Little Wings

Little Wings

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Directed by:	Morgan Rhodes
Written by:	Morgan Rhodes
Starring:	Ron Canada, Joseph Castanon
Country:	U S A
Created:	2007
Runtime:	14 min.
Member:	journeyblue

Average rating: 4.88 by 8 users

Film Description:

Summary
Filmmaker Blog
Gallery
Ratings

Synopsis

Little Wings deals with the trauma of child abuse through the eyes of a ten year-old boy. In this emotional tale Thomas’ mother tells him about the Legend of the Butterfly. The legend states that when whispering a wish to a butterfly and setting it free, it carries the wish to the heavens to be granted. Thomas loves butterflies and finds the escape he needs from his abusive father within the pages of his butterfly book. After saving a butterfly from a spider’s web, a stranger arrives at the farmhouse. The stranger, John, befriends Thomas and helps him make his choice between his troubled family life and the great unknown world of 'joy'.

Forms: Short
Genres: Drama, Children Live Action, Magical Realism, Spiritual
Niches: Women, Student, Youth/Teen, Children, Mature/Adult

Screenings & Events

Cannes Short Film Corner
Film Festival
Cannes, France
May 2007

Ubeda Film Music Conference
Film Festival
Ubeda, Spain
July 2007

Haydenfilms Online Film Festival
Internet/Broadband
U S A
August 2007

SoCal Independent Film Festival
Film Festival
Huntington Beach, U S A
September 2007

Moondance International Film Festival
Film Festival
Hollywood, U S A
September 2007

Los Angeles International Short Film Festival
Film Festival
Burbank, U S A
September 2007

Cast & Crew

Production

Anne Fellows (Coproducer), Ashley Contino (2nd Assistant Director), Beth Van Dyke (Script Supervisor), Morgan Rhodes (Producer, Director (1st Project)), Ty Donaldson (Producer)

Writing

Morgan Rhodes (Writer (1st Project))

Performance

Joseph Castanon (Lead Actor), Kelly Ann Ford (Supporting Actor), Robert Gantzos (Supporting Actor), Ron Canada (Lead Actor)

Camera

Seamus Tierney (Cinematographer/DP)

Art Department

Elvis Strange (Production Designer), Fiona Distefano (Makeup Artist), Wanda Leavey (Costume Designer)

Specialized

Rob Mars (Stunt Coordinator)

Post Production

Dave Lingenfelser (Digital Effects), Michael McDonald (Sound Editor), Rebecca Aldana (Picture Editor)

Music

Benedikt Brydern (Original Music/Composer)

LOS ANGELES THURSDAY 05.31.07 May 31, 2007 02:29PM

I received an offer from a company in Russia to distribute "Little Wings" but I have declined. It was too restrictive. I am talking with four other companies and am hoping for the best with them. Otherwise, I will be working on self-distribution while getting my new feature entitled "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" funded. Anne and I have teamed up with a great writer, Mike Snyder, and are very excited about the script. We're hoping to get everything lined up to shoot in Romania early next year. We'll keep you posted!

Cannes Sunday 05.27.07 May 28, 2007 07:08PM

It was my last day in Cannes so I took it easy and just hung out at a café and talked to people. If you’re heading to Cannes at some point, there are a few things to know. There is a lot of smoke here, and I’m not talking about the festival programming. Smokers almost out number the non-smokers here. No matter where you go or where you eat, how many faces you make at them for lighting up, or make coughing jesters their way, it will not make them put out their smokes. They aren’t being rude it’s just a part of their culture. Just roll with it. If you see something you really want to buy, get it. For some reason, many of their stores close on Wednesdays, Fridays, etc. You never know if it will be open before you have to catch a plane. If you rent an apartment instead of staying at a hotel, make sure you can carry your luggage. The apartments don’t have elevators and we had to climb four long flights of stairs after every long day. You get used to it but after a long day of being on your feet and walking everywhere, you feel like David looking up at Goliath. The people of Cannes were really wonderful. They were helpful and forgiving when I stumbled through my French, they were happy to see you when returning to their establishments, and they were genuinely happy that we were visiting their city.

