Sean Gannon, FA’91, a film producer, director and writer in Los Angeles, will have his first feature-length film premiered at the Starz Denver Film Festival.
The film, titled “Something Blue,” will be screened at the Starz Film Center, 900 Auraria Parkway in Denver, on:
- Saturday, Nov. 14, at 9:45 p.m. in Theater 5 (world premiere)
- Sunday, Nov. 15, at 6:30 p.m. in Theater 8
An Iowa premiere is also planned for spring 2010 at the Fleur Cinema in Des Moines.
Gannon, who is originally from Bondurant, Iowa, set and shot the film entirely in his home state over the course of two weeks in 2006.
“I had been writing screenplays for a few years but wanted to get something made,” Gannon said.
“The time seemed right and my friend Pat Boddy, one of my fellow co-founders of the Iowa Scriptwriters Alliance, volunteered to handle location-scouting and coordinating casting sessions in Iowa. I wrote the script and handled the rest of preproduction. We went from having a concept of the film to having it in the can in a mere nine months.”
“Something Blue” follows a young couple that has recruited their friend to videotape the fun moments leading up to their wedding. When the groom’s family starts treating the bride badly and he fails to stand up for her, the lighthearted video becomes an unintentional documentary of a relationship in jeopardy.
The rest of the film’s cast and crew have Drake ties, including:
- William Coleman, a former theater professor, who serves as casting director
- Mike Kreissl, FA’02, lead actor
- Kate Mortimer Kreissl, FA’03, lead actor
- Bridget Flanery, FA’92, actor
- Laureen Vignovich, FA’94, actor
- Jeff Daniel, JO’07, actor
- Richard Golfin III, BN’07, actor
- Patrick Kelly, FA’86, cinematography consultant
“I’m very thankful for everything I learned at Drake and for the lifelong friendships that began there. A couple of my dearest friends from my theater days play supporting roles and the leads are also Drake grads,” Gannon said.
“I’ve also worked professionally as an editor, thanks to hundreds of hours in the basement of Meredith Hall working on journalism class assignments and doing a TV show which aired across central Iowa on the Drake cable channel.”