And in the Warm Light of Forever

 It's hard to believe that it's only been since the Covid-19 pandemic that I began delving into the art of filmmaking as a new means of creative expression. And if you asked me, I'd have to say, "So far, so good." My first film, Love and the Game, released in 2021, has won awards at five major film festivals, from Atlanta to Istanbul, and is currently enjoying commercial success on Tubi. Delilah, my second film, a full-length feature, is scheduled to be released later this year, distributed by Fast Forward Films. My lawyer and executive producers tell me to just relax and let things unfold. But writers write! That's what we do. So, it's been difficult to just wait between these two projects. I got restless, what can I say? So I decided to do something just for the film festivals this fall. I'm happy to announce my newest work, a short film called, And in the Warm Light of Forever. It's based on a short story I published called, The Funeral. 

Long before I understood it, I thought it ironic that, as people, we're so capricious and fearful of death; so ostentatiously ritualistic in our expressions while all along, subconsciously knowing that every funeral we've ever attended is really our own. Yet that curious reality is what secretly drives us to attend. I know it's a strange topic for a film, but more than the others I've done, this little 16-minute Short Film is the truest expression of meaningful artistic vision as I see it. The film stars newcomer, Cynthia Bizukiewicz, Erika Bermudez, Darwin Roman, and my daughter Isabella Ali. Assuming all goes according to plan, And in the Warm Light of Forever will make its first festival appearances in the fall. The film was superbly shot by the talented Souleymane Doumbouya. Executive Producers, Noel Rojas Nichole Taylor and Derrick White.