The True 9/11 Hero Story “Color of Honor” Premieres in Germany and Bangladesh: Luciana Lagana Plays the Mother of the Lead and Co-Produces with Blaise Dolcemaschio.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 25, 2014 -- The short film “Color of Honor” by young director/producer Blaise Dolcemaschio was created in honor of a true 9/11 hero, Welles Remy Crowther. It has been chosen to premiere at two film festivals including the 24 hours of Nuremberg International Short Film Festival and the 8th International Children's Film Festival in Bangladesh.
Actress, screenwriter and director Luciana Lagana plays the mother of the hero and helped produce this film together with her husband, Gregory Graham - Graham plays a heroic policeman who died while saving lives during 9/11. Other producers are Crowther’s family members: Alison Crowther, Honor Crowther, and Jefferson Crowther. “Not everyone is born to be a hero, but Welles certainly was. It was a great honor to contribute to the success of this short film and celebrate his bravery,” stated Luciana.
Blaise Dolcemaschio was a senior at New Roads High School in Santa Monica, California, when he decided to make this movie. He and his family saw ESPN’s documentary “Man in the Red Bandana” about a man residing in New York named Welles Crowther and were very impressed by his heroic actions that saved 12 people during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Blaise was deeply moved and touched by Welles’ selflessness, leadership, bravery, and heroism and felt a deep connection with him and his love of sports. Like Welles, he will be playing baseball, his chosen sport, in college as a member of the NCAA and will major in his favorite subject, film. Thus, Blaise instantly fell in love with the idea of making a tribute film about Welles so that more people could hear his amazing story. He immediately began searching for the best way to contact the Crowther family and ask for their permission to make the film. He struck gold when he received a reply from Welles’ sister, Honor Crowther, the head of the Crowther trust website that Blaise had initially contacted with the hopes of reaching the family. Blaise is very proud of this movie and dedicates it to the movie's hero and his family.
From a very early age, New York City native Welles Remy Crowther exhibited fine qualities; he was always very polite and caring toward others. Throughout his time at Nyack High School, Welles was a high honor roll student and top varsity ice hockey and lacrosse player. While in high school, he joined Empire Hook & Ladder Co., No. 1 as a junior member. When he turned 18, he completed the New York State training program in firematics and became a full member of the company. Welles graduated high school with honors in 1995 and received a lacrosse scholarship to Boston College. He graduated in 1999 with a degree in economics.
Survivors of September 11, 2001, reported that after flight 175 hit the sky lobby of the south tower, a man suddenly appeared “out of nowhere.” He was stripped down to his T-shirt and wearing a red bandanna over his nose and mouth. The man located people in need of assistance and directed them down to the 61st floor, then returned to the 78th floor. His body was recovered on March 19, 2002, next to other FDNY and emergency services personnel.
When the Crowther family gave Blaise the green light to start pre-production on the film, he began researching more of Welles’ story online and began analyzing ESPN’s documentary with a fine-tooth comb. His goal was to make his film as accurate as possible with the $0 budget and 15 minute maximum run time that he had as a high school film student. Blaise also received help from the Crowther family through email and video conference and was given information about Welles and some of the events in his life that the Internet and ESPN documentary did not show.
This promising young director/producer is currently studying abroad at the Prague Film Institute. “I certainly agree with Blaise that Welles is an inspiration to all of us and feel blessed to have been chosen to play his mother on-screen,” concluded Luciana.
Written by Stefanie Friesen
Luciana Lagana is a caring clinical and experimental psychologist. She is also an established professor of psychology, gerontology, sexuality, and women’s health at CSUN, where she teaches classes and mentors many students. Additionally, she conducts government-funded research on ethnically diverse, primarily low-income older women’s physical, psychological, social, and sexual health. Concerning her artistic pursuits, since 2006, she has been studying acting and hosting in Los Angeles. She is an award-winning actress/screenwriter/director, with 43 IMDb credits for acting in many independent movies and TV series, as well as for hosting and directing the 4-times award-winning educational project “Dr. Luciana Show – Aging and Falling.”
Luciana Lagana, +1 (818) 926-2162, [email protected]
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