SHORT FILM to premiere at L.A. International Women's Film Festival

Blue Seraph Productions’ short film, Missed Conception, will screen in March at the Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival.

“We are so excited to get our very first public screening,” producer J.T. Tepnapa said, “and we hope our fans and friends come out to support actress Sharon Savene in her screenwriting debut.”

Savene called Missed Conception “an extremely intimate story for me. I’m honored by the opportunity to share this with my community.”

'MISSED CONCEPTION' Actor-Writer Sharon Savene

In the film, Savene’s character wrestles with her mental stability as a woman whose history of miscarriages endangers her new pregnancy. Missed Conception is Blue Seraph’s first female-centered production.

Missed Conception screens Sunday, March 25, at 1:45 p.m., in Shorts Program 2, along with the films Dancing with the Moon, Ceiling Skies, Amores Ciegas (Blind Loves), Conduit and The Face.

» BUY TICKETS for Shorts Program 2.

“We’re mostly known for last year’s festival hit, Judas Kiss,” said producer Carlos Pedraza, “but we wanted our production company to branch out to tell more stories about the human experience.”

Tepnapa, who directed Judas Kiss, added, “I loved Sharon’s personal journey in this short film. I really wanted to give her a voice on screen. This is truly her art imitating real-life struggles, and it totally spoke to me.”

Missed Conception also stars Daniel Betances, Steve Infield and multi-award winning actress Nicole Gerth.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL The Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival is produced by the Alliance of Women Filmmakers Inc., which was established by Diana Means to empower women filmmakers to create diverse roles for women.

Each year the festival showcases narratives, documentaries, animation and student short films. The festival’s programming reflects Means’ commitment to educate and inform audiences of social, political and health issues impacting women globally.

Blue Seraph Productions is a Los Angeles-based production company developing features, shorts, commercials and music videos.

Related Links

• Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival
• Missed Conception IMDb entry

'Cowboy Creed' shoots this fall, directed by Runic Films' Ben Alpi, and produced by Blue Seraph Productions' J.T. Tepnapa.

LOS ANGELES — Runic Films and Blue Seraph Productions are proud to announce their first collaboration, a Western short film entitled Cowboy Creed.

Lead by writer-director Ben Alpi and producer J.T. Tepnapa, the film goes into production in November. To support the film, the co-production will launch a fundraising campaign Wednesday, September 28, 2011, on Kickstarter.com.

Alpi said about the film: “Cowboy Creed is about Phineas, a young man coming into his own in the strange new world of the California Gold Rush. Social changes from immigration, world cultural convergence and the American Civil War make this an incredibly rich period to set a film in.”

The production brings together a tight-knit group of filmmakers including Alpi, Tepnapa and cinematographer David Berry who all worked together on the award winning Star Trek: Phase II web series.

“J.T. and David just completed a feature, Judas Kiss, which is doing fantastically at festivals. It’s great to be working with them again,” Alpi added.

“I’m really excited about working with Ben and David again, this time on a Western.” Tepnapa said.

Phineas is an 18- year-old who has looked up to the gruff old Sheriff since the boy’s father was murdered. He wants to follow in the lawman’s footsteps, but Phineas’ world gets turned upside down when his lady love is kidnapped.

The filmmakers said they are thrilled to be fundraising with Kickstarter, a great platform that allows anyone to donate to worthy creative projects.  The campaign for funding Cowboy Creed launches September 28, and will introduce some very cool rewards for donors.

“Our Kickstarter companion video will include an exclusive announcement,” Alpi said. “We can’t wait to share the news.”

Stay tuned for more great announcements and don’t forget to check out http://runicfilms.com for the link to the Cowboy Creed Kickstarter.com campaign starting Wednesday, September 28, 2011.

# # #

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bob Alpi, 818-588-6880
email

Runic Films is an Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company dedicated to upholding the traditions of mythic storytelling.

The film marks actress Sharon Savene’s first outing as a writer; she will also star. Her past films include The Soloist and Dead Air. She also can be seen on the Web series Star Trek: The Helena Chronicles and Star Trek: Odyssey.

Missed Conception, directed by David Betances, is scheduled for a March 2010 release on the Internet.

WHAT IF the Right One turned out to be very, very wrong?

Love Minus Zero is a short film about a peculiar couple on the verge of breaking up and the hapless restaurant patrons who suffer the fallout as internalized tensions break free.

Writer-Director P.K. Eiselt, a graduate of UC Santa Barbara’s film program, describes the motivation behind his project:

P.K. Eiselt

THERE IS A RUSH, almost a panic, to find the “right one,” or face a destiny of being unlovable. … The threat seems more acute in the gay community, where options are limited … a sort of desperation that sets in, especially in the over-30 crowd.

