Nick and Ophelia is billed as a "supernatural romance". It is produced by Scranton Films, which uses local talent from the Scanton area. It's a unique company put together to help interested filmmakers and other gets started in the film busines right in their own backyard.
I had the honor of speaking to Luz Cabrales, who produced, directed and edited the film. Her business partner, Julian Santos, was the writer. Luz stated, "We are super, super excited to be part of the Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival. Come and check out our two films, Nick & Ophelia and our Mystery Box Film Challenge The Devil's Ball on Sunday, March 24th starting at 4pm at The University of Scranton."
On How She Got Started
"I have been doing creative work for over 14 years. This film is just the beginning to many other projects that I have been collaborating with Julian Santos, my long time friend and business partner. I started Scranton Films as a way to collaborate and highlight local talent in the Scranton, PA area and I wanted to make a feature film that could realistically made with a minimal budget."
The Importance of Collaboration
"Nick & Ophelia was re written several times to reflect the available resources I had. I was able to collaborate with over 30 businesses, individuals and local actors to make this film happen. I want Nick & Ophelia to be a symbol of what it can be accomplished with minimal funding and lots and lots of creativity. Nick & Ophelia prepared me to know what to do when given the opportunity to work with an actual budget. Julian Santos wrote the script and I produced, directed, filmed and edited the film. I could not have done this film without the support of the community and talented actors, friends, family and most importantly advocates of independent film such as Lloyd Kaufman from Troma Entertainment."
A Really Tight Budget
"Making Nick & Ophelia was a great experience as I learned all aspects of production that a feature film consists of, from concept to post production. Having a minimal budget also made me more creative when things didn’t go as planned and I had to switch gears and think on my feet to make the scenes happen, there were times when I had a full crew of people helping me, to days when it was just myself and the actors."
What's Next for Scranton Films?
"Making Nick & Ophelia has helped me tremendously with my skills as a producer and has opened doors to many other projects and working relationships with other collaborators. I am looking forward to the next feature film and putting all my knowledge back to work!"
For Info on the Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival
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