Roadside Film Unites Tampa Talents with Industry Veterans
"One more angel investor or sponsor can catapult this project to the next level and help us showcase the efforts of local talent, side- by-side with industry veterans."
Tampa, Fl. - (November 11, 2004) - Tampa-based Film Arts Alliance today they will produce DESCANSOS, a full-length feature film funded, produced and filmed right here in Tampa with an estimated budget of $1.1 million. Filmmakers Joe "Kip" Kipikash and Eric Polins will begin principal photography in early 2005 with an aggressive four week shooting schedule powered by a seasoned cinematographer.
Award winning director of photography, Rich Lerner, one of the producers behind the movie "Instinct" with Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr. is on board to serve as the Director of Photography for the feature film DESCANSOS. On the technical side, Lerner is an accomplished cinematographer and has worked on a number of features as well as documentary productions for NOVA and NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.
Polins, the film's producer said, "About 80 percent of the film is privately funded by Tampa-based Film Arts Alliance, a limited liability corporation created specifically to fund the film.
Kipikash, the film's director added, "One more angel sponsor can catapult this project to the next level and help us showcase the efforts of local talent, side by side with industry veterans. It's thrilling to watch it all come together…right here in Tampa."
Five-year-old Gulf+Atlantic Films, a Tampa-based production company, intends to produce DESCANSOS, (www.descansosthemovie.com), a 90-minute drama slated for production this fall in and around Tampa Bay. The movie deals with the central issues of roadside memorials in America and around the world.
Kipikash said, "The executive producer and I found there was no single consolidated source we could go to for information regarding tributes on a global scale, so we decided to create one ourselves." In early October 2004 the filmmakers launched a roadside memorial Web site portal (www.roadsidetributes.org) offering free tributes to anyone wishing to immortalize loved ones. They also recently ran advertisements in newspapers seeking interviews with people who maintain roadside memorials.
The Web site is slowly gathering real life stories from people all over the country. In addition, some of the documentary interviews may be included in the full-length fictional film. "When 'Kip' sent me the script, I was touched by the real stories, I was engaged by the controversy and I was moved by the film…it is a magical, moving experience," Polins said.
Newly appointed Tampa Film Commissioner Krista Soroka recently concluded meetings with the Filmmakers in order to lure their full-length feature film to Tampa instead of Georgia. Soroka met with the two filmmakers last month to discuss how Tampa would better serve their purposes for a full-length motion picture with some serious industry veterans attached.
The filmmakers are no strangers to the Tampa market. Gulf+Atlantic Films produced its first pilot in Tampa back in 1999 for a feature film titled "The Gatekeepers". The pilot was filmed to attract Hollywood producers to the aesthetic surroundings of Tampa. "We feel this is the most versatile setting for just about any film and it's highly under estimated - we are going to change all that. In 1999, during the Blair Witch days, we sent our pilot to various producers and production companies in Hollywood and deep down in our hearts, we know the pilot sparked interest in Tampa, Polins said."
When asked why the two filmmakers were launching a Web portal and producing the documentary and film, Kipikash explained, "The roadside memorial tradition transcends all cultural boundaries. From Mexico to Ireland, and so many points in between, people feel an inherent need to call attention to the exact place where they lost a loved one. Yet many people oppose it. Some have even criticized these memorials as being eyesores…myself included; until I thought more deeply about the painful stories behind such memorials, and set out to discover them. As filmmakers, Eric and I are recorders of life and we both feel that it is time to bring focus to this international phenomenon."
The Web site is gathering memorials and real-life stories daily, the documentary is being produced and the motion picture is officially in pre-production. Due to contract negotiations, the filmmakers can't yet release information on the leads, but say the screenplay is currently in the hands of several recognizable actors.
Supporters of the film arts who would like more information can contact Producer Eric Polins at or Director Joe Kipikash.
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