On Writing & Storytelling: ‘Sunny in the Village of Crickets’

Hi, everyone! I hope you are all well on this late summer Sunday in August.

Well, I have good news for you guys today! Popcorn Sky Productions, the small indie film production company that I’m affiliated with as a screenwriter, completed postproduction on the new short film by actor-director Juan Carlos Hernandez, Sunny in the Village of Crickets.

Now, not only is this the fifth Popcorn Sky Productions film in which I have a screenwriting credit (though this time my contribution to the script was relatively modest), but it’s also the first in which I earned a credit on the producers’ list.

I am, of course, both pleased and humbled, especially since I never imagined I’d ever see a credit that read “Associate Producer” in a movie’s end titles sequence. “Written by….” or “Created by…” were always on my filmmaker’s BINGO card, but “Associate Producer”?

Anyway, I want to thank my New York City-based friends Juan Carlos and Adria K. Woomer-Hernandez for their kindness and generosity of spirit…as well as for their belief that I am a real writer.

I also wish to thank everyone who donated to the film’s GoFundMe fundraiser from a couple of years ago: the original concept was different, but sometimes a project starts out as one thing, then ends up as another. In any event, Juan, Adria, Steve Arons, and the rest of the cast and crew are grateful for your support. Thank you.