Local lights, camera, action
Sarasota soon to sparkle on the silver screen
Two unrelated production groups have been hard at work this spring shooting independent feature films in Sarasota. One is Negrita Films, which came down from Brooklyn to shoot their story, the other is De Vere Films, based right here in Sarasota.
De Vere Films is headed up by Alan and Laura Roberts. "Deadly Closure" is their first feature, a film in which Andrzej Mrotek serves as director. The goal of this company is to bring film production to the Sarasota area, completing two or three films a year using local actors and crew. The film’s writer – Alan Cameron Roberts – is well known in town, having had one play produced at Sarasota’s Backlot Theater (now regrettably defunct), with another play to be staged at the Players Theater this summer. "Deadly Closure" is this writer’s first foray into screenwriting.
"Deadly Closure" is a drama/mystery/thriller which will have a running time of 110 minutes. In it, Janis McKenzie (played by Lisa Varga) is a 36-year-old photographer in Sarasota. Twenty years before Janis had witnessed her twin brother kill their parents. Now that her twin is about to be paroled, Janis waits for him to try to kill her because she testified against him. Trained in martial arts, she is ready: all Janice wants is closure.
Local film company DeVere Films, headed by Alan and Laura Roberts, filmed "Deadly Closure" starring Lisa Varga in Sarasota with mostly local actors and crew. Photo by Diana Colson.
"Deadly Closure" utilizes 40 Florida actors with dialogue, 35 of whom hail from Sarasota. The dozen or so crew members who worked on the shoot also live in and around Sarasota. All cast and crew have been paid for their involvement. Many Sarasota local personalities play themselves in the film. There are also cameo appearances by Audrey Landers (who was in "Chorus Line," the movie) and Diane Ford (a comedienne with three HBO specials).
Brooklyn-based Nigrita Films decided to use a Sarasota Location for "The Jonestown Defense" after screening a previous movie at the Sarasota Film Festival. Here (l. to r.) Robert Stevens and Dennis Ostermaier work on a scene. Photo by Mike Weber.
The vision of De Vere Films is to create a company using local talent and production skills to develop Hollywood-quality filmmaking "on the cheap." "Deadly Closure" has been privately funded and will be completed at an estimated cost of a quarter million dollars, yet the film will have the look of a production that costs six times as much. The "Red Camera" is De Vere Films’ not-so-secret weapon, for the resolution of this remarkable new digital camera is comparable to that of 35mm film. "Deadly Closure" looks for completion in the fall and a theatrical release.
Greg Takoudes first came to Sarasota for the screening of "Up With Me" at the film festival. Photo by Mike Weber.
Nigrita Films is a production company from Brooklyn, New York. Its first feature, "Up With Me," used real kids from Harlem, and received accolades from O, The Oprah Magazine. It was screened a year ago at the Sarasota Film Festival, where director Greg Takoudes "met a lot of cool people." He and his associates were impressed with both the Sarasota setting and the warm reception, and thought "You know… we just might make another movie down here…"
So it was that "The Jonestown Defense" was born. It tells the story of a Florida businessman, Christopher Waite, who has built his life on trickery and lies. With his marriage falling apart and his job evaporating, Christopher endures a dramatic weekend of trying to fix the lifetime of problems he has created.
"Deadly Closure" star Lisa Varga discusses a scene during the shooting. Diana Colson photo.
The story was cast in New York using professional actors. Director Greg Takoudes and writer Maeve McQuillan developed and workshopped the script with their actors while producers Jeremiah Kipp and Brian Jude rounded up the gold.
After successfully releasing "Up With Me" internationally in 2009, the group came to Sarasota in early May, where they shot most of "The Jonestown Defense" within two weeks. By the end of May, cast and crew had returned to Brooklyn to shoot another week of interior shots before editing the film.
June 25th 2009 - 2:20AM