Begonya Plaza

AMERICAN HERO is a short film dedicated to peace

I want to inspire people to think more about the men and women who go to fight wars that lead only to more violence, poverty and misunderstanding. American veterans return demoralized, dehumanized to then find themselves marginalized, abandoned, and ashamed for the betrayal of such folly. Through storytelling I want to move people to question the motivations behind our own decisions and actions. I also want to bring attention to the suffering veterans who have given of themselves, believing that if and when in need they in return will also be taken care of. But thousands of men and women end up on the streets of our cities, homeless, filled with rage and hopelessness. We are human and mistakes are made, but we cannot hide the facts if we want to redeem ourselves and transcend the boundaries of complacency. I am interested in exploring characters who struggle with their inner most conflicts and who in the end realize grace through mutual understanding and a universal perspective. Truth is not easy to reveal, or fun to reflect upon, but our dirty little secrets must be let out for peace and individual freedom to exist.

Bobby Harris                                    James A. Lee
Jane Harris                                      Begonya Plaza
Executive Producer:                         Robert Rosenbluth
Director of Photography:                  Dave Lang
Producers:                                      Bennett Elliott, Christopher Henze & Begonya Plaza
Production Designer:                        Michelle Labriola,
Assistant Director:                             Robert Kolodny,
Sound Recordist:                              Gil Raitses
Editors:                                              Nick Noyes,  Gil Raites
& Begonya Plaza
Sound Mix and Design:                    Javier Ponton of Worldwide Productions                   
Music Composer:                              Lev 'Ljova (a.k.a. Barmaljova)

Music Performed by:                         Inna Barmash & Ljova 
Script Supervisor                               Ryan Kane
Make-up:                                           Ivy Ermert, 
Still Photographer:                            Caterina Armenter,
1st Assistant Camera:                       Suren Karapetyan,
Gaffer:                                               Donavan de Cesare,
Boom Operator:                                 Edward Herrera,
Acting Coach:                                    Susan Batson of Black Nexus
Hair:                                                   Marquis @ Xac Anthony, NYC

TRT: 14:45 –Shot on: HiDef HVX 200A Panasonic  

© izar productions, April, 2009

 

Bobby has been back from Iraq for over six months. Staying at his supportive and patriotic sister’s apartment, Jane who cannot accept to see him on her couch, drinking his way into oblivion any longer. Today was Bobby’s first at work, so when Jane comes home, and sees that he’s sitting at home getting drunk sparks begin to fly, and Bobby’s inner demons lash out. This awakens Jane to the morally degenerating consequences that the experience of war has on Bobby’s psyche.

After a phone call from the army, demanding Bobby’s return to Iraq, Bobby struggles without hope, and only after a final attempt to commit suicide does bobby find the inner strength to turn to God for guidance.

SALVADOR DALI

You are invited to attend an informal reading of my screenplay

THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY

hosted by Angelica Torn

at her TORN PAGE SALON

435 west 22 street / NYC / 212.620.0399

SUNDAY May 31^st at 6:pm

A young man with delusions of grandeur meets Salvador Dali and his lascivious wife, Gala. Jonas wants their "Dolce Vita" Life-style and schemes to become Dali’s model and Gala’s lover. During this one-year roller coaster affair through New York, Cadaques and Rome, we see how the Dalis chew him up and spit him out, just as with all the other psychotic celebrity "star fuckers". 

no reservations necessary  - a tax deductible donation is accepted

quotes by SALVADOR DALI

"Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad."

"Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature. Never try to correct them. On the contrary: rationalize them, understand them thoroughly. After that, it will be possible for you to sublimate them."

"In order to acquire a growing and lasting respect in society, it is a good thing, if you possess great talent, to give, early in your youth, a very hard kick to the right shin of the society that you love. After that, be a snob."

"I am painting pictures which make me die for joy, I am creating with an absolute naturalness, without the slightest aesthetic concern, I am making things that inspire me with a profound emotion and I am trying to paint them honestly."

"I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait."

"I don't take drugs: I am drugs."

"The difference between false statements and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant until you look closely."

"I have Dalínian thought: the one thing the world will never have enough of is the outrageous."

"Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings."

"There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction."

"Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing."

"When I was five years old I saw an insect that had been eaten by ants and of which nothing remained except the shell. Through the holes in its anatomy one could see the sky. Every time I wish to attain purity I look at the sky through flesh."  

"Have no fear of perfection, you'll never reach it."

"The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents." 

“I am going to my room to masturbate before I have a light lunch, if you would like to come and watch?”