Mother’s Day Memories

Bill Hoversten is an actor who took the leap into producing, bringing to the screen a touching and personal story about a woman that starts to feel the effects of Alzheimer’s.

The film captures not only the struggles of the person suffering from the disease, but also of the caregivers, in this case the husband, son, daughter-in-law, and the person assigned to take care of her. Bill Hoversten plays John the son, Jody Jaress plays Mother, Conrad Bachmann plays Father, Kat Kramer plays Michelle, John’s wife, and Jacky Park plays Doris, the caregiver. The film was directed by Matthew Michael Ross, and the cinematographer was Keith Jefferies.

Even though the story deals with the inconveniences of Alzheimer’s, it also shows some very emotional conversations between mother and son that reflect one of the most beautiful bonds the universe has ever seen.

Model To Watch: Shelby Bly

A native of Minnesota, Shelby Bly is a model and actress pursing her dreams in Los Angeles.

Shelby posed for our lens on a sunny day in Vista Hermosa Natural Park and Echo Park, both in downtown Los Angeles.

Filmmaker to Watch: Helen Alexis Yonov

Despite the pandemic taking its toll on so many people around the world, some filmmakers are still active, producing and promoting content to bring much needed entertainment and positivity to their audiences.

Glamgical interviewed one of this filmmakers, Helen Alexis Yonov, a native of Newport, Rhode Island and a resident of Los Angeles. She graduated from Emerson College with a degree in Film and Creative Writing. Her family came to the US from Latvia, a former Soviet Union country. The daughter of a Navy officer, Helen spend her childhood in different countries, giving her exposure to a variety of people and cultures that shaped her unique perspective as a movie maker.

Helen wrote, directed, and co-produced the short film The Gesture and The Word, a film about poetry, flowers, and love, all of this with a French flair that kindly bestows the story and visuals with a special touch of elegance and romance rarely seen in today’s movies. The film stars James Michael Tyler, Paul Dooley, Roxane Mesquida, Nicole LaLiberte, and Andrew Creer.

Helen is currently working on several projects. One of them is In the Shadow of the Storm, the story about her father, Captain Serge Alexis Yonov, a Navy officer who served as the last U.S. Naval Attaché to the Soviet Union and first Naval Attaché to Russia. The documentary revolves around his naval and political career and the extraordinary experience of searching for his family when he went back to Latvia in 1991, during the turbulent and dangerous collapse of the Soviet Union.

With all of her experience in the movie industry and her travels around the world, Helen Alexis Yonov is a fascinating storyteller dedicated to the fine art of filmmaking who will continue to bring a powerful voice to the scene for many years to come.

George Floyd

The death of George Floyd has ignited a flood of protests across the US, some of them triggering an aggressive clash with security forces. Hailing from a punishing stay-at-home order due to the Covid-19 pandemic that halted social and economic activities for months, society erupted in anger after a video surfaced showing the detention and subsequent death of Mr. Floyd while in police custody.

Large groups of people took the streets by storm, protesting what they see as an unfair harassment of African Americans by the police. As people initiated marches all over the country, they took the opportunity to complaint about other cases where African Americans lost their lives in the hands of police forces.

In response to the most aggressive protests, where some individuals broke into businesses and set some buildings on fire, local, state, and federal authorities deployed thousands of police officers and in some instances the National Guard to protect businesses and federal buildings in an attempt to deter more looting and destruction.

Although some of the initial protests turned violent and led to looting, most of the them have been peaceful, showing a great deal of maturity by the participants of all ethnic groups.

Actress/Filmmaker To Watch: Valeria Vallejos

Valeria Vallejos is from Argentina, of Mapuche and Spanish ancestry. Valeria, along with her husband Brett M. Reed, produced the short film titled Me También (Me Too), a story of two women that face sexual harassment in the workplace. Cristina, played by Valeria, is a Mexican immigrant that works in a a house as a nanny. Monica, played Kathryn Romine, is a successful executive. Despite their opposite lifestyles, both women experience the fear and frustration that comes with sexual harassment in the hands of powerful men.

Valeria Vallejos directed and acted on this film and Brett M. Reed worked as producer and editor, forming an incredible team that were able to overcome the challenges of producing a short film on a tight budget and a limiting schedule.

We wish Valeria and Brett a successful career in the film industry and we thank them for bringing thought-provoking stories that reflect the challenges, dreams, and amazing lives of underrepresented members of our society.

Actress/Writer To Watch: Supinder Wraich

Glamgical interviewed Canadian actress and writer Supinder Wraich on Feb 8, 2020 in Burbank, CA. Supinder is the writer and lead actress of The 410, an exhilarating drama based on the Indo-Canadian community of Brampton, Ontario. The 410 premiered on CBC Gem in May 2019.

Supinder was born in India and was raised in Toronto. She has been working as an actress in different productions such as Textuality, The Border, Degrassi TNG, and Combat Hospital among many others.

In addition to a B.A. in Communications, Supinder also graduated from Seneca College’s Advanced Film & Television Program. She also did a residency at the Canadian Film Centre.

Make sure to keep an eye on this talented actress as she will be featured in many more productions to come.

 

Filmmaker To Watch: Jake Hunter

Glamgical had the opportunity to interview actor/filmmaker Jake Hunter for his upcoming short film Tribes, which will premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this weekend. Our host Nay Nay Kirby sat down with Jake to talk about his career in Hollywood and the process to select the script of Tribes.

 

Jake is a native of New York and at one point pursued a professional baseball career with the Philadelphia Phillies. However, the universe had another path in mind for Jake, taking him to Los Angeles to have his start in showbiz via modeling agency Wilhelmina instead. Upon arriving to Hollywood, he started booking projects for TV and films, working with some of the best actors in town. His charisma and determination helped him to start producing as well, winning an Emmy Award for The Bay, an Amazon series hit.

 

His latest work, Tribes, was written by Andy Marlatt, directed by Nino Aldi, and produced by Patricia Chica, Jeion Green, Jake Hunter, DeStorm Power, and Adam Waheed. Jake Hunter, Adam Waheed, and DeStorm Power are the main actors in this film.

Maya Korn: A Filmmaker To Watch

Maya Korn, executive producer of Glass Cabin, screened her short film at Screamfest on Monday 14 Oct, 2019 at the iconic Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Glass Cabin is a spine-chilling psychological thriller that shows how paranoia and isolation in the middle of the forest render a devastating effect on Scarlett (Revell Carpenter), a young tennis player.

Glamgical had the opportunity to interview Maya after the screening to talk about the challenges and opportunities for new filmmakers, specially women, amid the seismic changes in the media landscape.  Maya is a Columbia University’s graduate and is currently living in Los Angeles, pursuing her dream to make genre films, mainly from a woman’s perspective.

We also interviewed the lead actress Revell Carpenter, a young talent with a bright future who currently has two other films playing at festivals. In addition to acting, Revell is also producing her own films, a brave step for an up-and-coming thespian.

Enjoy both interviews, we are certain that we will continue to hear great things about these two talented women in the near future.

Magic Men Live in Hollywood

The guys of Magic Men Live took the stage by storm and put up an exciting show for the ladies in attendance at Avalon in Hollywood this past Saturday Sep 14, 2019.

Inhibitions were left at the door and the performers and the audience become all part of the show in a world class extravaganza. Enjoy the footage and interviews with the dancers and Myles Hass, the founder of Magic Men Live.