Cannes Saturday 05.26.07 May 28, 2007 07:05PM

I shopped for a while then had one last lunch with Jennifer, an American filmmaker living in the UK. She has a film in the SFC that she directed and starred in. It was her last day in Cannes. We walked around and shopped a bit before I headed to the red carpet. Lots of French stars at this premiere. I was standing in a small group of elderly French natives who were watching the festivities and taking pictures. There were lot of ahhs when the French actors were coming up the carpet. When “Euro Trash” got out of a car (i.e. a woman, or women, who have on more make-up than clothes; clothes are usually some sort of animal print) they would laugh and shake their heads. They were quite offended that some of these women would dare show up and disrespect the tradition of the festival. I don’t have a very large French vocabulary but I understood the words they were saying and I cannot repeat them here. They were also great at shooing away people who stood in front of us so I had a killer place to shoot video from. Finally, an actress showed up on the red carpet that I recognized, Jane Fonda. She looked beautiful as usual.

Cannes Friday 05.25.07 May 26, 2007 08:52AM

Anne and Mark were up bright and early to leave at 5am. It’s a little too quiet in the apartment now. I took all of my LW materials down to the Palais to ship out so I wouldn’t have to carry them back. There is a “La Poste” area near the Short Film Corner so it’s easy to mail things out. I watched a few more films at the SFC and talked to a couple of filmmakers. Later, I went to the red carpet to shoot some video. This time walking the red carpet was Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes and Robert Duvall. I got some great stuff!

Cannes Thursday 05.24.07 May 26, 2007 08:49AM

We had a meeting this morning with Cinema Vault. Michael spent a half hour with us talking about upcoming projects and what they could offer us. I had met with him before but wanted to introduce Anne and Mark to him. He gave us the lowdown on the Cannes market, the fact that it’s a buyers market right now in the world of film, and what distributors are looking for. Basically, the market is flooded and a film has to have really high production value and name actors to have a chance to sell. Michael is going to watch “Little Wings” and let me know what he thinks. We’ll be sending him more info on our films as they progress. Our driver Pierre picked us up at 1:30pm and we headed for 400 year-old Chateau Eze. It clings to a cliff 1,300 feet above the Mediterranean. It was once a Roman stronghold. It’s a beautiful castle with lots of pathways and rooms. The rooms have been taken over by various vendors and artists. There is a hotel within the chateau so there were a lot of Ferraris, Bentleys and a couple of Aston Martins (my personal favorite). Next stop was Ephrussi de Rothschild Villa & Gardens (http://www.villa-ephrussi.com/en/ephrussi/), a former home of the Rothschilds. We drove another 20 minutes to Monte Carlo in Monaco. The town was buzzing getting ready for the Grand Prix. We went to Casino Royale first before it got late. After 8pm, you have to be dressed up to be admitted into the casino and we had too many stops to make to bring along more clothes. The casino is really beautiful inside. No cameras are allowed and you must check it. Anne loves to play craps so we went to a table. I still don’t understand the game that well so I just watched. This is definitely a place for real gamblers, or those who have money to burn for fun. Pierre took us over to see the Palace, which was quite beautiful. The city is a little claustrophobic for me. It’s really built up and there are 35,000 people crammed in to a small area. It really is for the incredibly rich. We headed back to have one final dinner before Anne and Mark departed Cannes. Mark is heading to Tel Aviv to work for a few days and Anne is heading back to LA.

Cannes Wednesday 05.23.07 May 24, 2007 12:51AM

We headed to Juan les Pins about 20 minutes up the coast from Cannes. A friend and fellow filmmaker recommended a great place to eat on the beach called Le Rubon Bleu. You get a chaise lounge on the beach for the day and can walk over to a table when you want lunch. We had a great meal with our feet in the sand. We hung out on the Riviera for a while, and then headed back to Cannes. We decided to skip Monte Carlo until Thursday. It was too much to do in one day. We left early for dinner while the light was good to shoot a clip with me in front of the Marche near the International Village. It will be up on the site at some point, if I get over my embarrassment of doing it. That’s why I’m “behind” the camera. Later we walked about a 1/4 of a mile up from the Palais to Old Town to have dinner. If you’re bringing your film to Cannes, I highly recommend attending in the first week. Many of the pavilions are starting to break down, as are the distributors (in more ways than one). They usually work hard during the first week then take time off before heading home.

