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FUNDRAISER

Film Festival

Sunday February 4, 2024

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We are excited to announce our next fundraiser! Please join us Sunday February 4 at 6:30pm for "all about love", an evening of short films about the messiness and the majesty of the heart.

 

Doors open at 6pm. The program runs 100 minutes, followed by a thirty minute Q&A after the program. That will be followed by an Afterparty for all those who attend.

 

Tickets are $20, which can be purchased at the link above. Your donation is tax deductible. Don't miss this special evening celebrating filmmakers Derlis Alvarenga, Billy Clift, Bruce Glawson, Naman Gupta, Jonathon Saia, W. Alex Reeves, and Thomas Tulak.

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Coming Out with the Help of a Time Machine 
Directed by: Naman Gupta 
Written by: Naman Gupta & Janki Parekh


When coming out to his traditional parents, Sid uses his time machine to reset the day, trying to make sure everything goes perfectly.

Click on poster to read more about the filmmakers.

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Empty Nest

Directed by: W. Alex Reeves
Written by: Jill Remez

 

A married couple tries to celebrate the new found freedom of their empty nest after their son goes off to college but soon discovers that their nest is not exactly empty.

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For Paul (1983): 40th Anniversary Screening

Directed by: Bruce Glawson

An autobiographical documentary portrait of a gay relationship in the early 1980s.

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Jonathon Saia, 862 S. Catalina, LA 90005
Written and Directed by: Jonathon Saia
 

An experimental look at the tragedy - and the triumph - of divorce.

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Lucid Dream
Written and Directed by: Derlis Alvarenga

 

A man in the pursuit of happiness, looks for answers and the love of his life. But little does he know, she shines night and day, like an ethereal goddess, his Venus.

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Stars Behind the Clouds
Directed by: Thomas Tulak 
Written by: Kelsey Doughert

 

Fresh on the heels of a romantic rejection, Kelsey attends a friend's party with one goal: have a casual hookup for the very first time. But fate - like she so often does - has other plans.

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The Virtual Connection 
Directed by: Billy Clift 
Written by: Tim Christian

 

A man “of a certain age,” newly single after a long relationship, finds himself navigating dating and romance through the mediator of the smartphone. 

The filmmakers will be present and participate in the short Q&A after the screening.

You are welcome to continue the conversation with the creatives at the Afterparty.

 

This film festival is recommended for adults and children above the age of 17.

There is language, adult themes and nudity in some of the films.

Alcohol and Beer will be for sale before the show and at the Afterparty, which will include light snacks.

 

This is a fundraiser for the Morgan-Wixson theatre and our Fixin' The Morgan-Wixson Campaign.

All proceeds will go to support our production and education efforts.

The Santa Monica Theatre Guild is a 501(c)(3) [non-profit] organization, EIN of 95-6045356 for tax purposes,

with a DBA of the Morgan-Wixson Theatre.

Naman Gupta
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Coming Out with the Help of a Time Machine 

Directed by: Naman Gupta 

Written by: Naman Gupta & Janki Parekh

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Naman Gupta is an award winning director and writer integrating contemporary social issues into entertaining fictional narratives, creating thought-provoking and emotionally engaging stories. His films have screened at 100+ film festivals, qualified for the Oscars and won 40+ awards. He is currently working on getting two features and a TV series off the ground. He is a Ryan Murphy’s Half.Initiative alum, winner of Netflix sponsored Tasveer Film Fund, finalist at BET Cre8 TV, and a semi-finalist at NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. TV directing programs. An eternal optimist, Naman is fascinated by deep space (lightspeed is so overrated), quantum physics, and enjoys rock climbing. [www.nogoodstudios.com]

 

Naman Gupta Interview:  I grew up in India. We only had a couple of channels and only one of them would show films, and only on the weekends, and my parents wouldn’t let me watch every weekend at that. Also, I was a military brat so going to the movies wasn’t a huge part of my upbringing either. Maybe I went about ten times as a kid. I was always interested in art and photography because that’s what I had access to. But when I moved to Canada from India and started doing photography, getting into film eventually became a natural next step. 

