| Deviant | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Benjamin Howard |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Alex Niknejad |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Tyler Rivera Stein |
| Distributed by | Omeleto |
Release date |
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Running time | 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.
In the 1960s, a sexually conflicted teenager escapes the tortures of electrotherapeutic conversion therapy to find hope and acceptance.
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(July 2023) |
The project is Howard's undergraduate capstone film [2] made at San Diego State University in the spring of 2017. [3] He said "Deviant takes a young teenager, whose sexual preference comes into direct conflict with his faith and family." [4] In scouting locations for the church, members of the production visited numerous LGBT-friendly churches in the San Diego area.[ citation needed ] Several turned down the production due to the script's mature themes.[ citation needed ] The church sequences were eventually filmed at Kensington Community Church, in San Diego.[ citation needed ]
Deviant premiered on June 9, 2018 at Dances with Films. [1] 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]
| | This section needs additional citations for verification .(July 2023) |
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.[ citation needed ] 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.[ citation needed ] Howard used the film as part of his application to UCLA film school, and was admitted into the program in 2018.[ citation needed ]
| List of awards and nominations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Festival | Year | Award | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
| Pacific Southwest Emmy Award | 2019 | Student Programming - Short Form | Deviant | Won | [14] |
| Fine Cut Festival of Films | 2019 | Best Student Film | Deviant | Nominated | [15] |
| San Diego Film Awards | 2019 | Best Narrative Short Film | Benjamin Howard | Won | |
| Best Direction: Narrative Short Film | Benjamin Howard | Won | |||
| Best Cinematography: Narrative Short Film | Alex Niknejad | Won | |||
| Best Production Design: Narrative Short Film | Phuong Truong | Won | |||
| Best Editing: Narrative Short Film | Benjamin Howard | Nominated | |||
| James Hall | Nominated | ||||
| Best Costume: Narrative Short Film | Alejandra Guerrero | Nominated | |||
| Prison City Film Festival | 2019 | The Captain's Award (Best Director) | Benjamin Howard | Won | [16] |
| The C.O. Award (U.S. Narrative Short) | Benjamin Howard | Nominated | |||
| James Hall | Nominated | ||||
| Ricardo Osuna | Nominated | ||||
| The Major's Award (Narrative Short - Best Actor) | Rudy Pankow | Nominated | |||
| The Major's Award (Narrative Short - Best Supporting Actor) | Court Rutter | Nominated | |||
| The Desk Boss Award (Best in Genre: Drama) | Benjamin Howard | Nominated | |||
| James Hall | Nominated | ||||
| Ricardo Osuna | Nominated | ||||
| U.S. Short Film Award (Best Overall Submission) | Benjamin Howard | Nominated | |||
| James Hall | Nominated | ||||
| Ricardo Osuna | Nominated | ||||
| Humboldt International Film Festival | 2019 | Honorable Mention for Acting | Rudy Pankow | Won | [17] |
| Court Rutter | Won | ||||
| Krystina Montemurro | Won | ||||
| Mike Burnell | Won | ||||
| San Diego Film Week | 2019 | Jury Award | Benjamin Howard | Won | |
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