REDLANDS >> Trevor Stevens has the attention of the film industry for his 17-minute short, “Run.”
The film tells the story about two rival gang members who must work together to survive the night after a drug deal goes bad.
Jacinto Farms served as a backdrop for the film. It features extras from Redlands and neighboring cities. Stevens received help from former classmates at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts and Redlands High School. He graduated from RHS in 2010 and Chapman in May.
“I did a total of four films there. This was my final film, my senior thesis,” he said by phone Friday.
The point of the project was to make a film that served as a “calling card,” or something he could take out into the film industry and show producers who he was as a storyteller, he said.
Eighty percent of the film is a continuous take to show situations happening in “real time.” It’s overall message hints that “we are influenced by the world around us,” he said.
Because the film was gritty in nature, Chapman University had concerns over the shoot and Steven’s ambitious nature, he said. But, at the end of the day, an “amazing team” and “huge community support” aided in the process.
“And that is such a Redlands thing,” he said. “Larry Jacinto (owner of Jacinto Farms) and his workers allowed us to do a whole summer of rehearsals and practice to knock things out. They were so hospitable. Gotta give the credit to Redlands.”
“Run” was named Short of the Week in early October at shortoftheweek.com, a site that has promoted short films since 2007. It received the 2015 American Society of Cinematographers Gordon Willis Award, as well as the Kodak Student Cinematography award. It was also featured as a Vimeo staff pick
Stevens did not expect the reception, he said.
“I didn’t treat any of my school projects like homework. I treat everything like is the last thing I’m going to tell,” he said.
To view the film or other works of Stevens, log on to vimeo.com/trevorstevens.