One day he was there. The next day he was gone.
Jeremy Navarro listened to artist London Amara tell the story about her divorce. But, it was so much more than just a story to him.
Navarro completely identified with the raw emotions that radiated from the jilted lover’s experience. He had not been through a divorce. But he did lose his father in 2007.
It was loss she was describing. And it was that heart-wrenching emptiness that Navarro knew everyone, at some point in their lives, will experience.
The reminder of mourning bounced inside his head. Navarro had found the next muse for a project that would come to be known as the short film, “Brush.”
“Brush” will be one of two films premiering on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. in Ybor’s Muvico Centro movie theater. Navarro wrote and directed “Brush” and worked alongside director of photography Brandon Hyde and producer Sophia Hyde. All three friends and collaborators are Plant City residents. Ed Verner, who composed the scores, is also a Plant City resident.
Many of the scenes in “Brush” were shot in Plant City including the homes of Bob and Nicole Adams and Lynne and Mike Warren. The 13-minute film was shot in three days in March on the Red Epic, the same camera used to shoot “The Hobbit.”
“Brush” is largely based on Amara’s story, with a focus on the painful, raw emotions of divorce.
“Brandon and Jeremy worked side-by-side to spell out her story and to look at what has made her the artist she is now,” Sophia Hyde said. “Divorce is something many, many people can relate to. The effects are largely talked about … but you do actually go through a period of mourning.”
And although the film draws from divorce, the stages of mourning are the true heart of the film. Navarro wrote the script to have no dialogue or spoken words, except a poem narrated over the images. He relied on the actors to portray the focus.
“Ultimately, it’s really about this character that goes through a life-shattering pain,” Navarro said. “It’s not just London’s story. It’s a story that anyone can plug themselves into.”
Brandon brought his unique perspective to the cinematography, playing with light and shadows.
“It’s an artistic piece, almost like visual poetry,” Sophia Hyde said. “It’s a really, really interesting piece.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
“The Blood and the Burn” and “Brush”
WHEN: 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17
WHERE: Muvico Centro Ybor, 1600 E. Eighth Ave., Tampa
COST: $12 at the door; two for $20 at indiegogo.com/projects/brush–2
DETAILS: This is the first time both “The Blood and the Burn” and “Brush” will be seen. But the premiere is also a fundraiser to cover the cost of entering both films into national and international film festivals. Further donations can be made on indiegogo.
DOUBLE FEATURE
Although “Brush” is the finale piece, Rising Sky Productions also will be premiering another film on Nov. 17.
“The Blood and the Burn” will play before “Brush” at the Muvico Centro movie theater in Ybor.
Like “Brush,” “The Blood and the Burn” was shot using Plant City locations. The crew was able to shoot for an entire day in the Plant City Courthouse. It also shot in allies in Historic Downtown, the former location of the Catering Company and a neighborhood in Walden Lake.
The 17-minute short film was shot in 17 days, mostly at night.
It follows the story of Ty, a man on trial for a crime he doesn’t remember committing.
The film was directed by Matthew Glover. Jeremy Navarro wrote the script, and Brandon Hyde was director of photography.
“We got together and thought we have all this talent and love for making films, why don’t we just get together and combine our resources,” Sophia Hyde said.
The film had no budget and was shot completely by volunteers in the summer of 2012.
“We’re very excited,” Sophia Hyde said of the premiere. “We have worked hard on both productions.”