Deviant | |
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Directed by | Benjamin Howard |
Written by |
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Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Alex Niknejad |
Edited by |
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Music by | Tyler Rivera Stein |
Distributed by | Omeleto |
Release date |
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Running time | 10 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $6,500 |
Deviant is a 2018 drama short film directed by Benjamin Howard and written by Howard and James Hall. The film stars Rudy Pankow, Mike Burnell, Krystina Montemurro and Court Rutter.
In the 1960s, a sexually conflicted teenager escapes the tortures of electrotherapeutic conversion therapy to find hope and acceptance.
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (July 2023) |
The project is Howard's undergraduate capstone film [2] made at San Diego State University in the spring of 2017. [3] He said "Deviant takes a young teenager, whose sexual preference comes into direct conflict with his faith and family." [4] In scouting locations for the church, members of the production visited numerous LGBT-friendly churches in the San Diego area.[ citation needed] Several turned down the production due to the script's mature themes.[ citation needed] The church sequences were eventually filmed at Kensington Community Church, in San Diego.[ citation needed]
Deviant premiered on June 9, 2018 at Dances with Films. [1] It went on to screen at Outfest, HollyShorts Film Festival, [5] Cleveland International Film Festival, [6] Nashville Film Festival, [7] GI Film Festival San Diego [8] [9] [10] and San Diego International Film Festival. [11] The film was distributed by Omeleto on April 20, 2020. It has amassed over a quarter-million views since its release online. [12]
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (July 2023) |
Before the film's festival premiere, Howard was recognized with an award for Best Directing at San Diego State's Emerging Filmmakers Showcase in the spring semester, 2017.[ citation needed] In 2019, Deviant received a Student Emmy Award [13] at the Pacific Southwest Chapter for National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. [14]
The film received more than 20 awards and nominations over the year and a half it played on the festival circuit, including several for Pankow and Howard, for acting and directing, respectively.[ citation needed] Howard used the film as part of his application to UCLA film school, and was admitted into the program in 2018.[ citation needed]
List of awards and nominations | |||||
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Festival | Year | Award | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
Pacific Southwest Emmy Award | 2019 | Student Programming - Short Form | Deviant | Won | [14] |
Fine Cut Festival of Films | 2019 | Best Student Film | Deviant | Nominated | [15] |
San Diego Film Awards | 2019 | Best Narrative Short Film | Benjamin Howard | Won | |
Best Direction: Narrative Short Film | Benjamin Howard | Won | |||
Best Cinematography: Narrative Short Film | Alex Niknejad | Won | |||
Best Production Design: Narrative Short Film | Phuong Truong | Won | |||
Best Editing: Narrative Short Film | Benjamin Howard | Nominated | |||
James Hall | Nominated | ||||
Best Costume: Narrative Short Film | Alejandra Guerrero | Nominated | |||
Prison City Film Festival | 2019 | The Captain's Award (Best Director) | Benjamin Howard | Won | [16] |
The C.O. Award (U.S. Narrative Short) | Benjamin Howard | Nominated | |||
James Hall | Nominated | ||||
Ricardo Osuna | Nominated | ||||
The Major's Award (Narrative Short - Best Actor) | Rudy Pankow | Nominated | |||
The Major's Award (Narrative Short - Best Supporting Actor) | Court Rutter | Nominated | |||
The Desk Boss Award (Best in Genre: Drama) | Benjamin Howard | Nominated | |||
James Hall | Nominated | ||||
Ricardo Osuna | Nominated | ||||
U.S. Short Film Award (Best Overall Submission) | Benjamin Howard | Nominated | |||
James Hall | Nominated | ||||
Ricardo Osuna | Nominated | ||||
Humboldt International Film Festival | 2019 | Honorable Mention for Acting | Rudy Pankow | Won | [17] |
Court Rutter | Won | ||||
Krystina Montemurro | Won | ||||
Mike Burnell | Won | ||||
San Diego Film Week | 2019 | Jury Award | Benjamin Howard | Won |