Cannes Tuesday 05.22.07 May 22, 2007 11:49PM

I actually slept in this morning. We headed down to the Palais around 10am to talk to more distro companies. I have two companies that want me to send them a DVD after the festival. One company buys shorts for television. We’ve also gotten some good interest in my new project. We stopped by the Romanian pavilion to get info on shooting there. They have great castles and it’s a lot cheaper than shooting in the UK. They have a good infrastructure for filming. I got a great photo disk that also has Dracula’s castle in Transylvania on it. It’s really cool but not quite what I’m looking for. We hooked up with Ty for lunch. It was his last day in Cannes. We had not gotten to see much of each other lately since we were hitting different companies. Plus, he had a good friend in town from Paris for a few days. It sounds like he did well and made some great contacts for his projects. We left the Palais and headed over to the Grand Hotel. We picked up more cards and info and called it a day. Smoozing and pitching is exhausting. ;D We got dressed up and hit a party on the beach, then one of the casinos. There were so many people out partying on the street that the casino was basically empty. Anne prefers craps and they didn’t have any tables so we took off after playing a few slots. Tomorrow, we are taking the day off and site seeing. We’re having lunch on a beach about half an hour away, then dressing up and taking the train to Monte Carlo. I’ll let you know if I run into 007. Cheers!

Cannes Monday 05.21.07 May 22, 2007 11:30PM

I started at AmPav this morning to check email and have breakfast. I ran into David Cronenberg (Director-History of Violence) and said hello. He was in the pavilion for a seminar. Afterwards, I headed down to the UK Pavilion for the self-distribution seminar. I learned a lot and have some great ideas to market the film on my own where I can maintain control more easily. Malcolm McDowell came into the pavilion. He's now playing Mr. Linderman in "Heroes"; though I get a chill when think about him in “A Clockwork Orange”. After lunch, Anne, Mark and I went to the Carlton to talk to distro companies. It's a tiring process but we were able to get names and cards of people to talk to in LA that are in development. We saw a new Rob Schneider film called "Big Stan". He also directed. It was really funny and I think it will do well. Definitely the best movie we have seen so far.

Cannes Sunday 05.20.07 May 21, 2007 12:37AM

We skipped the "Sicko" premiere. There were too many people so we knew we wouldn't get in. I heard good things about it and that a few of the press cried so that's a good sign. The film is not like “Columbine” or “9/11”. It's more subdued and serious since it's a serious issue. Anne, Mark and I made our rounds last night. We dressed up and went to the Carlton first for drinks (very upscale), then went to the Majestic, then the Le Petit Majestic. The Le Petit is basically a bar that is in the middle of the street. Beer is served from an open window area and everyone stands in the street talking shop. It was interesting, however, there is usually more drinking than business. Went to a couple of screenings. I walked out of one half way through. I don't usually do that but it was so bad that by the time I walked out, there was only one guy left. Had lunch at Porto across from the Palais. I've become a regular and they take good care of me there. I then went to see "Slipstream", an Anthony Hopkins film that I worked on in January 2006. It was strangely edited which made it hard to watch at times but the comedy was good. SPOILER. Of course, he dies at the end so how funny could it be. I was excited to see it since I missed the screening in LA. Hooked back up with Anne and Mark and went to see "Suburban Girl" starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin. The consensus was that the movie was okay, but definitely the best one we’ve seen since we got here and I'm not a Gellar fan. We discussed the workings of Cannes over dinner (and glace' near the beach). It seems that Cannes it really one big tradeshow. If you want to screen your film, then you can pay to do that to try and get buyers. Only the competition, non-competition, etc. films are chosen by the Cannes judges. So, you end up seeing a lot of bad movies. Alas, the sparkle of Cannes has worn off.

CANNES Saturday 05.19.07 May 19, 2007 08:17AM

I was up and out early for a reservation in the SFC to watch films. It gets busy so it's best to make an appointment for time. If you are in there and it's full, they will pick people and ask them to leave if a buyer needs a space. Ty went to a seminar on shooting in Fiji. We met up at Am Pav for coffee. We had a couple sit with us from Utah. The husband, Steve, is a Producer and former board member of Sundance. We talked and pitched everything we had. He is going to check out LW before they head home. The Am Pav is really nice. They have an outdoor patio right on the beach. It's nothing but filmmakers and buyers. It's a really great atmosphere to be in and I recommend paying the 80 Euros while you're here. I'm making a point to be there for breakfast every morning to meet and greet. I went to lunch with a friend and fellow filmmaker, Anthony Buncio, and his producer Gaylon. They are heading to Monaco tomorrow, then back to LA on Monday. He's shooting a lot in the Philipines and India so I learned a lot. I'm now heading over to Happy Hour. Michael Moore is screening his new film "Sicko" tonight. It's black tie formal and we are going to try and get in. I'm sure it's a popular one so I am not holding out much hope. If we don't get in, they will screen it on Sunday and I will check it out then.

