"Slow Dance With Me" wins Top Short at NYJFF
Stella Maris Productions is honored to recieve recognition from the New York Jazz Film Festival as their choice for Top Short! The international festival was hosted in the heart of downtown Harlem and celebrated the spirit of jazz and its influence on the world. Films were selected from the United States, Brazil, France, Australia, Germany, Spain, Japan, Iran, and across the UK.
Director David Michael Warren offered the festival the following statement:
“This festival, in the heart of Harlem, is a celebration of jazz. Jazz music is at the heart of the film that we’ve made, and jazz can convey raw emotion and spontaneity in a way that other mediums simply cannot. But what is jazz, if not a celebration of the country where it was born? What is Jazz, if disconnected from the very people who made it, who sung it, who felt its smooth sounds send soothing waves deep into their souls?
I never had the pleasure of meeting my grandfather. He passed away before I was born and all that I know of him can be encapsulated in a pair of dog tags, a few photographs, and stories that my mother tells me about his heroism in WWII.
One night, I had a vivid dream about my grandfather coming home from war. When I woke up, I wrote down everything that I had envisioned. I soon realized that I was holding something very special; a script for a short-film called “Slow Dance With Me”.
I was fortunate enough to recruit the help of four fellow SCAD alumni, who are working film professionals. This included Walter Schneider, whose production design work has recently been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy, and an Art Directors Guild Award. Walter and I personally raised funds, conducted research, held auditions, created a historically accurate 1940s Americana set, and assembled a crew of passionate film industry professionals.
We also spent a great deal of time listening to jazz, finding the perfect song that would emulate the feelings of a young bride longing to dance with her husband. We hope you will agree that the jazz ballad “Very Exceptionary” was the right choice.
Although our film is only about five minutes long, I would humbly suggest that it manages to capture tremendous sentiment. Further, I believe that it is a fitting tribute to all of the brave service men and women who have fought for our freedom.
It is a tribute, like jazz, to America.
Thank you so much for your consideration, and please enjoy “Slow Dance With Me.”
This recognition marks the first festival win for Stella Maris Productions.
