'The Tested' Takes Home 'Best of Fest' Prize at Los Angeles International Short Film Festival

'The Tested' Takes Home 'Best of Fest' Prize at Los Angeles International Short Film Festival

Win Makes Film Eligible for an Academy Award Nomination

NEW YORK, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- "The Tested", written, edited and directed by Russell Costanzo and produced by Melissa B. Miller, took home the Top Prize at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival on Wednesday, September 13, 2006. The festival is accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

The film was awarded "Best of Fest" and beat out 650 other short films, making it eligible for an Academy Award nomination.

In the film, a black teen struggles through high school in a hostile environment, and his home life, which is equally disturbing. During the days leading up to his gang initiation, he attempts to make peace with his negligent mother, console his younger sister and accept what he's about to do -- shoot a stranger in broad daylight.

The director filled his cast with mostly non-actors, giving the film its raw energy and realism. Michael Morris, Jr., who plays Dre, had never acted in anything before and answered an open call the filmmakers put in Backstage Magazine. The project was a real collaboration between the actors and the director. This process allowed them to contribute and to use improvisational rehearsals to get the feel of each scene as believable as possible.

"The Tested" has struck a chord with audiences and will make its television broadcast debut on BET J at the end of September.

The film was financed by Clarendon Entertainment, a New York City-based company that specializes in urban films and distributes the Urban S.L.A.M. series on DVD.

For an industry screener or to set up an interview with the director, please contact Melissa B. Miller at 917.575.6352 or via e-mail at melbmiller@gmail.com. For more information on Clarendon Entertainment, please contact Rodney Parnther at (201) 790-2872 or visit http://www.clarendonent.com/.

Source: Clarendon Entertainment

CONTACT: Rodney Parnther, Clarendon Entertainment, +1-201-790-2872,
Melissa B. Miller, +1-917-575-6352, melbmiller@gmail.com

Web site: http://www.clarendonent.com/

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