Women's Only Entertainment Film Festival

"Coming Home", directed by Shiva Rodriguez, has been accepted into the Women's Only Entertainment Film Festival.

The Family Way in development

The acclaimed horror script, The Family Way, is in development to become a feature film.

A clip from the short film we shot in December, "The Family Way: Coming Home", is featured in the Indiegogo campaign video to help raise some additional development funds for this feature film.

There's lots of exciting news about this project and you can learn all about it on the campaign page!

"The Figure" released online

Our short horror-comedy, "The Figure" is now available for public viewing on YouTube.

Meet the Crew of Coming Home - Shiva

Meet Shiva Rodriguez, Director and co-writer of “The Family Way: Coming Home”.

Shiva started her career in the film industry as a practical special effects artist back in 2008 and has worked on over 40 short films, TV/video projects, and feature films such as Sitter, HorrorScapes, One Night of Fear, and Dangerous People.

Prior to that she worked in costume, makeup, and set design for theatrical events and haunted house attractions.

While she loves working “in the trenches” as an SFX supervisor, she never had any ambition to be a film director until a couple of her closest friends talked her into it back in 2013. Her first time in the director's chair was on the feature film Predatory Moon, then she went on to direct a few short films including “The Figure” and “The Family Way: Coming Home.”

Shiva is also an award-winning writer who has been putting ink to paper for as long as she can remember. She's penned several screenplays, magazine articles, stage plays, and a novel on her own, but often teams up with her husband D. Duckie Rodriguez when it comes to taking her story ideas and turning them into screenplays.

The Family Way is one of her all-time favorite feature scripts that was based on a short story she write back in 2006. Excited that this screenplay was “in talks” for going into production, she and Duckie wrote “The Family Way: Coming Home” as a short prologue to introduce the world to a few of their favorite characters.

Shiva is often described as being an “actor's director” and credits her directing style to having been brought up by parents who were in the entertainment industry as well as spending years as a crew person on films and listening to what actors praised and complained about. She believes that actors should have a large part in developing the characters they portray and that her job is to guide them in the right direction.

She also strongly believes that film is a collaborative medium and values the opinions of everyone on a set, from the cinematographer right down to the production assistants. As a director, she hates using the phrase “My film” when talking about a project.

It's her dearest hope to have the opportunity to direct the feature film The Family Way in the near future.

Meet the Crew of Coming Home: Ayla

Meet Ayla Mackinnon, Audio for the "The Family Way: Coming Home".

Ayla is an audio engineer from Sturbridge, MA. who now resides in Saint Petersburg, FL. Her family is full of artists, from painters to musicians, to costume design, to models. Ayla has an upbringing in audio. Her father is a vocalist, and drummer who is a DJ for wedding and corporate parties.

With that being said, from the very beginning, she and her little brother were listening to PA systems and analyzing how a room sounds from the very beginning of their life. As she grew into adulthood, she and her brother Devon attended Saint Petersburg College for MIRA (Music Industry and Recording Arts) where they specialized in production.

The two siblings have always inspired each other to be creative and move forward as professionals into the industry. Today, Ayla is taking the overflow of her brother’s gigs (who started sound mixing in 2010.) This is what started her career in the film industry.

All Ayla wants to do is record audio, and make it sound as great as it is performed. Whether it is recording arts or mixing live audio, she is looking for the sweet spot of the instrument or dialog. When the mic hits that spot, it provides the thrill and passion to continue her career.

Meet the Crew of Coming Home: Garith

 

Meet Garith Pettibone, a Production Assistant for “The Family Way: Coming Home”.

Garith was the force behind Siren Productions becoming Siren Productions Media back in 2008 when he pushed the company off the stage and into doing film projects. He started as the director of photography for Siren's earlier short films and the feature film Psycho Chicks Anonymous before also branching out to do camera work and acting as a production manager for other companies.

He has also been known to appear in front of the camera from time to time in films such as “Of Dice and Men: The Musical”, “Harbinger”, Predatory Moon, “The Figure”, and most recently as a principle character in a feature film that is currently in post-production.

Meet the Crew of Coming Home: Steven

This ambitious man was born in the Bronx of New York, Later he was blessed with the with a life changing event of adoption at age seven, raised in the Southern borough of Brooklyn. Steven shortly after developed an obsession to entertain and bring a happiness which he never knew was inside of him that began to come a natural daily ritual to seeing others smile.
One of his fondest childhood memories being Choreographing varies dance styles to amuses or performing music concerts singing lead vocals or for his new large family and their many social holiday gatherings. Steven credits Ms. Pat , his English and Drama class teacher. She inspired him to practice improvisational skills as well as comedic timing soon allotted him to opportunity’s to perform mock television commercial ad satires for his fellow classmates complete with hand made props. With a passion for his new found hobby he still made time to join the Glee Club Choir.
At this new found coming his academic scores excelled. Steven was rewarded by his guardians to attend the newly released monthly double feature at his local movie theater. It was his best four hour treat of each month, Granted one film was martial art themed and the other was of the horror genre. Steven became intrigued with the mystery of how they were able to preserve the fact that you saw it with your own eyes but yet it was once only words on paper come to life with actors who may have met for the very first time but made you believe in their characters as a whole. It began Stevens goal to not only be able to create but master what he had just witnessed, it was his first calling towards his dreams.
When he moved to Florida at age fifteen he focused on creative writing, drawing and athletics. Highlights from his high school years where singing a ballet in Spanish while playing air guitar at Valencia Community College in a talent contest of his peers, placing at the all district county track heat plus making the Drill team and Saber team in his Airforce R.O.T.C. class. (..and growing a facial hair)
His after-school hobby was breaking down the science of a physical stunts for at this age he had dreams of being a professional stuntman. Steven admits this was one of his wildest and stupidest activities. From climbing over top speeding vehicles to scaling the tallest structures he could find. Regretfully this often got him into trouble. Steven created a big brother program teaching team-building skills whilst living in a group juvenile facility that held children ranging from 7 to 17 in age.
At nineteen, after a brief two minute conversation with a major motion picture actor when working craft services ten feet from the celebrity trailers in MGM Studios Fl before they paraded the star across the park in motorcade. He told me anything was possible if you believe. Steven knew it was inevitable acting was in his destiny yet knew not what would bridge this manifesto.
Wanting to cut cost as a photography hobby became profitable he became employed at an award winning year round haunted attraction with the interest of learning to create professional backdrops, what happened next took Steven by surprise as he landed one of the few outdoor performance character which in turn lead to acting roles for a couple different smaller agencies. From 1998 thru 2000, he managed night clubs donating his free time to Siren Productions (currently Siren Production Media LLC) . Steven aided and learn as many departments as he was given the opportunity , switching hats between photographer to grip to actor and even test stunt dummy if one was called for.
Steven credits the founders of Siren for taking him in and mentoring his craft after the tragic loss of Steven Jr. his child. Stepping out of his managerial duties for a few years and engulfing himself in the art of the craft.
His bodies of work include: PSYDSHOW (stage 1999), An Evening At The Grand Guignol (stage 2000) , Steel Beauties Combat Show (stage 2001-2002) , “Interview” (2009), Psycho Chicks Anonymous (2010), “Intervention” (2010) , Horrorscapes (20110) Predatory Moon (2016), “Real People, not actors” (2016), and “The Figure” (2016)