"A
Deeply Moving, Authentically Portrayed Story" Las Vegas Tribune
We
live in an age of instant communication that invites a constant barrage of
information, that assaults the senses and often numbs our Human
sensibility. Our current President is perhaps the most violent and
certainly the most prolific offender of this abuse of privilege, regarding what
we see and hear. I call it "an offense" because it is truly a
privilege and not a human right.
In these times of social media and
'the web', it is self-evident that Truth can become obscured by the sheer
volume of thoughts, the proliferation of "fake news" and the
abundance of opinions freely expressed publicly by All. That in mind, it is
easy to minimize the importance of some things that absolutely must be said,
things that cannot be swept aside any longer. Among issues such as War,
Poverty, Disease and Corruption, we are once again confronted by 'the Truth'
about the racial divide between our citizens of color (any color), the
authorities that we have empowered to protect and defend us All and recent
events that have so clearly defined that chasm.
Recently, we (Willy-Gilly
Productions) recently participated in a film festival with our independent,
feature film, "Collar." We have now been 8 years in the
process of developing, funding, producing and finding a market, finally
deciding it would serve us all best to ‘self-distribute.’ This is simply
due to the self-appointed custodians of the ‘pop’ cultural landscape (namely
major movie studios, and corporate media) have been, at best, indifferent and
mostly unwilling to confront the issues for any other reason than to
self-aggrandize their own 'coverage,' hawk their advertiser's products and
shamelessly exploit the American commercial marketplace.
For some years now, we have been
engaged in completing, testing and promoting our film, which has ALWAYS received
overwhelmingly positive response from the Public, even as we have been
'stonewalled' by the industry. In the years that we have been seeking adequate
outlets to provide the general public with some truth about these issues, we
have learned that the corporate media agenda does not only include a
suppression of truth, but an outright obstruction of fact.
Once again, now in its final
version, our film has found its mark. While our purpose was not to win
awards, we have been rewarded with a reinforcement of our honest, creative
vision. The Las Vegas Tribune (the first media of any kind to view, "Collar")
reviewed our film, which was seen by the largest audience to
attend the High Desert International Film Festival (HDIFF) and their
reviewer wrote the following:
“Collar,” written, produced and directed by David P. Wilson, was a
deeply moving, authentically portrayed story, based on true incidents, about a
“good guy” detective at the end of his career, who makes a tough choice,
split-second decision in the midst of a murder suspect chase and shoots a “well
loved in the community” young black man. The ensuing devastation all-around
rings true. A touchy subject handled with equanimity, this film serves as a
platform for community healing when viewed and discussed. -- Marianne
Donnelly Las Vegas Tribune
Marianne's insight and perceptions
of this film are exactly what was intended from the beginning, to create an
awareness and open the channel for sincere investigation of our deepest
thoughts about those who do not look like us, regardless of which
"us" we may be. We will continue to carry this fight for as
long as it takes to expose these social scars, treat our damaged souls and heal
this wounded Nation.
Review us at
We would love to hear your thoughts
and feelings on the issues presented and the film itself.
Peace.
I have been asked to make a blog about how COVID has impacted my industry. I have been in Broadcast & Entertainment (B&E) for 50 years. The ONLY other event vaguely reminiscent of this horror was the “triple witching” event of 1988. It shut our industry down and forced me to shutter a project into which I had sunk a bundle. The WGA dragged on for nearly 6 months. It was devastating.