Filmmakers tend to bring their own sensibilities to their work. In general, I am a very happy person, but I am into social issues and topics that require deep thought. So I tried to strike a balance with the tone of this film, bringing humor to a very serious topic. People are much more open to serious issues if they are presented to them in a humorous way. 

I moved to LA for a project that ended up falling through and my co-writer and I were looking for something else to do. She showed me this YouTube video of two Indian men coming out to their parents, which was moving, but I didn’t want to make just another coming out film. So I sat on it for a bit. I’m a huge sci-fi fan and was writing a scene for something else about time travel and thought, “Why don’t I connect the two?”

Empty Nest
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Empty Nest

Directed by: W. Alex Reeves
Written by: Jill Remez

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Jill Remez is an award-winning actor and has worked opposite Viola Davis, David Cross, Cedric the Entertainer, Seth Rogen, Kristen Bell, Larry David, Bill Paxton, and many more. Recent work includes Yellowstone (CBS), The Neighborhood (CBS), Made for Love (HBO), I Think You Should Leave (Netflix), This Is Us (NBC), and Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO). She has appeared in productions at The Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, The Laguna Playhouse, The Court Theatre, and LA Theatre Works to name a few. She won "Outstanding Performance" for her role in Savage In Limbo at Theatre 40 and for her one-woman show based on The Yellow Wallpaper. [www.jillremez.com].

 

W. Alex Reeves is an award-winning director, producer, and sound designer based in Los Angeles. He began his career as a television editor working on such modern classics as Supernanny, The Real Housewives of New York, and BBQ Pitmasters. In 2011, Alex founded Point of Blue Studios, a production company based in North Hollywood where he has since produced and directed multiple award-winning documentaries, short films, music videos, and commercials. He was the resident recording engineer for RocketJump Studios’ podcast network from 2013-2015, and his sound design work can be heard on HBO, Hulu, and Disney+.

 

Jill Remez Interview My son had gone off to college, and it was not what we expected at all. We thought he was going to launch! And that was not the case. There were things about the experience that made me laugh once I stepped away from it. So I wrote a ten-minute play exploring some of the feelings I was having about my son going away to school.

I couldn’t figure out how we would visualize the phone calls. Would he be live on stage? Or projected on a screen? And then a friend of mine said, “Why not make a short film?” As the writer, producer, and actor, it was very hard to juggle all the hats. Thankfully I had another producer I could lean on during the day to handle all the tedious tasks so I could focus on my performance.

 

I wanted to explore how we parent and what it means to be a good parent. It was great to see mothers come up to me after a screening and say, “Oh my god that is me.” It resonated with a lot of women. That was very satisfying.

I did a play at the Morgan-Wixson many years ago, back when it was still called The Morgan Theatre; an original musical called Simon Towers about Simon Rodea who designed the Watts Towers. So this feels a bit full circle. 

Bruce Glawson
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For Paul (1983): 40th Anniversary Screening

Directed by: Bruce Glawson

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Bruce Glawson has been a documentary director; an entrepreneur and co-owner of a successful production company based in Toronto; a Vice President of Network Programming at PrideVision TV, the world's first LGBT television network; and a television Production Executive in Original Programming at Discovery Canada and Bell Media. Currently, he is the co-chair of “It Gets Better Canada,” a registered charity, and the official affiliate of the global “It Gets Better” network that envisions a world where all 2SLGBTQ+ youth are free to live equally and know their worthiness and power as individuals. [Itgetsbettercanada.org]

 

Bruce Glawson Interview: Being gay in the early ‘80s in Canada was comparable to what was happening in the US. I came out in Toronto in 1979 and met Paul shortly after. It was really an exciting time to be gay. There was an emerging gay community, an awareness that queer people had rights, and we began to fight for those rights. I got involved in a number of organizations geared towards activism. I met Paul when we were both volunteering for a peer counseling hotline for gay people looking for resources and support. 

