Deviant (film) explained

Deviant
Director:Benjamin Howard
Cinematography:Alex Niknejad
Music:Tyler Rivera Stein
Distributor:Omeleto
Runtime: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.

Plot

In the 1960s, a sexually conflicted teenager escapes the tortures of electrotherapeutic conversion therapy to find hope and acceptance.

Cast

Production

The project is Howard's undergraduate capstone film[1] made at San Diego State University in the spring of 2017.[2] He said "Deviant takes a young teenager, whose sexual preference comes into direct conflict with his faith and family."[3] In scouting locations for the church, members of the production visited numerous LGBT-friendly churches in the San Diego area. Several turned down the production due to the script's mature themes. The church sequences were eventually filmed at Kensington Community Church, in San Diego.

Release

Deviant premiered on June 9, 2018 at Dances with Films.[4] 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]

Reception

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. 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. Howard used the film as part of his application to UCLA film school, and was admitted into the program in 2018.

Accolades

List of awards and nominations
FestivalYearAwardRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Pacific Southwest Emmy Award2019Student Programming - Short FormDeviant
Fine Cut Festival of Films2019Best Student FilmDeviant[15]
San Diego Film Awards2019Best Narrative Short FilmBenjamin Howard
Best Direction: Narrative Short FilmBenjamin Howard
Best Cinematography: Narrative Short FilmAlex Niknejad
Best Production Design: Narrative Short FilmPhuong Truong
Best Editing: Narrative Short FilmBenjamin Howard
James Hall
Best Costume: Narrative Short FilmAlejandra Guerrero
Prison City Film Festival2019The Captain's Award (Best Director)Benjamin Howard[16]
The C.O. Award (U.S. Narrative Short)Benjamin Howard
James Hall
Ricardo Osuna
The Major's Award (Narrative Short - Best Actor)Rudy Pankow
The Major's Award (Narrative Short - Best Supporting Actor)Court Rutter
The Desk Boss Award (Best in Genre: Drama)Benjamin Howard
James Hall
Ricardo Osuna
U.S. Short Film Award (Best Overall Submission)Benjamin Howard
James Hall
Ricardo Osuna
Humboldt International Film Festival2019Honorable Mention for ActingRudy Pankow[17]
Court Rutter
Krystina Montemurro
Mike Burnell
San Diego Film Week2019Jury AwardBenjamin Howard

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 5Q's w/Benjamin Howard "Deviant" Director . 2022-06-15 . Borrego Springs Film Festival . en-US . 2022-06-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220615080003/http://www.borregospringsfilmfestival.org/5qs/2019/12/17/5qs-wbenjamin-howard-deviant-director . dead .
  2. Web site: Shields . Judy . 2018-09-21 . KCET's Fine Cut Festival of Films Awards and Screening The Hollywood Times . 2022-06-15 . The Hollywood Times . en-US . 2022-12-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221201055126/https://thehollywoodtimes.today/kcets-fine-cut-festival-of-films-awards-and-screening/ . dead .
  3. Web site: Deviant . 2022-06-15 . Prison City Film Festival . en-US.
  4. Web site: 2018-06-09 . DEVIANT Dances With Films . 2022-06-15 . . en-US.
  5. Web site: Official Selections 2018 — . 2022-06-15 . . en-US . 2022-08-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220810182447/https://www.hollyshorts.com/filmmakers-2018 . dead .
  6. Web site: Deviant - Cleveland International Film Festival :: March 22 - April 1, 2023 . 2022-06-15 . . en . 2019-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190327152248/https://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/2019/deviant . dead .
  7. Web site: 2019-10-06 . Nextgen Program 5 . Nashville Film Festival.
  8. Web site: 2019-09-27 . Deviant . 2022-06-15 . . en-US.
  9. Web site: Fulcher . Albert . 2019-09-13 . 3 LGBTQ short films not to miss . 2022-06-15 . LGBTQ San Diego County News.
  10. Web site: Cristi . A. A. . 2019-09-10 . Two Weeks Away From Opening Night, GI Film Festival San Diego Announces Award Nominees . 2022-06-15 . . en.
  11. Web site: Locals Theater . 2022-06-15 . . en-US . 2022-08-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220810111145/https://sdfilmfest.com/localstheater/ . dead .
  12. Web site: Deviant Drama Short Film . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20201202055301/http://omeleto.com/252347/ . 2020-12-02 . 2022-06-15 . Omeleto . en.
  13. Web site: Riley . 2022-06-15 . . en-US.
  14. Web site: Newell . Ena . 2019-05-03 . 2019 Emmy Award Nominees . 2022-06-15 . . en-US.
  15. Web site: KCET, Fine Cut, Deviant . 2022-03-09 . KCET.org . en.
  16. Web site: THE 2019 PCFF NOMINEES . 2022-03-09 . Prison City Film Festival.
  17. Web site: 2019, 52ND ANNUAL HUMBOLDT INT'L FILM FESTIVAL FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS . 2022-03-09.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Deviant (film)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.