The UAT / Locked Horns / SWAT HD collaboration “Covet” won FOUR awards at last week’s IFP/Phoenix “Beat the Clock” event. The film, produced in just 48 hours over the weekend of July 15th through 17th, garnered the following awards:

• Best Director – for Paul DeNigris
• Best Use of Line – for our use of the mandated dialogue “As long as it’s free…”
• Best Ensemble – for our amazing cast
• 2nd Place Film

A complete list of winners can be found on the IFP/Phoenix website.

“Covet” was produced by Locked Horns Productions in conjunction with a team of students and alumni from the UAT Digital Video Program and with Steve Wargo’s SWAT HD (a frequent employer of UATDV alumni and students). Cavin Gray (“Parallax”), Amanda Melby (“Screen Wars”), Kane Black (“Fallout”), and Steve Briscoe (“Cowboy Dreams”) star, along with UAT student Cedric Katambwa.

For a short time, “Covet” is online on Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/26559980. In a couple of weeks it will go into hiding once again as we begin submitting to additional film festivals. Expect it to make a return to the big screen at April’s Phoenix Film Festival – or perhaps sooner!

We are ecstatic to announce that our short film “Stabbing Stupidity” continues – some FIVE YEARS after it was produced – to make the rounds of the film festival circuit. After screening (and winning several awards) in Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, Portland, and CANNES, “Stabbing Stupidity” returns to the European continent with a screening at Salento Finibus Terrae Film Festival Internazionale in San Vito dei Normani in Southern Italy!

The film screens as part of their “Reelove” (storie d’amore) section on July 26, 2011. If you happen to be traveling in Italy this summer, you can check out the event invitation on Facebook for more information.

“Extraordinary Colleagues,” our award-winning entry in last summer’s IFP/Phoenix 48-Hour Film Challenge has been selected for Phoenix Comicon (“The signature pop-culture event of the southwest”). “Extraordinary Colleagues” (recent winner of Best Directing and Best Editing in the 2011 IFP/Phoenix “Beat the Clock” Finals) will be screened as part of the “IFP Film Challenge Block” on Saturday, May 28th at 3:00 pm.

Phoenix Comicon will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center May 26th thru 29th. Info about tickets can be found here.

PROJECT:
Short film “Parallax,” written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Paul DeNigris.

Paul DeNigris, 2007 Arizona Filmmaker of the Year and an Emmy-nominated television producer, has over 16 years of professional experience in film and television production. Paul’s films have played in film festivals all over the U.S. and internationally in India, France, and Italy. A recent short film “Cowboy Dreams” put Paul in the enviable position of directing one of America’s top standup comics, Bill Engvall, and one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces, Danny Trejo. Paul is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Digital Cinema while working as a full-time Professor of Digital Video at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Arizona.

More info: www.lockedhornsproductions.com

FILMING DATES:
April 18th thru 24th, in Tempe

STORY:
Specialist James Daniels, an American soldier with a strong hatred for Iraqis, is wounded during a convoy ambush. An Iraqi man, Hassan, puts himself and his son in danger when he saves Daniels from being killed by insurgents. As Daniels recuperates, Hassan keeps him hidden in his home – but it’s far from amicable as the two men express their hatred for the other. But the shared experience of hiding from the insurgents who would kill them both bonds Daniels and Hassan and makes them realize that for all their differences, they have more in common than either could have imagined.

MIDDLE EASTERN ACTORS AND EXTRAS NEEDED:

- Middle-aged men and women
- Children of various ages
- Young men (age 20′s and 30′s) to play insurgents
- 2 Arabic-speaking men (age 30′s to 40′s) for featured roles

The Arabic-speaking men would be needed as early as April 18th. These roles are paid.

Extras would be needed April 21st and 22nd for our Iraqi street scenes. Extras are unpaid but lunch and a copy of the film will be provided.

All actors and extras will be asked to wear their own clothing that would be appropriate to the Middle East. No obviously Western clothing, please. The more traditional the better!

MIDDLE EASTERN PROPS AND SET DRESSING NEEDED:

- Prayer mats
- A dresser or wardrobe
- Chai tea pots
- Plates, bowls, cups, pots, pans, cooking utensils
- Coffee table
- Koran with stand
- Tapestries, curtains, blankets, pillows
- Lantern or gas lamp
- Rustic Ladder – 8 or 10 feet
- Items that would appear in a Middle Eastern market
- baskets
- awnings
- tables
- anything that would be sold like cloth, dry goods, food, etc.

These items I would need by April 15th in order to dress my set for beginning filming on April 18th.

CONTACT:
Email director Paul DeNigris at lockedhorns@gmail.com or call 310-499-6179

Please contact us by April 8th!