Initially, For Paul was not going to be about my own relationship. I interviewed a number of gay male couples to potentially chronicle, but was nudged by my friends to just explore my relationship with Paul. Boy, I didn’t know how challenging that would be. To be on camera, direct the film, and bare my soul about my relationship? I was nervous to release this. I’d never done anything that intimate before - nor since - about my own life. I think it’s pretty apparent how uncomfortable I am on camera. But it’s a great document of my life and the times. I never would have imagined how far we’ve come as queer people - and how far, again, we are being pulled in the opposite direction.

Jonathon Saia
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Jonathon Saia, 862 S. Catalina, LA 90005

Written and Directed by Jonathon Saia

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Jonathon Saia: Jonathon Saia is a reality TV producer and experimental filmmaker. His work - and his life - is dedicated to understanding the complexities of the human heart, especially his own. Jonathon champions artists (and humans) who think and live outside of the box, in particular the one society feels is “acceptable”. His inspirations include Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, Maya Deren, Marlon Riggs, and his amazing new niece. Like, who knew babies were cool? 

 

Jonathon Saia Interview: The title and the concept for this film came from Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. In Jeanne Dielman, the protagonist spends most of her days alone in her home, trying to find meaning in the most remedial of tasks, while hooking on the side. Sure, for some extra cash, but really to find a way to pass the time and not be alone. I won’t spoil the ending of that film because it comes as quite a surprise, but Ackerman’s pacing and focus on the mundane shook me to the core and I wanted to use that basic idea to explore my own, very new solitary existence.

Going from an extremely codependent marriage to a home of one in which you also work from your bedroom is very lonely and isolating and leaves a lot of time for you to ponder your previous life. You try to fill your time with meals and long baths and random sex and drinking and movies and crying and endless loops of what could have been, but eventually you reach a point where you have to face your grief head on so you can let it go. I wanted to explore that process and share it with other people, particularly millennial-aged gay men. We ride the cusp of knowing what it was like to not believe that love was attainable, and that love was absolutely attainable in a very public fashion. But as Cher asks, “Do you believe in life after love?” This film is my answer. 

Derlis Alvarenga
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Lucid Dream

Written and Directed by:

Derlis Alvarenga

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Derlis Alvarenga is a storyteller, Brazilian by birth and American by citizenship. He loves writing for the screen as well as working on film production. From an early age, Derlis has embarked on an art making journey. He started out as a landscape photographer by using analog cameras and subsequently found a passion for filmmaking and the digital workflow. [https://delaview.wixsite.com/derliswebpage]

 

Derlis Alvarenga Interview: Lucid Dream is a mixture of my life experiences and ideas from myth. I had just gotten to LA and started a new job in a post house. All of it was new to me and a bit overwhelming. I was feeling stuck and unsure if it was the right path for me so I started putting my thoughts down on paper: looking for an ideal, but understanding that an ideal isn’t real. It only exists in your head, this muse - but at the same time, it’s already there inside of you. We tend to take for granted what is right in front of us and I wanted to illustrate that feeling. 

 

I want the audience to see the film as a dream state. I was reading a lot of poetry about art and desire around the time I wrote this, which influenced the script. Treating the film as poetry gave me permission to be more free form with the structure. Poetry and surrealism allow you to explore large questions in a short amount of time.

Stars Behid the Clouds
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Stars Behind the Clouds

Directed by: Thomas Tulak 

Written by: Kelsey Dougherty

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Kelsey Dougherty is an actor and screenwriter originally hailing from the Midwest. She's the founder of 'Dirty Feet Films' production company. Kelsey is currently in development on making Stars Among the Clouds into a feature. You can catch her this spring producing and acting in SkyPilot Theatre company's One Act Festival in Hollywood.

 

 

Thomas Tulak (Hook, Cheers) is an award-winning director whose directorial credits include 20 short films, three web series, and a feature, Who Dunt Dunt Dunnit?, now streaming on Tubi and Reveel. He studied video production at the Art Institute of California, and began filmmaking in 2009. Thomas believes that laughter is the greatest gift anyone can give. He is currently prepping the release of his second feature. His favorite quote is, "Think of something cool and pretend I said it.” - Buffy Summers [www.thomastulak.com]

Kelsey Dougherty Interview: Stars Behind the Clouds is the true story of how I met my husband. This project was less about writing a dramatic showcase for myself as an actor and more about sharing my love story. If I just wanted a great role for myself, this film would have been a lot more intense and gritty. I would say I am playing a version of myself, but she’s not quite as unhinged as I am in real life. When the camera is on you, you realize you don’t want to show the audience how crazy you really are. 

