Grad’s film makes noise at festival
At Academy Award qualifying festival, ‘Note to Self’ rides on talents of Dennis Williams II and two other Columbia natives
Wilde Lake High School graduate Dennis Williams II and two fellow Columbia natives hit the red carpet this week at the HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles with the short film “Note to Self.”
Written and directed by Williams, the 12-minute film shows a man’s subconscious dialogue as he grapples with whether to stay in arelationship with the woman he loves, or advance his career.
One of the executive producers of “Note to Self” is Jesse Martin, another Wilde Lake alum who graduated in 2009. Martin and Williams established the production company, CampSight Studios, which produced the film, in 2013.
The third local connection is Nicolette Ellis, a 2012 Hammond High School graduate who stars in the film.
HollyShorts,an Academy Award qualifying festival, will host some of the year’s top films under 40 minutes in length. This year, the festival received 4,000 entry submissions and accepted 415 projects across eight categories, according to festival co-founder and co-director Daniel Sol. The festival got underway this past week, and runs through next weekend.
Recipients of the festival’s Best Short Film Grand Prize will be eligible for consideration for the Academy Awards’ Live Action Short Film category.
The festival’s designation as an Academy Award-accredited festival is a testament to how much HollyShorts has grown, Sol said, and of the quality of projects being submitted to the festival and how selective the festival has become.
Williams, who graduated from Wilde Lake in 2010 and then from University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2014, currently lives and works in New York City.
He said he has always had a passion for film and writing, and wanted to produce “Note to Self”for severalyears.He wrote the film while a student at UMBC and reached out to Martin, whom he has known since middle school, about getting involved.
He also tapped Ellis, who works as an actress in New York.
“Note to Self” was shot in Brooklyn in January. Williams said he initially hoped to shoot the film in Columbia — where he said his early exposure to people from all walks of life helped give him the ability to relate to individuals from diverse backgrounds.
“I’ve been lots of places throughout the country, [and I] just see that a lot of people often get stuck in their bubble,” Williams said. “With Columbia you had to really learn how to communicate with a diverse crowd.”
Martin also said his upbringing in Columbia taught him how to communicate with people and see beyond differences.
Ellis didn’t know Williams while growing up in Columbia but said working with him has been “a dream.”
She said it’s been surreal to see “Note to Self” receive accolades, including a Gold award for Best Short Film at the May 2017 NYC Indie Film Awards, and acceptance into HollyShorts, the film’s fourth festival.
“Note to Self” was also an official selection at the Miami Short Film Festival and a semifinalist at the Los Angeles CineFest.
“It makes me feel happy that we’re telling [Williams’] story the way it is. That’s importantto meas an actress —being able to create a vision beyond the words,” Ellis said.
“It’s still a little unreal to me.”
Sol said the acting in “Note to Self,” and the connection between the actors, especially, stood out to him when the film was under review for inclusion in the festival.
The selected films undergo a two-part screening process by a review team that
Written and directed by Williams, the 12-minute film shows a man’s subconscious dialogue as he grapples with whether to stay in arelationship with the woman he loves, or advance his career.
One of the executive producers of “Note to Self” is Jesse Martin, another Wilde Lake alum who graduated in 2009. Martin and Williams established the production company, CampSight Studios, which produced the film, in 2013.
The third local connection is Nicolette Ellis, a 2012 Hammond High School graduate who stars in the film.
HollyShorts,an Academy Award qualifying festival, will host some of the year’s top films under 40 minutes in length. This year, the festival received 4,000 entry submissions and accepted 415 projects across eight categories, according to festival co-founder and co-director Daniel Sol. The festival got underway this past week, and runs through next weekend.
Recipients of the festival’s Best Short Film Grand Prize will be eligible for consideration for the Academy Awards’ Live Action Short Film category.
The festival’s designation as an Academy Award-accredited festival is a testament to how much HollyShorts has grown, Sol said, and of the quality of projects being submitted to the festival and how selective the festival has become.
Williams, who graduated from Wilde Lake in 2010 and then from University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2014, currently lives and works in New York City.
He said he has always had a passion for film and writing, and wanted to produce “Note to Self”for severalyears.He wrote the film while a student at UMBC and reached out to Martin, whom he has known since middle school, about getting involved.
He also tapped Ellis, who works as an actress in New York.
“Note to Self” was shot in Brooklyn in January. Williams said he initially hoped to shoot the film in Columbia — where he said his early exposure to people from all walks of life helped give him the ability to relate to individuals from diverse backgrounds.
“I’ve been lots of places throughout the country, [and I] just see that a lot of people often get stuck in their bubble,” Williams said. “With Columbia you had to really learn how to communicate with a diverse crowd.”
Martin also said his upbringing in Columbia taught him how to communicate with people and see beyond differences.
Ellis didn’t know Williams while growing up in Columbia but said working with him has been “a dream.”
She said it’s been surreal to see “Note to Self” receive accolades, including a Gold award for Best Short Film at the May 2017 NYC Indie Film Awards, and acceptance into HollyShorts, the film’s fourth festival.
“Note to Self” was also an official selection at the Miami Short Film Festival and a semifinalist at the Los Angeles CineFest.
“It makes me feel happy that we’re telling [Williams’] story the way it is. That’s importantto meas an actress —being able to create a vision beyond the words,” Ellis said.
“It’s still a little unreal to me.”
Sol said the acting in “Note to Self,” and the connection between the actors, especially, stood out to him when the film was under review for inclusion in the festival.
The selected films undergo a two-part screening process by a review team that
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