A Short Love Story

A Short Love Story

Bruce Von Stiers

Sketches is a film short by filmmaker Savannah Rodgers. So far, the film has been an official selection for the Digital Bolex Showcase at the Slamdance Film Festival and has just won the Audience Choice Award at the First Friday Film Festival – Kansas City.

Sketches is a romance story. Two women, Jada and Mary, awkwardly meet. There is an immediate attraction and they find themselves in serious like. Which turns into love rather quickly. But they are very different people and don't fit together that well. The title of the film seems to come from the fact that Mary is constantly drawing pictures on a sketch pad.

The film stars Ashley Kennedy as Jada and Laurie Catherine Winkel as Mary. They are the only actors on screen for most of the film. Ashley is currently working on her second film and Laurie has starred in several films.

The film was directed by Savannah Rodgers. She also directed the short film Politically Correct and has filled various capacities in several films and television shows. Matt Jacobson was the cinematographer. A veteran of more than 50 films, Matt is also a film instructor at the University of Kansas. The production designer for the film was Gregory Leigh Nelson. Besides design work, Gregory has acted in a couple of films. He was an extra in one of film's scenes. The owner / operator of the Wild West Film Festival, Derek Sellens was the editor for the film. The producers for the film were Savannah, Meagan Flynn and Patrick Rea. Besides producing, Meagan has directed several films and has acted in many films. Patrick has produced and directed a huge list of feature and short films. Other people who were extras in the film were Ben Schatzel and Angelo Chavez.

There is a piano based musical score throughout the film. There isn't any dialog in the film, just inferred conversations behind the music.

The story has an endearing quality to it. Jada and Mary seem cute as a couple, apparently very much in love. But further scenes show that love start to unravel quite a bit. Even though there isn't any spoken dialog, you get a sense of the frustration and hurt as the relationship becomes tenuous. Does it work out in the end, like a fairytale romance should? Ah, now, that would ruin things if I told you.

Not that many years ago, a film showing two women in love would have been considered scandalous or possibly avant garde. But with more and more of the population's acceptance of the LBGT community, a love story such as Sketches can be made, and shown, without any stigma attached to it.

Sketches is a nice little love story. It isn't too dramatic or too syrupy. Laurie and Ashley have the right amount of presence that you get the intent of their character's relationship through their actions on screen.

Sketches continues to be shown at film festivals around the U.S. You might be able to catch it at a festival close to you. In the mean-time, to find out more about the film, visit http://www.proamateurproductions.com/sketches There is also a Facebook fan page for the film at https://www.facebook.com/sketchesfilm/?fref=ts

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