 

We shot it at the house where I actually met my husband. My husband is not an actor, but he has a cameo. He was walking around the set commenting how it was like stepping into his mind and walking around his memories, wondering what all these other people were doing there. 

 

If I had big funding and all the crew I needed for me to feel comfortable enough to step away into the performance, I’d absolutely direct. I’m inspired by directors like Greta Gerwig and Emerald Fennell, people who are doing things that are different and interesting and digging deep into their own experience. But right now, it’s more important for me to foster my time in front of the camera. I am very aware of how much work goes into directing and I would not want my performance to suffer because my mind is a dozen other places.

 

Thomas Tulak Interview: I met Kelsey when she was doing a Zoom reading of the original Hook script during lockdown. I was an actor in that film so she reached out to me to participate. I loved her script. It was playful and romantic - and a true story! I’m a hopeless romantic and wanted to help bring her love story to the screen. Comedy is a genre I frequent, but I don’t have a lot of experience in rom-com. So it was a nice departure. I identified with that love-at-first-sight aspect of the film. 


When I was a kid on the set of Hook, I was largely inspired by Steven Spielberg and Robin Williams. They shaped the creator I would become. I wanted to dedicate my life to making people laugh because of them.

Virtual Connection
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The Virtual Connection

Directed by: Billy Clift 

Written by: Tim Christian

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Tim Christian’s film work includes The Third (2022), written and directed by Tim O’Leary; and House Husbands (2024), written and directed by Michael Monteiro Wise. Trained in long form narrative improvisation, Christian has performed live in Conservatory program productions of Dorothy Parker Improvised, Rom-Com Improvised, and Tennessee Williams Improvised at L.A.s Impro Theatre. A Los Angeles native, Christian shares his adventurous life with a lawyer spouse and two rescue dogs. 


Emmy nominated filmmaker Billy Clift (A Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate Celebrates 50 Years, 2018) has created a vast body of work, including over 40 music videos; various shorts; reality TV; scripted series; and the features Baby Jane (2010), I Want to Get Married (2011), Hush Up Sweet Charlotte (2015), and Jacked (2022). His latest project, the horror series The Lair: OnlyFangs is now streaming on HereTV. He is in post on two feature projects: Here We Are, a film about racism during the pandemic, starring Sally Kirkland; and the documentary Our Lady in The Kitchen about a painting stolen by the Nazis that ended up in Silver Lake, CA. 

Tim Christian Interview:  As unlikely an inspiration as it may seem, Jaws was foundational to The Virtual Connection. Beyond the sensationalism of a killer shark, Jaws is the story of a relationship with real people in the real world talking in their normal voices and dealing with real highs, lows, joys, and struggles. Those are the types of stories I’m drawn to and something I wanted to emulate with this film. 

 

I had no business writing or producing anything. I’m an actor with no training who never fancied himself as wanting to write the Great American Novel. But I learned that it’s not brain surgery. Like, no one’s going to die and there were enough people who believed in me along the way. This was my first script. I am not playing myself here, but I do understand all the emotions he is feeling. 

 

I had zero desire to direct this. I had enough imposter syndrome as a writer and didn’t have any vision of what it could look like. Thankfully, Billy said yes.

Billy Clift Interview:  This experience was very different for me because I usually write my own projects. But Tim’s writing felt like poetry and I saw it as an opportunity to play with tone. My main visual inspiration was Woody Allen’s Interiors. I love how Allen’s camera would just sit and stare through a doorway. There’s a simplicity in the stillness, and I wanted to nod to that. 

 

I was excited to explore the life that people, but specifically gay men, seek beyond hookup culture. This man was in a relationship for 15 years. So what does he do when he is middle aged and starting over? I hope it comes across as sweet and loving. In the end he gets, maybe, what he wants. Of course, in the real world, he would have had to go through a lot more guys to find something substantial. Ha.

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