Local short film gains international attention
By Eileen O. Daday | Daily Herald Correspondent
Published: 9/5/2007 12:20 AM | Updated: 9/5/2007 8:14 AM
Michael Noens of Palatine and the other student filmmakers involved with CNGM Pictures have produced a series of feature-length thrillers, most notably, "Return to Cuba Road."
However at this weekend's Microcinema Film Festival, the company has entered a work much shorter in duration, but just as moving, Noens says.
Called "The Past and Pending," the 10-minute short is the only suburban short film accepted in the seventh annual festival, and it reflects the work of its Northwest suburban cast and crew members.
It airs at 1:25 p.m. Saturday, during the one-hour family section of the festival, which features shorter films suitable for all ages.
"We're very excited," said Noens, a Fremd High School graduate now studying film at Flashpoint Academy in Chicago. "It exposes the film to all sorts of people who wouldn't have a chance to see it otherwise."
The film explores the emotion of a teenage boy, after the wake of his older brother. When the family returns home and gathers with extended family and friends, the teen escapes to his brother's room where he encounters his spirit and engages in a closeness he never felt when he was alive.
Palatine High School student Justin Brauer plays the role of the young teen, while Jonathan C. Legat of Des Plaines plays his older brother, and Sean Colbert of Bartlett plays the role of their father.
Like many of the other films in the festival, the movie was made using a Panasonic DVX 100 camera, which helps produce a film that looks more like a movie than a video, Noens said.
"It helps in simulating the film's framing," he said.
Producing the short film, and seeing it accepted into an independent film festival, has convinced Noens and his CNGM Pictures to make more of them.
"We're going to concentrate our efforts on making one feature length and two shorts per year," Noens said. "Since we're a student-focused company, this will give more students a chance to get involved in something that's on a smaller scale."