Arts & Entertainment

Gulfport Based Film to Appear on the Big Screen

Local artists Jonathan Schork and Stone Handy participated in a film project that will be shown at Muvico later this week.

With only 48 hours to create, produce and drop off a film, a group of locals used Gulfport as home base for their shooting location. The cinema will be used for the Tampa Bay chapter of a world wide organization, the 48 Hour Film Project. Groups were expected to create a film, from the script to the editing room, that will be showcased on Tuesday night.

The Gulfport group drew their movie genre out of a hat on Friday evening. Out of 12 possible options, romance was the choice given to the team. They rushed back to Gulfport to begin brainstorming their new project.

Artist, was dubbed the team leader while other members of the crew include Ian Tracy and Shawna Savni from Pixelated Productionz. David Harris helped out with the sound and lighting. , Rob McCade and Cecile Borrey are the cast members, with Schork also appearing in the film.

For Stone Handy, the film will mark his debut as an actor. “I’m really having a good time,” Handy said with a smile. Handy and company filmed all day, Saturday with Gulfport as the prime location. From up and down Beach Blvd. to the pier and a Gulfport resident’s home, the team stayed true to its roots.

Schork says that, originally, members the group were thinking of working separately and producing their own films. However, the time restriction combined with the need for a full on production team made it difficult to do so.

“We all had an interest in doing this, but we all had deficits of equipment or talent,” explained Schork. “So, we all decided we were going to work on this project, together.”

According to Schork, romance was not his personal preference of genre options, but the team rolled with it. “It wasn’t my first choice, but we’re having some fun now,” said Schork, during Saturday’s shooting session.

The rules for the project state that the 48 hours can be divided up however the film crews deem worthy. Schork and the crew hoped to finish shooting by Saturday evening, so that the whirlwind of editing and post production could get started.

Within the 48 hours, there was very little if any sleep, according to Schork. “We probably won’t get any sleep tonight,” Schork said on Saturday afternoon.

The film will be shown at Muvico Centro Ybor on Tuesday, beginning at 7pm. Purchase tickets for $12 online or buy them at the door.

Schork did not want to reveal too much of the film's plot, but he says that it has a "peculiar" angle and described it as "a romance about scary people."

 “Hopefully we’ll see some of our fellow Gulfportians there,” Schork said.

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