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CASTING CALL! Hollywood seeks
children with disabilities for upcoming film
"We are
seeking to cast physically challenged twin girls (age 9-12) to
portray identical twins Alba and Anastasia Somoza, who have
cerebral palsy...We know we may not find twins for these roles
and are open to individual girls. We are also open to girls with
any physical disability and not limited to cerebral palsy."
Bridges4Kids,
June 16, 2003
For more articles like this
visit
https://www.bridges4kids.org.
Recently, we received an email about a casting call for an
upcoming movie. The email solicited our help in spreading
the word to the disability community. We asked for more
information. Here is the response that we received
directly from a casting associate:
"Yes, we are
definitely looking for disabled children to play the roles of
twins Anastasia and Alba Somoza in "Conquistadora." I have
attached at the bottom of this e-mail <below> more detailed
information about the film and our search. Any help that you can
give us with getting the word out would be greatly appreciated.
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to give
me a call."
Thanks again!
Kendra Castleberry
Casting Associate, "Conquistadora"
Heidi Levitt Casting
7201 Melrose Ave., Ste. 203
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323)525-0800 (phone)
(323)525-0843 (fax)
Conquistadora
A screenplay by Marianne Leone
Mary Somoza is a flame haired, Dublin-born freedom fighter
who fights for the rights of her severely disabled twin
daughters. From their Hell’s Kitchen tenement, recent immigrants
Mary and Gerardo Somoza struggle for the survival of their
family and to keep their marriage intact when the New York City
school system refuses to educate their girls, a right guaranteed
them by federal law. Told from the perspective of Alba, the
nonverbal twin’s inner voice outlines a story of passion,
conflict and fierce determination.
In her fight to get the girls the help they need, Mary exposes a
system clogged with indifference and insensitivity. The normally
simple process of enrolling the twins in public school becomes a
groundbreaking struggle over basic human rights, involving the
President of the United States and revealing the power one
indomitable individual can still wield over "the powers that
be." By fighting the injustices on behalf of her own children,
and becoming an advocate for all disabled children she has
become in the words of her husband Gerardo, a true
Conquistadora.
The director of CONQUISTADORA is Broadway legend and two time
Tony Award Nominee Arvin Brown, who has guided the likes of Al
Pacino, Meryl Streep, Stockard Channing, John Lithgow and Al
Pacino to some of their finest stage performances and for thirty
years was the Artistic Director of one of the greatest regional
theaters, New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre. "Conquistadora" will
be his first theatrical feature film.
The Cast Includes:
Multi-Oscar
Winner Meryl Streep as the Narrator
Oscar Winner Chris Cooper as Salem
Laura San Giacomo as the Daily News Reporter who breaks
the story
CONQUISTADORA will be produced by ‘bel films. Andrea Simon,
Joseph Burga and Peter McAlevey will serve as producers.
Marianne Leone, the writer of CONQUISTADORA, is also the mother
of a 15 year old son, who has cerebral palsy.
About ‘bel films
The idea for ‘bel films was born in March of 2002 as a personal
response to Joseph Burga’s family’s involvement in the Sept. 11
attacks. With the help of founding officers, M. George
Stevenson, Peter McAlevey and Carolyn Dahm Mulry, 'bel films has
gone from a desire for more entertainment that encourages the
kind of heroism seen amid that tragedy to a production company
actively creating such films.
'bel films' objective is to find, develop and produce motion
pictures and television shows for families that will keep the
entire family glued to their seats and provide them with a
vehicle for stimulating conversation about values and the
ethical choices the characters exhibit, and expand those
conversations to how they equate to a family’s own life
situations. We hope to illuminate issues which bring the family
together for discussion, bonding in relating opinions and ideas,
thus learning about each other, the world in which we live and
how each individual sees that world. The company’s resources are
focused on locating original and classic scripts, books,
magazine articles and other topical sources, that can provide
families not only with inspirational stories, but also
true-to-life examples of some of the dilemma’s which children,
young adults and families face. For writers, directors,
producers and actors, we intend to provide vehicles that will
both exhibit and extend their talent and allow them to take part
in creating works that, like the films of Hollywood’s golden
age, will excite, educate and entertain cross-generational
audiences, everywhere!
Our Casting Challenge…
Heidi Levitt (Casting Director) has succeeded in casting first
time actors from Macauley Culkin to Hiep Thi Le (a Vietnamese
refugee) in Oliver Stone’s Heaven and Earth. Monika Mikkelsen
(Casting Director) has worked on such well-known films as
Serving Sara and Nurse Betty.
And now the hunt is on again! We are seeking to cast
physically challenged twin girls (age 9-12) to portray identical
twins Alba and Anastasia Somoza, who have cerebral palsy. Both
girls are wheelchair bound and Alba is only able to speak
through artificial/mechanical means. Both girls have winning
personalities matched with determination and a disposition that
truly sparkles. We know we may not find twins for these roles
and are open to individual girls. We are also open to girls with
any physical disability and not limited to cerebral palsy.
The film is scheduled to begin principal photography in New York
and Los Angeles in September 2003.
It is of tantamount importance that we reach out to the
community of physically challenged children to portray this
story with the utmost degree of realism and integrity. Moreover,
we want to offer the opportunity to be in a film to those who
seldom get the chance.
If you or someone you know might be interested…
Please send a recent picture, contact information, and a resume
(if available) to:
Kendra Castleberry (Casting Associate)
c/o Conquistadora Casting
7201 Melrose Ave., Ste. 203
Los Angeles, CA 90046
And if you have any questions or want to know more about the
project you can call Kendra at (323)525-0800 or e-mail at
KIC1023@aol.com.
Thank you for your interest. Together, we can make an impact!
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