HOW SOLEDAD WAS MADE Soledad was shot on weekends over a period of four months between October 1998 and January 1999. It was filmed entirely in San Diego County. Being a period piece set in the mid 1800s, Soledad posed some serious obstacles for the filmmakers. Of these, cost prohibitivity was a major one. With this in mind the filmmakers set out and were able to secure almost all of their locations, props, catering and actors for free. The filmmakers relied heavily, and are greatly indebted, for donations they received from local San Diego County businesses to make the film. Although on a limited budget and in a different geographical region, the filmmakers were able to accurately recreate a Southern United States look for their film through extensive research and location scouting. The San Diego County locations that were used in the film were Joe Pratt's Ranch, Ramona The Pratt Family The Long-Waterman Mansion, San Diego Owned by John & Allegra Ernst Raw Hide Ranch, Bonsil Clarence & Mary Chown Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum, Vista Rod Groenewold Olivenhain Historical Park, Elaine Tigilow Los Penasquitos Ranch House, San Diego Thanks to all the Rangers and Docents & Nancy at The County of San Diego, Department of Parks and Recreation The Weinberger Building, San Diego Paul Hamilton of "The General Service Administration" And the San Diego Film Commission was pivital for the obtaining of all these beautiful locations a big Thank you, goes to Kathy McKurdy & the Crew. WHAT'S GOING ON? Soledad was premiered in Los Angeles on Monday, October 11 at The Director's Guild Theatre for an event called Viewfinders. This event was organized by San Diego State University professor, Carroll Parrot Blue, to showcase some of the premier talent that has emerged from SDSU's film program. Viewfinders was co-chaired by Gale Anne Hurd, producer of the films The Terminator and Armageddon, and Kathleen Kennedy, producer of Jurassic Park and The Sixth Sense. Soledad was the final and featured presentation at this event. A subsequent Viewfinders screening was also in San Diego on Wednesday, October 13 and was our first opportunity to show "Soledad" to all the people who worked so hard to make our dream a reality. Soledad won the 1999 Viewfinders Viewers Choise Award for Outstanding Short Film Plans are being set in place for distributing Soledad to high school and college universities as an educational discussion piece, as well as, entering the film into a select number of festivals such as The Academy Awards and Cannes. On Tuesday October 12, Soledad's writer and director, Shlomo Buchler, was a guest on the KPBS radio show, The Lounge, to talk about the film. 12/6/99 And yes, there is sad news. We were overlooked by Sundance this year. So now we are trying to gather all our resources and see if we might be able to create some buzz for the Academy Awards as well several other film festivals we have applied to. Any Ideas please let us know. kristin@artstreet.com Success is inevitable. THE FILMMAKERS OF SOLEDAD Writer & Director - Shlomo Buchler Shlomo Buchler was born in 1972 in Jerusalem, Isreal. Brought to north America in 1975, Shlomo attended San Diego State University, where he secured a B.S. in Film Studies and left a lasting impression with his stunning collection of short films. For his film: The Butchers of Kensington Market, Shlomo won the SDSU, Excellence In Film Award, and the Film Achievement Scholarship. His films are used as study guides in advanced production classes at the University. Were he often returns to lecture. Soledad, a breath taking period piece is his first independent effort for which he has already won 1999 D.G.A. Viewers Choice Award. He is currently writing a feature script. Shlomo lives in San Diego, CA. more info Producer - Steven P. Wilt Steve is a graduate of SDSU and has produced numerous short films in the past. His plans are to continue producing film and video projects. Steve also was the sound editor for Soledad. more info Producer - Sann-Kristin Jensen Kristin was born in Santa Monica, California. As a child she grew up in the film industry with father Greg Jensen Sr. Special Effects Coordinator and Uncle's John R. Jensen Art Director and James Robertson Cameraman for NBC/KNSD. Kristin graduated from San Diego State University, where she received a B.S. in Television, Film and New Media Studies. She has her own production company called Jensen Productions and with it, she plans to continue producing films that are consistent to her companies philosophy of making movies with meaning. Kristin also designed Soledad's web site. more info Cinematographer - Jim Orr Jim, an award-winning cinematographer from Los Angeles, is responsible for the stunning camera work on Soledad. A native San Diegan Jim graduated from SDSU in the early 1990's. He has received numerous awards for his work. Southwestern Regional EMMY Awards and Vision Awards for his cinematography. more info Editor - Tal Rubin An SDSU graduate, Tal has written, directed, shot, and edited several short films. He excels equally in all aspects of the filmmaking process and was able to lend his diversity as a filmmaker as well as his unique editing style to the production of Soledad.more info Art Director - Nancy Adrisani An avid collector of antiques, Nancy generously provided a majority of the props used in Soledad. Carefully detailing each location, Nancy's historical expertise was the key ingredient in helping the film attain its historically accurate look. THE PLAYERS IN SOLEDAD Reggie Willis as Richard Reggie has acted extensively in theatre, television and cinema. Without a single word of dialogue Reggie was able to elicit a powerful performance in Soledad completely through subtle facial and body language. Laila del Monte as Matilde Like the character she portrays in Soledad, Laila is from Spain and was schooled from a long tradition of flamenco dancers . Laila has been dancing since the age of five and Soledad is her first foray into performing and acting on film. Adam del Monte - Music Composer A versatile composer, Adam has released numerous albums and has toured extensively in both the United States and internationally. He wrote and performed all the music for Soledad. Jesus Montoya - Vocals Jesus has lent his voice to numerous albums and television commercials. He is world renown for his powerful and emotive gypsy voice.