Sometimes in Life, the new Michigan-made, independent feature from ValloNicka Films, premieres Friday, June 27, at The Scarab Club in Detroit as an official selection for the Detroit Windsor International Film Festival. The film features music from two-time Grammy winner
Ozomatli, Modest Mouse, Michael Franti and Spearhead, several made-in-Detroit artists and more.
Sometimes in Life is the story of an unusual and unlikely friendship between two people whose lives are stuck in a rut. Jill is a young fashion designer who suspects that her lesbian girlfriend is cheating on her while Rob mourns the loss of his father.
The film stars Sara Stepnicka (Garden City) as Jill, Eric Morrison (Flat Rock) as Rob, Gunhild Giil (Troy) as Jill’s lesbian girlfriend and Jon E. Livernois (Detroit) as Eric’s straight roommate. Wayne David-Parker, Angela Roberts, Emily Rose, Ethan Helmann-Scherrer, Carol Pierangelino and Sharon Emigh complete the cast.
Sometimes in Life explores love, life and the value of friendship while examining the dynamics of gay/lesbian and straight relationships in a new way. In the film, Director/Producer Anthony Vallone and Producer/Leading Lady Sara Stepnicka present the lesbian relationship between the women with the dynamic of a straight couple while simultaneously presenting the dynamic of the straight couple (Eric and his straight, platonic roommate) in a gay direction.
"We wanted to explore the aspects of each relationship in a different way," Vallone said. “We wanted to avoid the Hollywood stereotyping of gay/lesbian characters by showing that gay/lesbian couples often have the same relationship problems that straight couples go through.”
In order to prepare for the lesbian aspects of the film, Stepnicka and Vallone met a number of lesbians throughout metro Detroit and spent many nights at The Rainbow Room, a popular lesbian bar. They also
worked with a woman from Affirmations, a local resource center for the gay, lesbian and transgender community, who gave them a list of films and books to watch and read (One of them being Lesbians and Their
Dogs) during the script development phase. For the straight relationship, they relied on personal experience.
Producers Vallone, Stepnicka and Mohan Nemakayala also shot part of the film on location at Just-For-Us, a popular gay/lesbian bookstore and café (Ferndale). Other locations include the now-defunct Pure Detroit Design Lab (Detroit), the fishing pier at the Newburgh Pointe Recreation Area at Hines Park (Livonia), Whole Foods (West Bloomfield), Garden City Café (Garden City), Dawson Photo Studio (Inkster) and The Rainbow Room (Detroit).
Sometimes in Life also features music from two-time Grammy winner Ozomatli, Modest Mouse, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Presley and Anilore. In addition, listen for several made-in-Detroit artists including Amp Fiddler, Jamie McCarthy, Cetan Clawson, Bedford Drive, The Bloids and Mindizade.
Showcasing made-in-Detroit talent was an important part of the production. In addition to including homegrown bands, the film features the art of Serge Gay Jr., who studied at The College of Creative Studies in Detroit and is now living in San Francisco, and fashions from local designers Stacey Mitchell and Kelly Kolodziejski.
Originally, ValloNicka Films signed a deal with CreateSpace as part of the 1,000 HD DVD Indies Project to present Sometimes in Life to the Sundance Channel for possible broadcast on their network. Although the deal had to be canceled after the announcement earlier this year that HD films would no longer be a standard, industry format, ValloNicka Films is currently discussing the film with other distributors.
Sometimes in Life is the second feature from ValloNicka Films. Their first movie, The Mongol King, made cinematic history as one of the five lowest-budget films ever to score a (DVD) distribution deal. They made the film for only $7,000. This is $500 less than Robert Rodriguez’s groundbreaking film El Mariachi.
Sometimes in Life premieres at The Scarab Club, located at 217 Farnsworth in Detroit (Behind the Detroit Institute of Arts) as part of the Detroit Windsor International Film Festival on Friday, June 27.
Sometimes in Life is not rated, but includes strong language, adult themes and a brief flash of comedic nudity in a funny scene.
Tickets to the premiere are $15 and include a pre-party director’s reception and networking hour beginning at 7 pm, an art exhibit from JBHMareydt, complimentary beer and wine, and complimentary appetizers from Union Street. Sometimes in Life begins at 9 pm. 21+ are welcome.
For more information, and to see the trailer, visit www.sometimesinlifethemovie.com or
www.myspace.com/sometimesinlifethemovie. For tickets and more information about the Detroit Windsor
International Film Festival, visit www.dwiff.org.
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