This is pretty cool! This year for the Dam Short Film Festival (DSFF) we have a local Boulder City High School grad featured in the line up! We’re pleased to introduce you to Shannon Gros and her partner filmmaker Gabriel Smith.
Their short film, “Sunday in August” was selected as part of the Nevada Filmmakers block and has also shown at several other film festivals and received a winning award at one of them.
Gabriel’s roll is primarily behind the camera although they seem to work seamlessly as a team. Shannon tells us the film has an ethereal feel to it, and her initial inspiration was that it is a reflection on the fleetingness of life. Entirely unscripted they were inspired to let their creativity flow in real time as they worked on the piece.
However in talking with them, they both shared that what has been most interesting is that viewers are sitting with a visual feast of images and music, and the openness of that experience allows people to have vastly different reactions. Without strict confines a viewer inserts their own personal meaning to the story, and those stories are what seem to be the touch of magic for the film.
They shot in a variety of locations, including the New Jersey shoreline, and said this film came together almost effortlessly. The Gros family has other creators in their midst, many of you who also know Roger Gros, a musician, writer and also owner of the production you’ve heard with us, the Boulder City Podcast. Shannon definitely credits her father’s influence as does Gabriel.
Shannon got the filmmaking bug in high school when she took a film class there and then at UNLV it blossomed into her major interest. Gabriel moved to the Las Vegas area in 2020 and has worked in the local film industry in a variety of ways. They are both active currently in other projects and are actively seeking new roles for themselves as they continue to build and grow both their artistry as well as their business.
We say “Well done and Congrats!” to these two young artists for having their work chosen for this year’s event! You can see the full schedule for the DSFF HERE, and look for their entry as part of the Nevada Filmmakers block A which will be shown on Friday the 13th in the afternoon.
