Honorable Mention at Nassau: A Simple Ad’s Journey

Friday, October 31, 2025 – Orlando, Florida
It’s a chilly—at least by Florida standards—late autumn morning here in my corner of Orange County. As I write this, it’s 62°F (16°C) under clear, sunny skies, though it may warm up a bit by the time I post this on WordPress. Today’s forecast calls for sunshine and a high of 70°F (21°C). For comparison: it’s 52°F (11°C) and mostly cloudy in Madison, New Hampshire, and 73°F (23°C) and mostly sunny in my hometown of Miami—two places I lived between December 2023 and August 2024.

Yesterday, I received some wonderful news from my friend Juan Carlos Hernández—actor, playwright, and filmmaker based in New York City. One of our short films has earned an Honorable Mention at the upcoming Nassau Film Festival, which takes place December 6, 2025, at the AMC Theatres MarketFair 10 in Princeton, New Jersey.

The film, A Simple Ad, was submitted by Juan and his wife Adria through their company, Popcorn Sky Productions. It’s a quiet meditation on loss and grief, inspired by the six-word story often (though apocryphally) attributed to Ernest Hemingway: “For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never Worn.” I wrote A Simple Ad in 2019 as my first screenplay, originally for another festival, and Popcorn Sky has since submitted it to several venues over the years.

Denise Longrie, a longtime friend and thoughtful reviewer, shared her impressions of the film a couple of years ago. She describes the opening credits as unfolding over a bookcase filled with family photos—a baby, a little boy, a wedding—while the haunting Welsh lullaby “Suo Gan” plays in the background. The final scene, she writes, is what makes the film: the camera lingers not on the actors, but on the ad Sara (Adria) has taped to a light pole. The skateboard, once a symbol of hope for their son, becomes a quiet emblem of love and grief. “They can laugh and joke,” Denise observes. “It doesn’t hide their grief. They love each other. They are together.” Her full review is available here.

Since 2019, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating on several short films as a writer, co-writer, and associate producer—including Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss, Clown 345, El Grande de Corona, and Sunny in the Village of the Crickets. I’m proud of each of these creative journeys, but I’m especially moved that my first screenplay has now received recognition at such a respected festival.