CANNES Friday 05.18.07 May 19, 2007 08:16AM

I waited all morning for my computer to arrive. I had come to the festival without it since Ty was bringing his. If you do visit the festival, I highly advise bringing your own. You will always need some info off of it or access to check for buyer emails. The buyers will email you and try to set up a meeting. There are really no computers set up, just WiFi stations. The only ones I found are in the American Pavillion in the International Village but you have to pay 80 Euros to join for the two weeks and it's usually so crowded that you can't get on one. I did join Am Pav anyway because there are a lot of deals happening there. It's s good place to hang out but you have to get there early. Anne and Mark arrived today. I got them settled in and took them to the Palais to get credentials. We hit Happy Hour so they could meet people. We talked Ginger at Kodak while there. She is sending info to us on their various contests so we can enter "Little Wings". We also talked to Peter Broderick who does workshops on self-distribution and marketing of short films. He's a big supporter of it. Why make $.25 per DVD when you can make $12. He is giving another workshop on Monday at the UK Pavillion and invited us over. He also gave an LW DVD to him and he will give us feedback and possibly help us with a game plan. Depending on what happens here, I am amped up to distro this film myself. Ty ran into Simon from Shorts International. He saw LW and wants to talk distro with us later in the week so we are keeping our fingers crossed. We took Anne and Mark to our new favorite restaurant in Cannes and had a great time. They were half awake since they had been traveling for about 15 hours. I went home to try and sleep, still not much luck. Right when I was about to fall asleep, the fireworks went off down by the water around 12:30pm. It sounded like we were under attack. That was it, I was awake again until it was time to head back to the Palais Saturday morning.

CANNES Thursday 05.17.07 May 19, 2007 08:16AM

We've been hustling today. Met with Cinema Vault to pitch several projects. They took a copy of "Little Wings" to watch. I pitched a new script called "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and they liked it. They are distributors but also will pre-fund the production of a film. Our contact is trying to get back to us to discuss LW but it may be when we are back on LA. We have visited any company that has similar films to get interest. We have been fortunate that we get to talk to reps that are easy going. Sometimes you run into reps that aren't really paying attention. We saw a film called "In the Name of the King", starring Jason Stathum, Claire Forlani, John Rhys Davies, Ray Liotta, Ron Perlman, and get this, Burt Reynolds as the King. It was horrible. In fact, some of the buyers were laughing and there was no comedy on screen. Basically, it was "Medieval Transporter". I thought it was a joke but it was obvious that a lot of money had been put into it. Had lunch at a nice cafe on the main drag. We sat next to two Brits, Marc, a still photographer, and Dean a producer. We talked for about two hours and learned a lot about film and financing in the UK. They are good connections that I will be utilizing when trying to set up my next film that will be shot outside of London. We hit SFC Happy Hour at 5pm, of course. Then, went to dinner with a UK actress/director, Jennifer. She's an American but her husband is in the military to they are stationed outside of London. Another person who wants to help me set up my next project. Ty went out to party, and I went home to try and sleep. It didn't work out. I am still dealing with jet lag. I did hear that Ty hung out with the Aussies and hit a few parties. They were hanging out in a street talking and were kind of loud so someone in the apartment above them dumped a bucket of water over their balcony and drenched two of the female Aussie filmmakers. I'm sorry I missed it. ;D

CANNES Wednesday 05.16.07 May 19, 2007 08:15AM

It's the first day of the festival and it's been very exciting! It's beautiful and sunny and gorgeous here. I was stuck in the Amsterdam airport the day before listening to German and Dutch for five hours so switching to French was interesting. My original flight through Paris was canceled so I had to switch airlines or not be able to get into Nice for two days. We picked up our credentials this morning early and were off and running! We're still learning the ins and outs of where we can and can't go but even if we aren't allowed in, we find a way, especially Ty. He's good at that. We set up our poster in the Short Film Corner (SFC) area and set out materials. I had contacted all of the short film buyers before they arrrived so they are aware of the film. Basically, if you see a person with a black lanyard and red pass, it's a buyer so you just strike up a conversation with them and start pitching. There are six small multi-seat screening rooms that can be booked to show buyers the film, and there is access to 38 screening bays where the film can be pulled up and viewed by film title or director name. Every day at 5pm there is a "Happy Hour" mixer where all of the film makers and some buyers gather for free drinks and mingling. We've met a lot of really great filmmakers; Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany, etc. It took me 17 hours to get to Cannes so I skipped party time. It seems best to focus on work for the first week when it's really busy, then go out more in the second week. I have a great apartment that I am sharing with my Co-Producer, Anne, and her husband, that is a five minute walk down to the Palais. We lucked out. More tomorrow!

MONTE CARLO