Found and Lost: From writing to the big screen

Written by Neveah Schreiber

Imagine, if you will, a young woman falling in love with someone through words in a journal. Never hearing his voice or seeing his face. “Found and Lost” is a story, much like this, of sustainability, mystery, nostalgia, and romance. The basic plot of this Coo Cinema Club film involves a young woman visiting a thrift store and purchasing a jacket. Within the jacket is a journal that must have been mistakenly donated, written by a young man. The woman falls in love with the writer and makes it her mission to find him.

“I was throwing around ideas with my mom to find out what to make the story about and she reminded me how much I love journaling,” explained Carly, “I have always wanted to act in a film, so I wanted to do one myself.”

Carly couldn’t do all of the production herself, so she called on a team of people to fill roles on cast and crew. I interviewed a few members of her team to tell the story from a variety of perspectives. Apolonia Davalos, Josh Werre, Rianna Banik, Kat Steffen, and Connor Jensen all play vital roles in the making of “Found and Lost.”

Every team needs a director, and luckily for Carly, CCC’s president is well-versed in directing filmmaking. Apolonia Davalos says, “I have worked with all the roles on set and have learned how to execute them proficiently. Directors need to know these things.” Using her knowledge of these things, she was able to be an efficient resource to keep the team on task and on time throughout the whole process. Apolonia takes pride in being a storyteller, saying, “they have a significant responsibility in recording our history and uplifting our culture. What we convey is a mirror to our way of life.” She later stated that her mission is to “bring and create joy.”

Kat Steffen was Production Assistant in this film helping Apolonia. This role entails keeping track of scenes, shots, and continuity. Not only was Kat focusing on those things, but she was also a bystanding actress in the scenes that represented areas of moderate traffic. “I just wanted to be involved and make friends. I am a media studies major and I’ve had interest working in film so this was a good way to try it out,” Kat explained.

There would be no purpose for a screenwriter, producer, and director without cameras to capture the art. Rianna Banik and Connor Jensen were two of our main camera operators. They were both recruited by Apolonia to help foster their media skills in a way that helps build the CCC community. Rianna’s first year in CCC was this year, but she showed the team her talent by being the operator for the roving camera. “It was a lot harder than I thought. It was difficult to have a still shot with a non-stationary camera,” said Rianna, “I have no experience really except for my photography jobs.” This year was Connor’s first introduction to film-making, but he was tasked with operating the overall main camera. Connor filmed all the main scene shots and the establishing shots for the film, giving thanks to Apolonia for his recruitment.

Not only was Carly the screenwriter, but she was also the lead female role along with Joshua Werre who was our leading male role. They, and plenty of others, were the reason there was a story to film in the first place. “I love Carly and I wanted to help her. Whether I am involved behind or in front of the camera, I am happy to be a part of something greater than we are,” explained Josh, “when I started here at USF I was a communications/theater major, but Nick Poppins encouraged me to get involved in media studies after Apolonia and I started Coo Cinema Club.”

Everyone involved in this story said that their favorite part about filming was being with so many people with similar interests but vastly different lives. That the community is what made the film, not the formal roles. When the film reached a close, the relationships didn’t, whether that be of the cast and crew, or of the sponsorships that CCC worked with. There will always be something connecting these people back to each other and the community, and that’s what it means to be “Found and Lost.”

The premiering of “Found and Lost” will be on May 13th, in Big Z, doors open at 9:10 pm, showing is at 9:15 pm.

Photos courtesy of Brenda Wipf