CSUN Prof. Luciana Lagana Will Receive Best Trailer Award for Her Satire Celebrating Eccentricity at 2015 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival on 2/13/2015.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) February 10, 2015 -- CSUN Professor Luciana Lagana’s web series "Intimate Temp Agency," her narrative directorial debut, has been well received at film festivals, gathering several award nominations and wins. The 10-minute stand-alone trailer for the satirical series (currently in post-production) will screen on 2/13/2015 at 3 pm at Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival (HRIFF) at Regal Cinemas LA LIVE and will receive Best Trailer Award at the Award Ceremony later on that evening.
“My creative focus is social impact filmmaking. As a psychologist, when I put together this show, I did my best to create a satire about how eccentric job applicants could behave if given the freedom to express themselves in a nurturing environment. No matter how strange they are, all of them get my unconditional support, although I do set rules, including the fact that putting down other job applicants is not acceptable,” explains Luciana.
Her leading role as Carla, the very patient manager and co-owner of a temp agency with her ex, real-life husband writer/director/actor/host Gregory Graham, required acting as if the bizarre behaviors of the agency’s job applicants were perfectly normal. “The message that I intended to convey is one of non-judgment of those who are different, especially when they have illnesses or other problems that limit their ability to easily assimilate in the workplace.”
In this web series, to help part-time job candidates in need, Luciana gathers eager applicants in groups, makes them sit in a circle, and interviews them for lucrative, yet very odd jobs. She receives very limited assistance from her ex, played in a cold and matter-of-fact fashion by Gregory. “At times it was hard to keep a straight face while the actors were hilariously bizarre, but I did my best to remain serious, professional, and nurturing at the same time,” she muses.
“I created this web series with the goal of encouraging people to be more accepting of creative and quirky individuals, thinking twice before putting direct or indirect pressure on them to conform and potentially lose their creative edge. It is common for individuals who, for a variety of reasons, are different than most people, to try to change in an attempt to fit in. Daring to be eccentric can be painful; however, repressing it could significantly stifle creativity and originality. Additionally, not expressing who people really are, quirks and all, could have undesirable consequences on mood and stress level,” points out Luciana.
“Electing to celebrate diversity of all kinds is one of the major goals of my filmmaking efforts,” adds Luciana. “Intimate Temp Agency is my first narrative attempt at encouraging respect for individual differences, no matter how peculiar they are, as long as people who are non-conformists are well-meaning and respectful of others. I am humbled by the success of this satire at film festivals and am deeply honored to receive Best Trailer Award at HRIFF. I dedicate it to all the good-hearted people who feel bullied by those who belittle their eccentricity,” she concludes.
Tickets to the screening of the trailer of Intimate Temp Agency can be purchased on the Internet at http://hollywoodreelindependentfilmfestival.com/2015/feb_13.php#intimate_temp_agency.
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 California State University Northridge, where she teaches classes and mentors many undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, since 2002, she has been conducting 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 44 IMDb credits for acting in many independent movies, web series, and TV pilots. She also created, hosted, and directed the award-winning web series “Dr. Luciana Show – Aging and Falling.”
Dr. Luciana Lagana, +1 (818) 926-2162, [email protected]
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