SANTEE FILMMAKERS WIN FIRST PLACE IN SAN DIEGO MOVIE AWARDS

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By Christianne McCormick

Photos by Miriam Raftery

August 7, 2022 (Santee) -- San Diego’s first annual San Diego Movie Awards featured two film makers from the East County area who have been nominated and won the Best First Time Film Makers Award.

A.B. Lefcourt and Rachel L Murany of Santee collaborated on a 10- minute short film titled “The Missed Flight,” that was featured among a block of movie shorts on the second day of the festival.

Both Murany and Lefcourt have an extensive background in theatre as well as film, performing in many locally produced acts. Murany had been onstage with Pickwick Players, an East County production group, in “Freaky Friday” and “Footloose”, which were both performed at the Carlton Hills Middle School Theatre.

Their film, “The Missed Flight”, won best short drama at the Culver City Film Festival and according to Lefcourt, the Santee duo has been receiving various other awards for it. Murany was nominated as Best Actress for “‘The Missed Flight” at multiple film festivals and won.  

Murany owns a business in El Cajon and is a member of the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors. She stated that she was excited to represent East County in the film festival this year.

Lefcourt has been a copywriter for many years writing in advertising, specifically television advertising. “I wrote many 30 second bits,” Lefcourt told East County Magazine. Since he had been copywriting for so many years that he stated, “It has been a natural inclination for me to go into screenwriting.”

“The Missed Flight” was the first project that they ever produced and wrote together. “We pitched the idea we had to a group of film makers called Patchwork Vision and we are very fortunate to have Ellory Eu who became the director. Camera, sound, all these very, very, talented individuals supported us,” Murany said in an interview with ECM. They feel very fortunate to have worked with an Emmy Award winning staff.

“The Missed Flight”, which was filmed at Palomar Airport in San Diego’s North County, is about how two lovers were separated due to a slight misunderstanding earlier in their lives and happened to meet one another in a chance encounter years later at an airport. During their brief encounter, several profound revelations are made before it’s time to depart for their separate destinations. 

Lefcourt stated that the two characters were lovers when they were young and were going to elope. “They missed their chance to get together when they were younger, but now they made up when they were older and they have revelations after they get together at the airport and talk to each other about their lives in between. It’s compelling.” The film’s tagline is “What might have been.”

The inspiration for the film originated from a short assignment at one of Murany’s acting classes.

During SDMA’s Q&A with the filmmakers during the SDMA’s “Best of the Fest” last week, Ms. Murany, who played the main female lead Sarah Andersen, said that the film took months to make and that this was her first time working as a producer.

“I could not have foreseen the challenges of being a producer for a film and how much more involved it is than just being an actor,” said Murany during the Q & A. She also added that the crew was challenged with the Covid-19 pandemic, which greatly interrupted the process of the film making.

The first-ever SDMA “Best of the Fest” film festival took place at Balboa Park in the Museum of Photographic Arts. According to SDMA website, the organization’s mission is to recognize and honor film makers from all over the world and to recognize each artist involved in the process as well.

The winners for the awards will be posted the SDMA website tomorrow on August 8.

 


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