{"id":554,"date":"2011-08-10T17:58:17","date_gmt":"2011-08-11T00:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=554"},"modified":"2018-07-25T14:39:25","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T21:39:25","slug":"cipher-at-tulsa-international-film-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/uncategorized\/cipher-at-tulsa-international-film-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Cipher at Tulsa International Film Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>CIPHER<\/a>, a short film my grandson, Michael Stevantoni,\u00a0 directed, shot and edited has just been selected for the Tulsa International Film Festival Sept. 22-25, 2011.<\/p>\n

As a writer with aspirations of my own, it’s been fascinating to watch Michael get to this point. He shot CIPHER last summer when he was 14. It took almost a year to finish, because of all the obstacles he faced and of course, being in grade 9, he couldn’t let his school work slip.<\/p>\n

When it came to editing, that’s when he was faced with his biggest challenge.\u00a0 Like editing a novel, putting the pieces together so there is a coherent and interesting story in the end is a formidable job. There were problems with everything: corrupted files, special effect files that went accidentally through the wash , film industry software that didn’t recognize his files, background noise with certain scenes due to time and budget constraints, actors mumbling lines, and color correction. But like the professional director he hopes to be some day, he hung in throughout all the trials that came his way. I was the sounding board and offered suggestions when he got stuck.\u00a0 He used me like writers use critique groups. He listened, and when it supported his vision, he acted and made necessary changes.<\/p>\n

I learned a lot watching him. His focus and passion were paramount at getting his film completed. Getting it seen is the next step. The Tulsa International Film Festival Sept. 22-25 is a good start.<\/p>\n

Why is it that every creative endeavor involves wearing two hats – creative and marketing? Writing like film-making requires dueling from both sides of the brain.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CIPHER, a short film my grandson, Michael Stevantoni,\u00a0 directed, shot and edited has just been selected for the Tulsa International Film Festival Sept. 22-25, 2011. As a writer with aspirations… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[82,1,4],"tags":[49,81,104,9,7,80,33,5],"class_list":["post-554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film-2","category-uncategorized","category-writing","tag-cipher","tag-editing","tag-michael-stevantoni","tag-novel","tag-story","tag-tulsa-interantional-film-festival","tag-writer","tag-writing-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-8W","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":388,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/cipher\/","url_meta":{"origin":554,"position":0},"title":"CIPHER","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"6 \u0422\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"My 15 yr. old grandson, Michael Stevantoni, finished CIPHER, an 18 min. film he directed last summer. It's been a labor of love. He and I co-wrote an adaptation of a screenplay he found on the net (with the author's permission), and then produced it. It's been an amazing journey,\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/CIPHER-POSTER-THICK-211x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1244,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/writing\/the-brother-comes-to-town\/","url_meta":{"origin":554,"position":1},"title":"THE BROTHER Comes To Town","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"21 \u0421\u0456\u0447\u043d\u044f, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On Jan.24th, our 16 yr. old grandson, Michael Stevantoni, premiered his thirteenth film, THE BROTHER, in\u00a0 Campbell River, B.C. With Michael being in school, it\u2019s taken a year and a half to get this 25 min. film this far. Though he and I co-wrote the screenplay, it\u2019s his vision that\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"theBROTHERposter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/theBROTHERposter.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":692,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/passion-the-driving-force\/","url_meta":{"origin":554,"position":2},"title":"Passion: The Driving Force","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"16 \u0412\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0441\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I sometimes wonder what keeps me day after day, hour after hour, year after year sitting in front of a computer, working on stories. I struggle to find the right turn of phrase, the sparkling metaphor, and the witty dialogue that will make my work resonate with readers. Before devoting\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/P1100372-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2715,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2016\/film-2\/remembering-robert-hall\/","url_meta":{"origin":554,"position":3},"title":"Remembering Robert Hall","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"14 \u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday,\u00a0 I learned that Robert Hall was executed by a terrorist group in the Phillipines. They represent an evil I do not understand. They killed l a decent man whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I first met Robert Hall, when he was\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"robert hall","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/robert-hall.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1565,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2014\/writing\/the-brother-roars-and-more\/","url_meta":{"origin":554,"position":4},"title":"The Brother Roars and More","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"9 \u0421\u0456\u0447\u043d\u044f, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"2013 was a great year on a number of levels. Yes, The Brother roars and more. This short film, that I co-wrote and co-produced with Michael Stevantoni, my grandson, had its premiere in January. After that, it was selected for a number of film festivals. Michael won the Director's Prize\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"theBROTHERposter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/theBROTHERposter-218x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7009,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2025\/film-2\/death-letter-blues-a-thriller\/","url_meta":{"origin":554,"position":5},"title":"Death Letter Blues: A Thriller","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"12 \u0421\u0435\u0440\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The premiere of\u00a0DEATH LETTER BLUES, a supernatural and psychological thriller, set in the Deep South went well. A great audience showed up on August 7th to view the film at the Glendale Laemmale theater in Glendale, California, along with directors and co-writers,\u00a0Michael Stevantoni (our grandson), and Strack Azar and actors\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"DEATH LETTER BLUES","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/thumbnail_1.-Death-Letter-Blues_Official-Poster_THEATRICAL-SIZE-1.png?fit=427%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}