A Moment of Silence
1998A Thesis Movie of the American Film Institute
© AFI 1998
A Moment of Silence won the Colin Higgins Award. The $10,000 award is bestowed on a production and screenplay which best relates to human values. The movie is a thesis project for a Master of Fine Arts degree from the American Film Institute.
watch the movie on the AFI websiteThe story
Brother James, a monk who has lost his ability to pray and is considering leaving the monastery, undergoes a crisis of faith in the midst of frantically trying to save his best friend, Brother, from dying from a rattlesnake bite. Brother got bitten as a result of protecting Brother James from the snake. All the doors close on Brother James, however. The monastery is too far from town, and the only veterinarian in the area is out on another emergency call. Even an old rancher's "cure" doesn't work. In the meantime, Brother undergoes incredibly pain. Brother James faces the excruciating dilemma of either holding on to his belief that God will cure Brother, or shooting brother to put him out of his misery.
The Filmmakers
A Moment of Silence is directed by Alejandro Chomski of Argentina, a Fulbright recipient, and produced and written by Armando P. Ibáñez, listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography. Gur Shlapobersky of Israel, winner of the 1995 Sony award for Best Cinematographer, is the cinematographer. Anne Gillmore, honors graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in Film, is the editor; and the production designer is loannis Papadopoulas of Greece, a Fulbright recipient and award-winning production designer.
Alejandro Chomski (left), director, gives direction to Todd Havens (right), who plays Brother Andrew, as Daran Norris listens
.
Camera operator Danielle Araño Batlle
Brother James, played by
Daran Norris, and Brother
on location.
Vincent Schiavelli
plays Father Abbot. Vincent is a well-known character actor, who has played roles in many movies, including in a recent episode of the X-Files. He also played the part of a ghost haunting the subway in the movie Ghost.
Some notable AFI graduates
Director, Michael Dinner -- Chicago Hope
Producer, Marshall Herskovitz -- Thirtysomething
Cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski -- Lost World
Editor, Steve Rosenblum -- Brave Heart
Cinematographer, Caleb Deschanel -- Fly Away Home
Producer, Steve Golin -- The Game
Director, Jonathan Avnet -- Red Corner
Tim Gonzales of Fullerton receives the first Pluma Productions Award for Patron of the Arts 2000 for his support of 'A Moment of Silence' a short film written and produced bv Fr. Ibáñez, and of Fr Ibáñez's poetry. Tim, who owns Christopher's, hosted a poetry reading and concert in his home during the Thanksgiving Holidays as a way of both thanking God and raising funds for Pluma. Fellow organizers, Tim Bevins and Debby Davis, assisted Tim. More than 100 people attended the event. Noted harpist, Patrice Fisher, accompanied Fr. Ibáñez in the reading, which was videotaped by Ecos Latinos for a documentary to be aired sometime in the future in the New Orleans area.
Tim Gonzales holds his award with Fr. Ibáñez, producer of Pluma, by his side. (Photo by Patricia Lugo Varela)
