International cinema
“The Emmaus Red Carpet Film Screening And After Party” is Oct. 3, Emmaus Theatre, 19 S. Fourth St., Emmaus.
Doors open at 4 p.m., with the screening at 4:30 p.m., preceded by a three-piece Latin rhythm led group by Ecuador native Guillermo “Bill” Racines of Emmaus.
The after-party is at 6:30 p.m., at 187 Rue Principale, 187 Main St., Emmaus. The restaurant is offering a three-course dinner, which includes a drink and a ticket to the screening. Dinner seatings are at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. There are various admission prices and dinner combination tickets.
“The whole theme is an international theme. So, the music is from one country. The after-party is a French restaurant,” says Gardner.
Some of the film-makers are expected to attend. There will be a question and answer session, moderated by Lynnie Godfrey, a Lehigh Valley-based cabaret singer, actress and director, following the screening.
“I’m hoping to celebrate film as an art that can bring cultures together as a shared experience. And how exciting is that we can experience it right here in Emmaus in our own movie theater?” says Gardner, a free-lance writer and director for theater and film in New York City. She is a daughter of U.S. District Court Judge James Knoll Gardner and Linda Kay Gardner.
“This is kind of my Lehigh Valley coming-out party. This is the first time that I’m going to be able to show the work that the Lehigh Valley helped produce,” says Gardner, who received a Masters in dramatic writing (playwrighting, screenwriting, TV writing) from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in Singapore in 2010. She received a BA in dramatic literature, music and creative writing from George Washington University in 2008. Gardner is an Emmaus High School graduate, Class of 2004.
Six short films by independent film-makers will be shown in the Oct. 3 program, including:
The world premiere of “If I Had A Piano (I’d Play You The Blues),” six mins., (Portuguese), Writer-Director Stephanie Gardner. A cinematic dance that explores love, romance and desire.
The Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania premiere of “And If I Stay,” 14 mins., (English), Writer-Director Stephanie Gardner. A dark romantic drama filmed in Montreal.
The program also includes:
“From The Sky,” 18 mins., (Arabic), Writer-Director Ian Ebright of Seatte, Wash. The multiple-award winner at film festivals tells the story of a son trying to avoid drone strikes in the Middle East and stars Maz Cmsian (“Argo,” TV’s “Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “The Mindy Project”).
“Josephine,” 20 mins., (English), Writer-Director Susan Chau of New York City. A pastoral piece about a latch-key girl.
“The Dry Rain,” 14 mins., (English), Writer-Director Guillem Guitierrez Saura of Spain. A magical realism drama about a married couple.
“Mondongo Cubano,” 10 mins., (Spanish), Writer-Director Ricardo Bacallao of Cuba. It’s a comedy-drama set in Cuba.
Gardner served in production capacities for several of the shorts.
“I’m very excited to screen ‘If I Had A Piano’ on the big screen because I partially shot it at my childhood home and the backwoods of Emmaus,” Gardner says. “I wrote it and filmed it thinking like a musician composing a score. It’s more of an art piece.” The film is based on a poem by Gardner.
The Portuguese-language “If I Had A Piano” stars Pedro Carmo, a regular on a popular Portugal TV show, and his real-life wife, Anna Maria Carmo. “By putting it in their native language, I felt we’d tap into something more,” Gardner says.
The production of “If I Had A Piano” reflects the international flavor. “The director of photography is a female from India. The post-production sound team is from Finland. My sister, Christine Hanna, of Macungie, line-produced it,” says Gardner.
Gardner says she’s able to show “If I Had A Piano” because of a post-production fund-raiser in March at 187 Rue and a fund-raising screening in 2013 at the Barrister’s Club, Allentown, where she showed shorts she had made.
“I”m trying to bring it back to my roots. I’m working on a narrative romantic drama that’s based in the Lehigh Valley,” says Gardner.
Ticket information: emmausredcarpet.com