Independent filmmaker Andrew Dean has unveiled his newest short dramatic action short, Cope. The shortfilm endured a three-day shoot before releasing a teaser in early September, featuring actor and stunt coordinator Anthony Giovanni Elias in his first lead.
In Cope, Dean wrote and directed the shortfilm which tackles the defining, thematic issue of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the eyes of the average soldier forced to deal with life after extensive and brutal captivity in wartime. As Dean describes in my previous talk, “The film isn’t just an action film with great fight and tourture scenes. It focuses on the mental stability of a person and what he’ll have to go through and learn to live with. Sometimes there isn’t always going to be a solution or a quick fix. The film is meant to not only entertain, but also to make you think and that’s what I really wanted to accomplish with this.”
Cope certainly brings a visual element that helps it stands out from a lot of other independent shorts I have seen. I could definitely tell Dean was very particular about how he wanted to illustrate this short, reflective story on a real world issue. The action is fierce and designed very well thanks to Elias, who pulls quite an impressive job portraying the lead and invoking all the physical, intrinsic and symptomatic elements of his character. Elias previously shared his affinity with war movies, as well as proximity to the issue considering select family members who have service backgrounds. He also delved into his depth of research for his role, telling Film Combat Syndicate, “…when Dean told me about my character and what he was going through in the story, I thought to myself ‘What’s it like inside a soldiers mind when he has seen and been through war?… How does he feel seeing his comrades die in front of him?… How did he feel when he made his first kill?… What is it like to be captured and tortured by the enemy for months and possibly years?…’ I locked myself in my room and watched alot of documentaries of these old Vets telling their stories and tried to mentally put myself in thier shoes to get my mind in that very dark place. It wasnt easy, but I got it done.”
Cope is readying to hit the film festival this week, so stay tuned to the official Facebook page for Genesis Action Stunts in the tags below for more info. The short film also stars Genesis members Rodney Lofton, Andrew Trask, Derek Fernando Leavitt, Marc Guionnaud and co-stunt coordinator Vidal Acosta.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS SUFFERING THROUGH POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, CLICK HERE.
