HELENNA SANTOS

 synopsis: What if you could glimpse into a life you didn’t know you could live, a life you might already have experienced? We pass by people every day, strangers, but maybe they aren’t strangers at all. Nothing is accidental. Every chance encounter isn’t chance, but divine interven3on. Seemingly strangers, two women lock eyes on a downtown street catapul3ng them into a desert dreamland of past, present and future, full of lust, love and longing. It’s raw and messy, sexy and beau3ful. Is it a dream? Is it reality? Or is it that space in between? For these two women, their connec3on is as close as a heartbeat and a galaxy away. tagline: Two women lock eyes on a downtown street catapul3ng them into a desert dreamland of past, present and future, full of lust, love and longing. producer’s statement from Helenna Santos: When I first approached Tim Guzman from SpinQ Studios to collaborate on this project, I knew we would create something special to both of us. Sharing a love of Sigur Ros and art films, we were influenced by the ar3stry of Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life” and the Sigur Ros video starring Shia LaBeouf 3tled “Fjogur piano” directed by Alma Ha’rel. "Similitude" is a love story between two women and the past lives they’ve shared together based on my poem “The Stranger” and adapted for the screen by myself and writer Barry Morgan. It is an explora3on of humanity's longing for connec3on and ventures into the world of dreams vs reality with a story dancing in the space between past, present, and future. For the 7 minutes of this short film we accumulated over 30 hours of driving to many different haun3ng loca3ons in California’s arid deserts. The filming was done on random shoot days over the course of a year with a crew of 2 maximum at any given 3me. Some days it was just myself, Tim, and Madeline. The Team: TIM GUZMAN -­‐ Director/Cinematographer/Editor/Producer As co-­‐founder of SpinQ Studios, Tim Guzman has been part of new media for over 15 years. Originally a photographer, and while a_ending the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Tim became fully invested in the film world and aaer producing and filming many award winning shorts, he decided to direct his first short film, “Between Houses and Homes,” in the summer of 2012. Tim’s passion is being behind the camera. As a cinematographer and director, he is given the chance to bring out his love of photography and film. HELENNA SANTOS -­‐ Woman #1/Co-­‐Writer/Producer Helenna is the founder and CEO of Ms. In The Biz, a site designed for the next genera3on of female Hollywood Power Players. A proud member of Film Independent, Women in Film, and the IAWTV (Interna3onal Academy of Web Television), she can oaen be found on panels and in appearances at conven3ons such as “Comic-­‐Con” and Stan Lee’s “Comikaze.” She has appeared in a wide variety of projects from feature films such as Universal’s “American Reunion,” (the fourth theatrical installment of “American Pie”), to high profile digital produc3ons like “Black Box TV,” as well as a number of network television series. Helenna has produced and starred in a number of projects including the short horror film “The Infected” the digital series “Henchmen,” the LGBT experimental short film“Similitude", and is in development for the Sci-­‐Fi creature feature “Specious” and the neo-­‐noir heist comedy “Snatched,” both of which she is producing with her husband Barry W. Levy through Mighty Pharaoh Films. MADELINE MERRITT -­‐ Woman #2 Aaer gradua3ng from Northwestern University's Theater Department, Madeline moved to Los Angeles in 2008. She is well known for her performances in The Guest House, American Idiots, and Auteur. She is a monthly contributor for Ms. In The Biz, a women in entertainment website and she is a lifelong advocate for gay rights, women's rights, and the preserva3on of indigenous cultures. Recently she has transi3on from being strictly an actress, and now has producing, wri3ng, and direc3ng credits to her name. She is passionate about collabora3ng with original story-­‐tellers and bringing diverse stories to the media landscape. OSCAR GUZMAN -­‐ Producer Oscar Guzman is a co-­‐founder of SpinQ Studios. Along side his brother and partner Tim Guzman. He has been involved with various film, photography, periodic publica3ons and game design projects. Performing such roles as a cinematographer, writer, director, actor and designer. His latest endeavors include a lead role in the short “Dreamer”, wri_en and directed by Rick Tolson. Also he is currently the lead designer for the up coming new game “Rags2Riches” on Facebook. Oscar has a passion of expressing himself through mul3ple forms of media such as film and digital media. Aaer receiving his Master’s from Boston University he decided to con3nue his educa3onal pursuit. He is currently enrolled at Pepperdine University’s Doctoral program in Learning Technologies. Where he plans to use his degree for wri3ng and filming projects that promote entertainment and educa3on. BARRY W. LEVY -­‐ Co-­‐Producer Mighty Pharaoh Films' Barry W. Levy burst onto the independent film scene in 2003 with his controversial debut feature, 'Spook'. It brought home 8 fes3val awards including 2 grand jury prizes, was the first Canadian feature ever accepted to the pres3gious Shanghai Interna3onal Film Fes3val.His neo-­‐noir short film ‘Check Brights’ and the animated ‘Division Denim’ were also very well received on