It has been the fascination of humankind to capture the essence
of emotion and portray it in such away that it can be appreciated
universally. That is the job of an artist, to epitomize the
passion so that it is understood a thousand years from now. This
hasn’t been more true for no truer an artist than the filmmaker.
Nowadays, filmmakers are abundant in the sun-scorched landscape
of Los Angeles, most of them from the local universities and
colleges. Filmmaking has become such a specialized field that
some universities dedicate entire departments and degrees to it.
Many of the professionals like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas
have been known to make great contributions to these
institutions.
Enter, Shervin Youssefian and Danny Simonzad of California
State University, Northridge. Two filmmakers or I should say
artists who have made their stamp on the celluloid scene on many
platforms. These award-winning artists came together to produce
a work that could stand the test of not just time, but the test
of Film Production 250 taught by their professor Nate Thomas.
You see, they are not just artists but students of the craft of
filmmaking. As I watched the film they had made, uniquely
titled "Colorblind", I knew they were no mere students but rather
inconspicuous teachers. The subtle humor, the infinite warmth
and the deep wisdom that delicately emanates from "Colorblind"
provide the evidence for my words.
"We didn’t even have a script," boasts Danny Simonzad, the
co-director, "we shot what we felt." They have a unique
relationship. As I spoke to them more I realized, that both
being very talented and oddly humorous, had very unique
characteristics about them. Shervin, not as loud as Danny, was
very quick witted with a creative energy about him. Danny, not
as subtle as Shervin, had a more direct sense of humor that
matched his laughter as it carried down the hall. But you could
definitely feel the warmth from these two, especially Danny being
bigger than Shervin. They met at Glendale Community College in
1997, taking a media course. "Shervin was editing his project on
one of those old VHS A to B editing machines. I was impressed by
his work. And he was impressed that I was impressed by his
work," recalls Danny. They hit if off from then on,
collaborating on project after project including "Colorblind".
They specifically took their production class so they could work
together on films. As it turns out, it was a good thing they
did manage to work together, the film they made was a hard act
to follow. It was so good, that the film was accepted as their
thesis film even though they were at the junior level in the
university. "Colorblind" became a tremendous achievement in
filmmaking not just at the University level but amongst the
festival circuit as well.
The more I was enthralled by the film the more I knew that you
cannot be taught the innate talent that was flashing on the
screen. Which explained the awards and enumerable film festival
selections. Ranging from the Hollywood Press Association
Award to winning best short film at the Davis Film festival,
"Colorblind" shined. It was accepted to the Los Angeles
International Film Festival, The New Orleans Film Festival,
the San Diego International Film Festival, (add more festivals).
One after another, these festivals were testament that these
filmmakers were not just artist with potential, but contenders
of today. Keep an eye out at the multiplexes, and stop to read
the fine print on the movies posters or the credits at the end of
a film to find the names Shervin Youssefian and Danny Simonzad
in bold, exuberant letters. While Simonzad is taking off on a
successful commercial production career, Youssefian is in
pre-production for feature film entitled Machiavelli Hangman
starring a few big names. I’m sure everyone will soon realize
what I already know about these two brilliant filmmakers.
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