Juno, just to name a couple. We are slated to screen on closing night in St. Louis on Sunday, November 22. More details as we get closer.
Desdemona: A Love Story has been given a primetime screening slot at the Boston Film Festival! Please scroll down to view the official press release. We are pumped to be in such great company at a festival that has premiered the likes of Reservoir Dogs, Lars and The Real Girl, American Beauty, Requiem For A Dream, The Piano, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and North Country. Uma Thurman’s new film Motherhood will open the festival, with Uma accepting the festival’s Film Excellence Award on Opening Night. Desdemona will be screening at 7pm on Tuesday, September 22 at the Landmark Theatre in Kendall Square. Many of us from the cast and crew will be in attendance. Please join us if you are in the area, and spread the word and send your friends! Please visit the link below for screening details/tickets and to find out “how to fest” at the 25th annual Boston Film Festival! http://www.bostonfilmfestival.org Thanks for your support, and see you in Boston! (don’t forget to check out the press release below)
We've received an outstanding review from John South of the Texas Music Journal, who reviewed the film for its connection to Texas music. The review is posted below.
If you are reading this on a b-side festival blog, be sure to click the "filmmaker blog" link above to view our other posts, which include additional reviews and news. Please join us at our screening, and click the "+ add to cal" button next to our screening time above to help us out!
And check out this press release in The Hollywood Reporter about our recent awards and our screening at the Newport Beach Film Festival:
The Hollywood Reporter
Thank you all for your support! Here is that review...
From the Texas Music Journal: Desdémona – A Love Story
The Texas Music Journal screened the film “Desdémona : A Love Story” for both the film itself as well as for its connection to Texas music. A recent submission to the AFI Dallas International Film Festival, Desdémona is a movie that challenges the audience to look beyond the story to understand the multi-dimensional love story being told.
Desdémona is a journey into the dark world of human nature. Through the use of flashbacks to fill in the back-story, the film follows the lives of its four main characters. At the beginning of the film, Gil (Jorge A. Jimenez) collapses into a church confessional looking for a place close to God to finish his life, perhaps more as a challenge to God. Through two graphically portrayed incisions into his wrists, Gil starts his journey to the end. A priest, Father Wade (Glenn Morshower), seeing an occupant in the confessional steps inside expecting just another confession; instead he receives Gil’s reflection of shipwrecked loves.
To the casual observer, the film is the story of Gil who was sent to live with Dustin Whitaker (Brad Maule) upon the untimely death of his own father (Luis Cadeira). Over the years, Gil and his Texan brother Rod (Denton Blaine Everett) grew close to each other (though growing up tough in a tough environment). When their father passed away, the boys were shocked to find that the funeral would cost them $6,000 more than they had in funds.
They hatched a plot to kidnap the wife of a rich man in order to raise the money needed to bury their father. What Rod didn’t know was that Gil had located a past love, Desdémona (Cindy Vela), who was tied up in a loveless and abusive marriage. After successfully kidnapping Desdémona, the brothers became anxious when the husband didn’t respond to any of their ransom demands.
The story line adopts very much a modern Romeo and Juliet-like plot, but there is much more inside it than just the love story between Gil and Desdémona. The writer and director, Phillip Guzman (”2:22″, “The Lawless”), has woven a brilliant and intricate multidimensional love story that highlights many loves - the love between Gill, Rod and their father Dustin, the love between Gill and his brother Rod, the love between Gill and his own father, and the aborted start of love between Rod and the captive Desdémona. If one wants to be inclusive about the love stories reflected in the film, one might also include the encompassing love of God for one of His wayward sons (reflected in Father Ward’s final act).
“Desdémona: A Love Story” is a very complex and dark film, but enjoyable in the challenge that it presents the viewer. The theme music supports the low key, dark presentation of the movie. From a Texas perspective, the Bart Crow Band played an integral part in the development of Gil’s character. In a bar scene, Gil, originally of Hispanic descent, intentionally walks into a small “redneck” bar knowing what was going to happen to him. The rednecks play directly into Gil’s plan to get closer to his own father by experiencing the same abuse at the hands of ill-tempered prejudice. One has to believe that Gil didn’t care if, like his father, he died at the hands of that abuse.
The Bart Crow Band (Bart Crow, Paul Russell, Drew Campbell, Joseph Drew) backed the honky-tonk scene with a song that fit perfectly into the theme and mood of the film, “Choice” and “Gordon’s Song”. The haunting lyrics of the latter set the mood for the scene.
It’s a dead end on an eight-mile road/It’s a shot rings out in the dark/
It’s the sharp side of the a stinging sword/ It’s kind of like a broken heart.
The reader should check out their two albums, “Finally” (2007) and “Desperate Hearts” (2008). The Texas Music Journal will be covering the band and these albums in a future article.
A character of note in the film is Brad Maule’s portrayal of the dying Dustin Whitaker. Between his growling dialog, smoking cigarettes and sucking down oxygen, Maule’s character binds the two brothers in a love that is as strong as it is tragic.
“Desdémona: A Love Story” is a film that should be on your list of films to see this year. Expect to walk away from the film challenged to absorb the deep emotional themes that Guzman has brought to life on the screen.
Desdemona: A Love Story has great news to share! We just received not one, but TWO awards from the highly prestigious Accolade Competition, which was recently named one of the “Top 25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” by MovieMaker Magazine. The Accolade Competition presented us with the following honors:
Award of Excellence for Feature Film
Award of Merit for Lead Actor Jorge A. Jimenez as “Gil Garcia”
We’re proud to be one of the few feature films honored with their Award of Excellence, and we’re so glad to see Jorge receive this honor for his widely heralded, touching performance. Congrats to Jorge and the entire cast & crew of Desdemona: A Love Story!
And if you’re wondering, our world premiere at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival went extremely well – 2 sold out screenings! And our subsequent west coast premiere at the Beverly Hills Film Festival was very successful as well. We’re now gearing up for our April 27 screening at the Newport Beach Film Festival – if you are in the area, we’d love to see you there.
If you are reading this on a b-side festival blog, be sure to click the "filmmaker blog" link above to view our other posts, which include reviews and news. Please join us at our screening, and click the "+ add to cal" button next to our screening time above to help us out.
Thank you all for your support!
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