jenp77

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Joined: 24-MAR-06

Last Online: JUN 06 2007 03:46PM


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Film Production Blog "EveOfUnderstanding"

Upcoming Screenings  Jul 10, 2006 03:18PM
AFI Dallas International Film Festival
March 22-April 1.
http://www.afidallas.com.
*Thursday, March 29, 2007 @ 9:30 pm
Magnolia Theatre # 4
*Saturday, March 31, 2007 @ 12:00 pm (noon)
Magnolia Theatre # 5
Q&A to follow both screenings.
The Magnolia
3699 McKinney Ave.
Dallas, Texas 75204
214.520.0098
www.landmarktheatres.com

Tickets are available through AFI Dallas beginning March 2. Tickets are sold online or in person. See http://www.afidallas.com for more details. Additionally there are many hotel discounts at: http://www.filmdfw.com/page.php?s=AFI_Dallas_Hotels2007

Women's International Film Festival South Florida
March 29-April 1, 2007
Time TBA
Miami, Florida
http://www.wiffonline.org

Zion Independent Film Festival
February 23-25, 2007
Springdale, Utah (Zion National Park)
Screening TBA
http://www.zionfilmfestival.com

Lake County Film Festival
March 8-12, 2007
Lake County, Illinois (Chicago Area)
http://www.lakecountyfilmfest.com
Eve screens twice:
*
Friday, March 9, 2007 @ 7:45 pm
American Legion Hall
715 N Milwaukee Ave, Libertyville, IL 60048
*
Saturday, March 10, 2007 @ 7:10 pm
Civic Center
135 W Church St, Libertyville, IL 60048

CIM Madrid International Film Festival
March 26-April 1, 2007
Time TBA
Madrid, Spain
http://www.festivalcim.org

Swansea Bay Film Festival
June 1-10, 2007
Time TBA
Swansea Bay, Wales, UK
http://www.swanseafilmfestival.com
May 17, 2006 05:29PM

Rebecca Lowman as Donna in Eve of Understanding
Director's Statement May 17, 2006 05:24PM
I love stories. Good stories. Hearing them. Telling them. Being swept up in them. For years I've fervently dreamt of telling stories of my own. First I imagined this would happen in play form, coming from an acting and theater background that just made sense. But then, in college, I started writing these tricky things called screenplays. I think somewhere I knew that in order to write a truly engaging one it would take me time, effort and inspiration, and it did. Over the years my scripts have gotten better and better and these last few have been good, even great. And then Jen Prince, my producing partner, and I went to Sundance in January 2005. We went to a ton of screenings. It enlivened us and made us want to make movies even more. But how to make a film now? With so little money? Plenty of ideas and some resources, but money, we were definitely short on that. Cody Shelton, my husband and constant inspiration, turned to me one night before bed and said, "Let's make a movie this spring. Let's just do it, for like $20,000." I asked if he had a cheap and great script like that. He said "No." And I said, "Well then we need to have one of those first."

I couldn't sleep that night. I tried, but I couldn't. I started thinking of the resources available to us; places we could stay for free, crewmembers that would pitch in for free, eating establishments we could hit up, possible investors, etc. And I started to weave a tale that felt so right; I couldn't stop thinking about it. I knew the shooting format had to be mini DV, that was a given, so I thought of a story gritty and personal enough that it had to be told that way, not as a compromise, but as the perfect way to shoot it. And at 2am I gave up on sleeping and headed to the computer, where I worked 'til dawn.

A week later I completed 'Eve of Understanding.' Even as I wrote it I knew we were going to make this movie. Jen budgeted it right away, bringing it in at a very very low budget, but still far more money than we imagined we could raise. But the three of us, Jen, Cody and myself, looked at each other on that Tuesday night in mid-February and said, "If not now, when?" And off we went.

We threw ourselves headlong into pre-production. We had 2 months to get our shit together and set out on the road to Texas and Arizona in a cargo van and a Honda Accord, full of our equipment and us; me, Jen, Cody, Elizabeth Santoro, the DP and Rebecca Lowman, our star. We slept in our friends and relatives houses and shot 6 days a week for 4 weeks, staying on schedule and on budget. We did what we believed was possible, and mostly with a smile on our faces.

I'm telling a story I care deeply about. "Eve of Understanding" weaves together so many elements that fascinate me. It addresses the lies people tell themselves to survive and how those lies imprint themselves on their loved ones - indelibly. I love the main character Donna because she rushes headlong through life unsure of her purpose, but with passion, and at the end it becomes clear what her purpose was all along - to find herself. I think it's something we can all identify with, but it's more than that. Donna's sent, by her deceased mother, to drop off tokens to Eve's loved ones. A reverse scavenger hunt of sorts. We're captivated by the twists and turns Eve creates from the grave. Eve couldn't truly love Donna in life, but in death she gives Donna the gift of honesty, of full disclosure. The one thing Donna longs for, without even knowing. I think there's so much hope in this film, even though it can be hard to watch at times, it's also full of laughs and irony, a certain reality that I long for in movies.

What we've created, this movie, "Eve of Understanding," it's a story that makes me feel incredibly proud. Every day.
May 17, 2006 05:21PM


Rebecca Lowman as DONNA

Best Actress, Boston Film Festival
Best Actress, Breckenridge Film Festival
Best Actress, Nominee, MethodFest

Rebecca can currently be seen in the US Premiere of "iWitness", a play by Joshua Sobol at the Mark Taper Forum in iWitness. She is also in the upcoming Regent release, The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green.
May 17, 2006 05:15PM
Festivals  May 17, 2006 12:39PM
Eve of Understanding has been an official selection at:
Sedona International Film Festival (Sedona, AZ)
MethodFest (Calabasas, CA)
Waterfront Film Festival (Saugatuck, MI)
Female Eye Film Festival (Toronto, ON)
Dances With Films (Los Angeles, CA)
Rhode Island International Film Festival
Breckenridge Film Festival, Colorado
Boston Film Festival
FAIF International Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA
28th International Film Festival of Women and Cinema in Florence, Italy
Beverly Hills Hi Def Film Festival
Southern Fried Flicks Film Festival
Zion Independent Film Festival
Swansea Bay International Film Festival in Wales, UK
CIM Madrid International Film Festival
Park City Film Music Festival
Lake County Film Festival

FINALIST, FYLMZ Film Festival
WINNER BEST FEATURE FILM Female Eye Film Festival, Toronto.
WINNER BEST FEATURE FILM Beverly Hills HI Def Film Festival
WINNER BEST ACTRESS Boston Film Festival (Rebecca Lowman)
WINNER BEST ACTRESS Breckenridge Film Festival (Rebecca Lowman)
WINNER SILVER MEDAL "Best Use of Music in a Feature Film", Peter Senchuk, composer, Park City Film Music Festival
It has been nominated for Best of Show at Female Eye Film Festival and Best Actress (Rebecca Lowman) at MethodFest
Visit our blog Mar 24, 2006 02:00PM
Please visit our official site www.EveOfUnderstanding.com
Our blog (which we have been keeping since August 2004, can be found at
http://www.openplanproductions.blogspot.com

Film Maker's Blog

May 17, 2006 05:17PM


Rebecca Lowman as DONNA

Best Actress, Boston Film Festival
Best Actress, Breckenridge Film Festival
Best Actress, Nominee, MethodFest
May 17, 2006 05:14PM

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    1 Comments about jenp77

    blacktrack3
    Sep 09, 2007 09:14PM

    nice movie

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