Blue Seraph is now in pre-production for Love Minus Zero. P.K. has received script consultation from Carlos Pedraza (Judas Kiss, Blood and Fire). We have also been assigning crew, including Director of Photography David Berry (Blood and Fire, The Child). J.T. Tepnapa (Begging for Change, Drag Queen Heist) will be line-producing the project. Blue Seraph will also handle production meetings and casting at its Los Angeles production office. If you have any interest in contributing to Love Minus Zero, or any of our projects, please contact us.

Link

• Minus Zero Productions

New production space always needs fancy accessories! New desks, a new Macbook, fridge, interns, and of course a new Blue Seraph Web site.

Our new Web site gives both Carlos and me opportunities to be infinitely more creative. For myself, I’m not only helping budding filmmakers, I am also opening our doors to coaching actors. There is nothing more enjoyable that helping actors find new discoveries in the subtext of a script. You can see more about coaching under services.

Currently, we are consulting on three projects in development, a gay vampire story set in Amsterdam, Love Minus Zero, a short film about a peculiar couple on the verge of breaking up publicly, and a play revival of Steel Magnolias. If you have any interest in producing any of these stories please contact me.

And with that, welcome! Stick around and enjoy the view or join us in helping talented filmmakers produce great stories at Blue Seraph Productions.

A HOMELESS teen (Brandon Larcom) struggles with dangerous choices from the fateful flip of a coin.

In Begging for Change, two universes diverge from a single random coin toss in this dramatic short about desperation and redemption. Living out the aftermath in parallel but intertwined stories, a homeless teen rejects the aid of a handsome jogger, only to continue to live hungry and abused on the streets; in an alternate timeline, the coin flip leads the same boy into the arms of that same jogger, but with significantly different consequences. Will either path lead him home?

Back again at Q-Cinema, Begging For Change won the award for Best Dramatic Short Film. Making a departure from J.T.’s usual comedies, Begging for Change tackles deadly serious subjects.

Festival Director Barb Lee, says “J.T. refuses to let us shut our eyes when the going gets rough. Nor does he allow us our comfortable queer ending. With Begging for Change, J.T. has proved he is more then just the director of gay lifestyle comedy films. He has become an artist of film, able to reflect to us reality whether it is absurd and laughable or serious and important.”

Watch the Begging for Change trailer

This 12-minute film was released in 2006 and is available for purchase on the Begging for Shorts DVD.

DESPERATE TIMES call for desperate measurements. Bobby (J.T. Tepnapa) and Jared (Dennis Garcia) work out their relationship troubles while committing robbery.

Another festival winner, Drag Queen Heist picked up Best Gay Short Film at Q-Cinema, Fort Worth’s Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival, and was a semifinalist at the NowCasting Film Festival.

Drag Queen Heist is an action-comedy about the desperate attempts by two hopeless romantics, Bobby and Jared, to make some quick cash by robbing a local bank. Jared comes up with an “infallible” plan for the pair to rob the Second Fidelity Bank … in drag.

Regrettably, Jared’s boyfriend and co-conspirator, Bobby, is anything but infallible. Each step Bobby takes is a step in the wrong direction. Watch these two as their plan unravels like a cheap weave!

Watch the Drag Queen Heist trailer

This 19-minute film, released in 2004, is available for purchase on the Begging for Shorts DVD.

JEEPERS! Billy (Adam Browne) gets sound advice on self-loving from the eminent Dr. Sigmund Winston (Travis Michael Holder).

One of the funniest shorts of 2002, Masturbation: Putting the Fun into Self-Loving became an instant classic in the world of independent short films, winning multiple festival awards including PlanetOut’s Best Comedy Short.  Featured in documentaries, sex education classrooms, and part of TLA’s Men’s Mix One, Masturbation has taken on a life of its own.

This 1950s-style mockumentary chronicles the teachings of Dr. Sigmund Winston, who with the help of his trusty young sidekick, Billy, teaches the students of America’s Innocent Age how to put more excitement into self-loving.

Boys from the local YMCA, along with hilarious retro visual aids, give the audience a simple and wacky, step-by-step approach to the joys of masturbation.

This 8-minute film is featured on the Begging for Shorts DVD, available for purchase.

Love is not easy for Devon (Greg Nabours) and his boyfriend, Alex (J.T. Tepnapa).

Sunflowers is the story of a gay teenager, Devon, trying to find the right boyfriend.

Devon and his new beau must learn about communication, intimacy, quarrels, and forgiveness.

Although Devon gets loving support from his best friend, Sara, and his mother and father, his parents still have the same fears that every parent has about first dates. Sunflowers is an enchanting, tender film about growing up gay in contemporary American society.

Originally a 25-minute short film for independent film festival screenings, Sunflowers is now available for purchase in its never-before-seen original director’s cut on the Begging for Shorts DVD.