My other feature film THE THORNS WE LIVE WITH (Thorns) is a larger film with a bigger ensemble and fundraising has been slow. I needed to have a story that dealt with similar themes so I could finally get a feature film under my belt as a director.
So with this idea for LAST CHANCE CHARLENE, a smaller film was birthed. My original thought was for me to act in it, and the film’s title would have been Last Chance Charlie but in the beautiful process of filming our proof of concept for Thorns, I watched actor Allison Ewing shine and I thought: “I’m changing the character to Charlene”. I know Allison will knock this role out of the park and I love working with her. The story is all about Charlene (she’s in 90% of the scenes) and I know Allison will bring the depth and heart this story deserves. I also like working with trusted actors I’ve worked with before. This business is all about those partnerships and I wrote other characters with actors in mind from the Bay. I’m excited to see where this goes and beyond thrilled to work with iconic actress ALLEY MILLS (from the famed 90's show: WONDER YEARS).
BraveMaker is a 501(c)3 whose mission is to invest in filmmakers and coach creators to tell their stories and gather audiences to engage in essential conversations and explore life’s meaningful questions. We curate and make provocative, life changing media that creates meaningful culture impacting experiences. We not only want to entertain but to incite dialogue, awareness and bravely shape our culture. We believe in the power of story relayed through films and want to empower others who have similar aspirations. BraveMaker celebrates diversity and aspires to help foster justice and inclusion across communities through guided discussions and powerful authentic storytelling.
--Tony Gapastione
SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2018, Suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United states. Suicide was the was the second leading cause of death for those between the ages of 10 and 34 and the fourth leading cause of death for people between 35 and 54. And, there were more than two and a half times as many suicides (*48,344) in the U.S. as there were homicides (18,830).
Unfortunately, chances are that most of us have been directly or indirectly effected by suicide but we all have been affected by death in some way by the loss of loved ones.
We believe that Last Chance Charlene will educate about suicide and empower people to cope with the complex array of thoughts and feelings that result from it.
Our companion workbook will have specific guidance for anyone who desires to process grief in any form. A broad, overarching journal with chapters that will include working through the complexities of anger and depression and navigating unhelpful conversations with good intentationed people with specific contributions from our grief speicalist partners YADHAV&HANLON.
https://www.yahdavhanlon.com/
Enjoy some of their free resources attached below.