Little Love Sometimes you want too much, when all you really need is a little love.
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Frameline34 – San Francisco
Markus and Rafael
Directed by Quentin Lee, Little Love is a ten minute short that explores the complications of friendship and relationships. Set in contemporary Los Angeles, the short follows three main characters.
Markus, new to the city, is looking for a place to belong. He is delighted when he befriends work colleague Andy.
Andy is on top of the world, and mostly wants to keep things exactly as they are. Andy extends friendship to Markus, including him in his close circle of friends, cultivated over many years.
This close circle of friends includes Andy's younger boyfriend, Rafael. The three hit it off immediately, and become a tight-knit "inner circle" within the group of friends. Rafael has been enjoying the life that comes from living with his successful older boyfriend, but feels as if he's fallen into Andy's life and forgotten about his own goals. He's beginning to feel trapped in his life and far away from his potential and destiny.
When Markus and Rafael are hanging out while Andy is out of town, the sparks between the two new friends ignite into passion. The resulting fire burns in a different direction for each character, leaving each with a new confidence in his own path but also a certain melancholy knowing what he has given up to pursue his own truth.
The film stars Travis Oakden as Markus, Michael Massei as Andy, Derek Villanueva as Rafael. Alfredo Maduro shines as Roberto, the best friend who tells the truth in a self-serving way familiar to all. Filming took place in September, 2009, and the film was completed in December of 2009.
One of the unique challenges of the film was creating a character study with three lead characters in such a short format. Out of necessity much of the characters back stories needed to be implied rather than explained. The story takes place over the course of a year, and explores how relationships can grow close and intense when people's life paths merge, and how the necessary choices we later make can have unintended consequences to those closest to us.
The film will have its world premiere in Miami at the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival on Saturday, April 24th, playing immediately before director Quentin Lee's latest hilarious feature film "The People I've Slept With." Join us for a very fun evening at the South Beach Regal Cinemas at 8 pm. Tickets are available from the festival's site: MGLFF. A full schedule of festival screenings for 2010 is currently being developed. Check back for an updated schedule, or register.