Among the great response we’ve received from the re-issue of Inheritance, some of our collaborators and fans asked when Glazed may get a similar treatment.   With the speed and processing power available to us today that we didn’t have then, we figured, why not.  So we’ve completely remastered Glazed from it’s original source material realizing many of the color and visual effects we weren’t able to do first time around.

In addition to it’s new look, we’ve also updated the official website www.glazed.notafraid.com and created a Facebook Fan Page to help spread the word and hopefully enlist some new fans.  So please become a fan and share it with your friends.

Enjoy.

64 Years ago today, April 11th, 1945, the US Army liberated the Buchenwald Concentration camp in Germany.    12 years ago,  my grandfather, Anthony Cuoco passed on, and in the aftermath we discovered that he had been there.  He never talked about it.  We were never able to hear the details first hand, but through those pictures I began to dig and research,  and the culmination of that research and his photos was my first short film, Inheritance.

The film was very much a labor of love, but much more than that I felt a responsibility to make sure this story was told.  I had the tools, the training, the knowledge, and the proof.

My friend and producer Jeff Loach and I poured our hearts and souls into making the film happen.  Jeff as the amazing producer that he is, wouldn’t rest until we secured Harrison Young our first choice to play my Grandfather.

The film debuted April 9th 2005 at the San Fernando Valley International Film Festival,  just two days prior to the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald.  The timing was not lost on me, and I felt there was more to it than serendipity.  Harrison Young, passed away only a few short months later.

Recently, I have seen a spate of blog posts, you tube videos, and other hateful communications saying that these concentration camps never existed.  That the  holocaust was a massive conspiracy.  I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears, even though my research had told me that 17% of American’s don’t believe this happened, it seems that worldwide those numbers are even greater.  For a moment I felt like a failure.  That despite my best efforts, we as human beings are doomed to repeat these horrible atrocities.  In the news, I see examples of ethnic cleansing still happening today and I’m sick to my stomach.

Then I received an e-mail from a history teacher in Bradenton, FL.  He had watched the film online on IMDB.com, and contacted me to get a copy of the film to show is students, telling me that, “It says more in less than 10 minutes than I could tell them myself in 90 minutes.”    I remembered, that this wasn’t the first such request.  I had received dozens over the years including a man from Italy who asked for a transcript since the online version had no subtitles.  While others can post world-wide about how it never happened, I can still provide that much needed counter-point.

So today, on the 64th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald, I am making the film available online for the first time in it’s full resolution via Vimeo.com.  I will also be releasing the the film to the public on DVD in cooperation with Amazon.com, and will be donating all proceeds from the sale of these DVD’s to the American Veterans Association and the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.

I know many have you reading this have seen it previously at film festivals, personal screenings, and on-line, but I urge you to please watch it again, then pass it on.  Share the links,  forward the e-mails, talk about it with your kids.  As I wrote in the film, “This can not happen again.”

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Paul Cuoco

Mercy Now Available on DVD

After a successful run on the festival circuit, MERCY is now available for purchase on DVD!

To celebrate the release (and let’s face it, to entice some of you to buy) we’ve cut together a new trailer!  Watch it below or click through to Vimeo to see it High Definition.

The special edition DVD is available exclusively through Amazon.com, for only $10 USD.  We’ve put a lot of work into putting as much entertaining information as possible into the DVD while simultaneously showcasing the work of some extraordinarily talented collaborators who helped make MERCY a reality.

First, watch the 14-minute mini-action-mystery-movie, featuring special effects, swordplay, and the “Breakout Action Star of the Year” as a sexy siren in a plaid skirt… and then experience a multitude of special features. THREE commentaries featuring director Tony Teofilo and actors Emilee Harris and James Pomichter, photo galleries, concept art, a music-only track, test footage, alternate scenes, and DVD-ROM features that allow you to download production art for your own use.

So please click through and pick up a copy, then head back to Amazon.com and write us a review to let us know what you think.  If you’ve already seen the film at a film festival, private screening, or from a review copy, we’d love for you to leave a review on Amazon.com as well.  The more positive reviews, the more likely someone who doesn’t know about Mercy might take a chance on her, and we want her story to be viewed by as many people as possible.

Thank you all for your support!

Copyright notice

Mike from HD For Indies linked up to this pretty cool video of how they created a new performance from Marlon Brando in Superman Returns using old footage from the original Superman remapped on a 3D model. Pretty amazing stuff and they even show the stumbling blocks they came across on the way.