 |
 |
Trevor Wright stars as a teen struggling with his family, future and sexual orientation in ‘Shelter.’ (Photo courtesy Regent Releasing)
|
|
|
| | |
|
| |
| |
|
|
| | |
HOME > SOVO SCENE > FEATURE
By: RYAN LEE
COMMENTS |
| 
MUCH IS CHANGING IN CINEMA OPTIONS for gay and lesbian moviegoers, and the new film “Shelter” embodies many aspects of a promising new era.
Previous generations of gay teens watched young romance flicks and were forced to adjust the genders of the main characters so the storyline might resonate with their same-sex desires. But contemporary movies like “Shelter,” which begins a run at Midtown Art Cinema on April 4, offer all of the excitement, confusion, pain and eventual happiness of a teen love story — and, more importantly, they offer hope to gay audiences that same-sex love can bloom and thrive like any other romance.
In another welcome shift for queer cinema, “Shelter” acknowledges that far more than sexual orientation inspires the angst and heartache young gay people sometimes experience.
“I really wanted to make a story that was about these characters that were searching for identity, and searching for, sort of, their place, but there was more involved with that than their sexuality,” says Jonah Markowitz, the first-time writer and director of “Shelter.”
“I didn’t want it to be the kind of thing where once they came to terms with their sexuality, everything else was fine,” says Markowitz, who is gay. “I wanted to show more dimensional gay characters that had other issues and challenges in their lives.”
THE MAIN CHARACTER IN “SHELTER” CERTAINLY fits the bill of someone who faces lots of issues and challenges, long before the subject of his sexual orientation even surfaces. A recent high school graduate, Zach (Trevor Wright, “George Lopez,” “Boston Public”) is a talented but disenchanted artist who sacrifices going away to art school in order to take care of his father, older sister and young nephew.
Despite the undying support Zach provides for his family, he receives little encouragement in return about his art, his future or his relationships. The only sources of solace and affirmation Zach receives come from his artwork and graffiti tagging, along with the waves of the Pacific ocean and devotion of Zach’s 4-year-old nephew, Cody (Jackson Wurth).
Spinning his wheels and desperate to escape the smothering nature of his family and hometown, Zach grasps a beacon of hope when his best friend’s older brother, Shaun (Brad Rowe), returns home after a nasty break-up with his boyfriend in Los Angeles. A Hollywood writer, Shaun recognizes the artistic talent and frustration within Zach, and attempts to encourage and mentor the younger man in a way no one else has.
As an openly gay resident of Zach’s town, Shaun also stirs emotions within Zach that apparently no one else has, and Zach begins to yearn for Shaun’s companionship while surfing and searching for a future. Things get steamy between the two after a couple of homoerotic surfing expeditions, and soon, Zach has yet another issue to struggle with along with his family and schooling problems.
In most gay circles, the age difference between Shaun and Zach would qualify the pair as a May-December romance, but Markowitz says he never worried that Shaun would be perceived as taking advantage of a young and confused teenager.
“Not at all,” Markowitz says flatly. “I think it’s realistic. Whether you’re straight or gay, when you’re coming to terms with something at that extreme a level, you’re going to want to find someone that been through it and gone through it.”
MARKOWITZ FIRST GOT THE IDEA FOR a surfer love story about five years ago when he returned to a Colorado lake that he visited during his childhood and saw two men playing Frisbee.
“I sort of was watching them and realized they had been friends for a long time, and I was thinking about two guys in this outdoor setting,” Markowitz says. “I just wanted to see two guys fall, sort of, in love in that setting, and not in a locker room or bar — you know, just in a setting I hadn’t seen before.”
After writing “Shelter,” Markowitz attracted the attention of the gay cable channel here!TV. Within three weeks, “Shelter” was green-lighted as the first release on here! Network’s Independent Film Initiative. The whirlwind course of Markowitz’s rookie film also forced the cast and crew to shoot “Shelter” in only 18 days.
“It was hectic, but it was still really fun,” Markowitz says. “It was a very low-stress project as far as what I’ve experienced, so it was nice.”
Prior to writing and directing ...
|
