Independent Filmmaker Sam Benavides Wins Prestigious Cinema City International Film Award

Nov. 5, 2009 - PRLog -- PRESS RELEASE

SAM BENAVIDES WINS PRESTIGIOUS FILM AWARD

STUDIO CITY, CA
NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Writer, Director, Producer, Sam Benavides recently won the Prestigious Cinema City International Film Festival Award in the Best Sci-Fi Feature category for “Mansfield Path”. The story is about a skilled woodsman and his wife who are wrongfully accused as the cause of a disease that has spread evil throughout their village. "I see a great future in filmmaking for this tenacious and gifted filmmaker", said thirty year veteran filmmaker and fan of sci-fi films, Suzanne Delaurentiis.

Writing, directing and producing his first film at the age of seventeen, Sam Benavides began to sculpt his vision for filmmaking since the production of "Forgotten Breath" (1997). Hailed by the Wisconsin State Journal as "a gritty tale of Generation X," "Forgotten Breath" is a contemporary coming of age story set in the sort of urban America wherein street violence, domestic abuse and complacent authority are social norms. Screened in Madison 20th Century Theatres, "Forgotten Breath" sold out such sleeper hits as "Boogie Nights" and "Starship Troopers" during its three day release alone.

It would be another six years before Benavides' next cinematic inspiration would materialize into "None Left Standing" (2003). Another urban drama with slight satirical accents, "None Left Standing" uses its fanatical movie-driven teen characters to exploit the hypocrisy of modern pop-culture and its pervasive influence on impressionable and disillusioned youth. Shown across seven screens throughout AMC Theatres in Arizona, "None Left Standing" grossed over $5,000 in a single theatre, and went on to receive the Aegis Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Film Production". "None Left Standing" received a distribution deal from Maxim Media Marketing, and was included in the horror box set: Tomb of Terrors, available to the public at major retailers across the globe.

Following the successful completion and public reception of his first two features, Benavides skillfully proved his capacity for cinematic versatility in "To Charlie, with Love" (2005). Sam examined even darker, more underlying dimensions of the human condition in "To Charlie, with Love". This 35 mm short film contrasts beautiful natural imagery with the sinister outtakes of the plot sequences it hosts. "To Charlie, with Love" went on to be an official selection in several major film festivals across the country while receiving prestigious awards including a "Bronze Remi" in the "Dramatic Short Film" category at the Houston International Film Festival in 2005.

A couple years later, Sam headed out west to Hollywood, CA in order to tackle an extremely difficult task: To write, cast, schedule, direct, and edit his next short film "The Order" (2007) in a ten day period. Under major time constraints, meticulous persistence, and solid determination, the completion of "The Order" resulted in an intriguing depiction of a dismal and demoralized future. "The Order" went on to be the "most viewed" film for two weeks in a row on Fox Television's website "The Lot"; a nation-wide film competition produced by Steven Speilberg; and in the same year, Sam's status as a producer escalated when he became a signatory producer with the Screen Actors Guild.

"Mansfield Path" has garnered his most competent budget to date, Sam managed to keep his imaginative yet minimalistic film style. Along the way, the director transcended a number of technical obstacles, and was victorious in his aim portraying a complex tale of fantasy, horror, drama, and science fiction. "Mansfield Path" is a film that has a wide range of commanding performances, beautifully shot photography, impeccable production value, and Benavides' finest and most convincing example of being an up and coming director.

Sam Benavides has continued and will continue to shape his relentless determination for artistic and masterful filmmaking. Initially receiving no monetary or community support, the writer, director, and producer persevered in his drive to create a total of five films that chart only the beginning of a visionary auteur on his way to even greater cinematic craft and articulation.

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Deborah Hayter is a well known publicist representing a number of celebrities, actors, fillmmakers and musicians.