Bernell Dorrough“In faith we live, in faith we love, and in faith we die,” proclaims Herschel, a character in the movie “12”, directed by and starring a Washington University visiting lecturer and several University students.
Herschel’s words capture the essence of “12,” a film about two drug-dealing cousins who cope with the past, familial strife and religion.
The movie premiered in St. Louis on Sunday at the St. Louis International Film Festival held at the Tivoli Theater on Delmar. Lloyd Silverman, a former lecturer in the Film and Media Studies department, directed “12”, which was filmed in the St. Louis area. Silverman produced, designed and directed “12” along with his independent film production company, The Artists’ Colony.
“It’s quite remarkable, frankly, how well this movie is doing,” said Silverman at the premiere. “We made this little film with no money as an experiment.
Silverman said that last year, while he was still a visiting lecturer at the University, he and his wife decided to move back home to California. In the final semester before his departure, Silverman chose to make a film.
“All the shooting was done in under two months and then all the editing, which took the longest, was done [within] six months,” said sophomore Jake Koenig, who played Larry, a main character. “It was filmed mainly on the weekends during the winter of last year and we would rehearse on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
Koenig auditioned for the movie last year when he found out about the project through his acting class from a student who knew Silverman.
“I didn’t think I was going to be cast,” said Koenig. “I thought I’d hold a boom or something, but I just really wanted to be part of the project.”
The script for “12” was written by Scott Hall. Silverman noticed the script after its second place finish at the St. Louis Screenwriters competition.
Freshman Sunny Lohrum, who saw “12” at the Tivoli, enjoyed the storyline.
“I liked the plot and script writing a lot,” said Lohrum. “But the synopsis says that Jackie (the main character) finds religion the day before he died, and I didn’t really see it that way.”
Footage of the University is included in the film, as is footage of the Pope’s visit to St. Louis, which is a constant background scene in “12”. Several restaurants on the Loop and the Pageant are also shown throughout the film.
Sue Seeker, a St. Louis resident, came to see the movie as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival.
“It was better than a couple of the other ones we saw, but it ran a little long and the lighting was horrible,” said Seeker. “The acting was pretty good though, and so was the music.”
“12” is Silverman’s directorial debut. It premiered at the Hollywood Film festival and will be seen on the 2004 festival circuit.
Silverman founded The Artists’ Colony in 1997 after working at Universal Pictures for six years and completing a 10-year involvement as a producer both on and and off Broadway. Additionally, Silverman served as executive producer for the movie “Snow Falling on Cedars,” a film recently nominated for an Academy Award.