First-time Maryland Filmmaker Accepted Into First-Ever Annapolis Film Festival

Anne Arundel County native, Gerard St. Denis, gains hometown recognition in inaugural film festival.

2013-02-05

ANNAPOLIS, MD, February 05, 2013 (Press-News.org) The old saying may suggest that the third time's the charm, but not for Maryland Filmmaker Gerard St. Denis. The Anne Arundel County native's first short film, Melancholy Marc, was recently accepted into the Annapolis Film Festival, which kicks off its first event this March.

Melancholy Marc is likely to stand out at the festival, and not simply because of its cinematic craftsmanship, but rather because it's a black and white silent film that artfully evokes the classic genre. "In high school, during breaks in my Latin class, my teacher would play classic, silent films, and later, as I began thinking about my own filmmaking career, I revisited the genre and decided to use this style as a guide for my first film," explains St. Denis. The Buster Keaton-inspired Melancholy Marc -- a story about a guy who is down on his luck but finds and falls for the girl of his dreams -- resulted.

See the trailer for 'Melancholy Marc' here.

Indeed St. Denis is a filmmaker's filmmaker. Much more focused on the craft than personal fame or notoriety, his initial passion for filmmaking and storytelling developed while he was engaging in a chore you'd less than likely expect: cleaning pools. It was while he was vacuuming and brushing that he would come up with different movies in his head just to kill time. After a short stint in business school, which proved ill-fitting for St. Denis, he realized that the ideas he concocted were more than simply a mechanism for curing boredom; they embodied his passion. Thankfully, since pool cleaning work is only seasonal in Maryland, St. Denis had plenty of time in the Fall, Winter, and Spring to start creating what he had conjured up during those hot summer days.

While Melancholy Marc signals St. Denis' debut as a filmmaker, the film's stars are veteran actors. Lead actor, Clayton Myers, for instance, has been featured in a long list of indie films (Safe House, The Maladjusted, Privacy), commercials (Baltimore National Aquarium, Citadel) and other productions. Actor Richard Cutting, who plays Myers' nemesis in the film, has starred in television programs ("The Wire", "Countdown to Ground Zero", "All My Children", "Psychic Witness"), films (National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Dead Island, Good People), and a variety of videos and shorts. Female lead Catalina Lavalle has been featured in a number of short films.

Melancholy Marc will premiere at the Annapolis Film Festival, scheduled for March 21 - 24. The festival, which will not only spotlight home-grown talent but also notables such as Albert Maysles (Gimme Shelter, Grey Gardens), adds another attractive stop to the area's growing film festival circuit, which already includes nearby Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD.

Currently, St. Denis is in post-production on his second film project. Perhaps it will make an appearance at the second Annapolis Film Festival in 2014, among others.

For more information on Gerard St. Denis and Melancholy Marc please contact
Lisa Horan at lisa@popmarkmedia.com or 410.764.6220

Official Gerard St. Denis Films Website:www.gerardstdenis.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004196793070&fref=ts
Twitter:https://twitter.com/gerardstdenis

Annapolis Film Festival Website: www.annapolisfilmfestival.net/

Press Release Contact Information:
Lisa Horan
PopMark Media, Owner/Executive Director
709 Frederick Rd., Suite 2
Catonsville, MD; USA 21228
Voice: 410.764.6220
E-Mail: lisa@popmarkmedia.com
Website: www.popmarkmedia.com

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First-time Maryland Filmmaker Accepted Into First-Ever Annapolis Film Festival

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