Pearblossom-filmed 'Paris' premieres at Tribeca Fest

Antelope Valley Press ^ | May 23, 2003 | LAVENDER KEMBLE

[BenLurkin]

Another of the lower profile independent films shot in the high desert has resurfaced, premiering earlier this month at New York's Tribeca Film Festival.

"Paris," a noir-style romantic thriller directed by Ramin Niami, was filmed partially in Pearblossom and other Antelope Valley locales in October 2001. The digitally shot production starring Chad Allen and Bai Ling was in town for about a week at the Pearblossom Motel, a trailer park on Sierra Highway and a few desert roads.

The film competed at the Tribeca fest with four other entries in the narrative feature category for first and second-time filmmakers. Unfortunately, it was not very well-received. Critic Jeremy Heilman of moviemartyr.com called it "a lousy neo-noir thriller that will most likely fade into obscurity."

Allen is a former child star who once starred in the television series "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." Ling is best known for playing the role of the doomed Tuptim in "Anna and the King." No other details of Niami's plans for the film are known.

The release date of the biker flick "Torque," filmed partially at Lake Los Angeles' Club Ed set, has been pushed back from fall 2003 to January 2004. Stars Ice Cube, Jan Hernandez, Monet Mazur and a production crew spent a week in August at Club Ed shooting scenes for the action movie about a motorcycle racer framed for murder.

Antelope Valley student filmmakers may be eligible to enter their work in the eighth annual Angelus Awards Student Film Festival. The competition honors "college-level student films of uncommon artistic caliber in the exploration of the complexity of the human condition with creativity, compassion and respect."

Entrants will compete for cash prizes including the $10,000 Patrick Peyton Excellence in Filmmaking Award and the $5,000 Priddy Bros. Productions Triumph Award. All genres will be accepted.

Films must be no longer than 90 minutes, and completed between June 2001 and July 2003 while the filmmaker was an undergraduate or graduate student at an accredited film school or university.

Previous Angelus Award winners include "Monsoon Wedding" screenwriter Sabrina Dhawan and director Patricia Cardoso, who won the 2002 Sundance Audience Award for "Real Women Have Curves."

The deadline for entries is July 1. Entry fee: $25. Forms may be downloaded from www.angelus.org. For more information, call (800) 874-0999. This year's awards ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 25 at the Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood.

[lainie]

The other day I tried to use favorite speedway, the south end of 70th Street East, and was met wth a group of young guys with cameras. They started to flag me down then waved me through. I figured it was a student film project of some sort. They were trying to film a shiny black car on that lonely straight road. It must be all the rage now.

[BenLurkin]

Interesting. Be careful out there.