the fes3val circuit, both taking home numerous awards. Mr. Levy is also a seasoned Film and TV actor of over 20 years, and was recently seen in 'Mad Men', 'Percep3on', and recurs on 'Scandal', and he was also beaten up by Sco_ Caan in CBS’s 'Hawaii Five-­‐0'. Barry played Captain Jason Dahl in A&E’s Emmy Award winning 'Flight 93', sold insurance in 'Scary Movie 4', and has also laughed it up on 'Psych' and Comedy Central's 'The Ben Show', and was a go-­‐to recurring character for Chris Carter on both 'The X-­‐Files' and 'Millennium'. He will next be seen on NBC’s ‘Aquarius’, with David Duchovny.When he’s not too busy, Barry likes to make his wife, Helenna Santos, laugh by a_emp3ng to make bread in their home in Los Angeles. WILLIAM CAMACHO -­‐ Co-­‐Producer Born in Bayreuth, Germany William Camacho started his entertainment journey at the age of 12. Over the course of 13 years William has performed in dozens of stage plays receiving numerous awards for his rendi3ons of some of the theaters most honored roles such as Peter Pan, Colin Craven, O_o Frank, Ebenezer Scrooge and many more. In 2010, William decided to make the leap to the world of film. Aaer a year of exploring this new world William expanded his work to include wri3ng and producing. In his short 3me in the film industry William has had the opportunity to work alongside many notable talents such as Frankie Munez, Shelly Long, Yancey Arias, Sydney Tamiia Por3er, Jason Gedrick and many others. William has received a number of awards including the pres3gious Telly award for the short film The Shoo3ng Star Salesman that he wrote and produced. SEAN BARRETT-­‐ Co-­‐Producer/Composer Sean Barre_ is a freelance bassist, composer, arranger, producer and instructor. He has received a Cer3ficate in Audio Recording Technology from Citrus College, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Music, and a Masters in Music in Composi3on both from Azusa Pacific University. Sean is currently an adjunct professor at both Azusa Pacific University and Citrus College. Sean is a bassist in high demand playing consistently with local and touring ar3sts. In 2013, he appeared on Ethan Bortnick’s The Power of Music PBS Special. You can hear his bass playing on numerous studio recordings including This Fall by Joseph Williams. He has toured and played in venues all across the states as well as overseas in Kosovo, Guam, St. Croix and An3gua. When he isn’t performing, Sean stays busy as a composer. His versa3lity and knowledge of different styles allows him to write for various chamber ensembles, as well as film projects and video games. His commissioned jazz ensemble works have been performed at a number of jazz fes3vals including the Monterey Next Genera3on Jazz Fes3val. Some of his recent film work includes promo for United Way and “Similitude.” LEAH CEVOLI -­‐ Associate Producer Actor / Producer / Writer / Public Speaker – Leah Cevoli has worked in-­‐front of and behind the camera as an actress, host, and producer of film, television, and web, including appearances on high profile tv shows like My Name is Earl, and Deadwood. As a voice actor, she is most notably known for having voiced 30+ characters on Robot Chicken. A professional live event host, Leah has hosted 1000s of rock n roll concerts and charity fundraisers. Leah is a regular panelist at workshops and conven3ons on both coasts, and the founder of “All Shapes and Sizes Welcome! Body Image & Women’s Issues in Entertainment.”, a travelling group of women on the comic con panel circuit, who’ve go_en rave reviews and interviews from major media outle_s suchs as FOX News,and CNN. Leah is currently in various stages of produc3on and post-­‐produc3on on mul3ple feature films including, the gri_y drama Nowhereland, the animated feature The Grid Zombie: Outle_ Maul, Michael Reaves’ Blood Kiss starring Neil Gaiman, the full-­‐length documentary Remember The Sultana, with Execu3ve Producers Sean As3n and Jim Michaels, and quite a few others. 2015 will see her in a lead ac3ng role in Soriority of The Damned, and a suppor3ng role alongside Helenna Santos, in The Last Beat. BARRY MORGAN -­‐ Co-­‐Writer Barry Morgan is an American writer, producer and director, as well as a columnist for Maxitmagazine.com and creator of the podcast 1313 Blood Lane. He has received producing and direc3ng awards for the webseries “Arcana, is currently in post-­‐produc3on on the horror short film “The Infected” and pre-­‐produc3on for his feature film “The Covenant.” Possessing a B.A. from Purdue University and a M.A. from the University of Maine, Morgan currently resides in Los Angeles, California . JACQUELINE STEIGER – ConsulTng Producer Jacqueline Steiger is jumping back into the industry full-­‐force aaer a break for school (graduated summa cum laude from UCLA, to brag). She has been enjoying taking classes and working on both sides of the camera this 3me around. As a child she was lucky enough to work with some of the industry's greatest, including Danny DeVito and Sally Field. Now she enjoys wri3ng and producing as well as ac3ng. Some of her current projects include the fes3val-­‐acclaimed webseries Force Push, and the Cannes-­‐showing short film Salamander. Outside of the industry, Jacqueline enjoys all things sci-­‐fi/fantasy, LGBT ac3vism, anime, and anything with melted cheese on it. She is an LA na3ve. s3lls behind the Scenes similitudeshorwilm.com contact Tim Guzman [email protected] Helenna Santos helenna@mightypharaohfilms.com