Press Photos
UNCSA alum
nus Edward
Varnie is gear
ing up to direct
his first full
length film,
"Law of the
Land"
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t
UNCSA ALUM SET TO FILM
DEBUT FEATURE IN WINSTON
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
Just over a year after
completing his degree,
UNC School of the Arts
alumnus Edward Varine
is returning to Winston
Salem for the first major
project of his profession
al career.
Varine, a native of
Anaheim, Calif., and his
crew are slated to spend
19 days next month in
and around downtown
Winston-Salem filming
"The Law of the Land,"
Varine's first feature
length film.
Billed as a crime
thriller, "Law of the
Land" has been a labor of
love for the 28-year-old,
whose passion for film
making dates back to his
days of watching Bruce
Lee films as a preteen.
The project began as a
short film Varine penned
for a sophomore thesis
project several years ago.
The film explores the
internal conflict experi
enced by a professional
hitman. Ash Jones, who
begins to question the
morality of his profession
after falling in love.
"He let somebody get
close and then all of a
sudden, the code that he
lives by gets called into
question," explained
Varine, the second of
three children. "...
Ultimately, we see him
make some decisions that
are definitely going to
affect the rest of his life."
Kwame Patterson, of
HBO's "The Wire" fame,
has already signed on as
the film's principal actor.
Varine contacted
Patterson via social
media about 18 months
ago and says he was
encouraged by the veter
an actor's positive
response.
"1 sent him the script
and he loved it - he's
been with it since day
one," Varine said of
Patterson, who currently
appears on the Showtime
drama "Ray Donovan."
"We've been very fortu
nate to have an estab
lished actor ... to openly
commit to the project."
Producer Gabrielle
Lui, a 2013 UNCSA
alumna, met with
Patterson during a visit to
Los Angeles last year and
said she is thrilled about
the prospect of working
with him.
"I am so excited that
he is part of the project,"
she declared. "Kwame
seems very down to earth
and very well suited for
this role."
The film serves as a
commentary on the war
on drugs and fulfills a
long-held desire to cast
an African American in a
leading role in a hitman
film, Varine said.
"The war on drugs
influences everybody,"
commented the Charlotte
resident. "Every charac
ter is a representation of
what the War on Drugs
does to our community."
The crew, which
includes a host of
UNCSA grads, is operat
ing on what Varine calls a
"super duper micro"
V
budget.
"The only budget is
love, passion, creativity
and support from my
partners," he said. "But
what we really do have a
lot of is just really being
passionate,
believing in
the project.
'We're in this
together,'
that's kind of
our motto."
V a r i n e
credits
UNCSA - and
the many men
tors he has
there - with
Lui
giving him the knowl
edge and the courage to
chase his dreams as a
filmmaker.
"The school's a spe
cial place," he said. "1
like to call it the dream
factory because it's all
about getting your
dreams out to the highest
level possible."
The Oval Office, a
barber shop on Fourth
Street, will serve as the
"hub" for Ash's criminal
activity in the film. The
crew is currently working
to secure other filming
sites and seeking a local
retailer to donate clothes
for the cast that would be
showcased in the film,
said Lui, who has been
involved with the project
for over two years.
Like many independ
ent films, "Law of the
Land" has grappled with
its share of challenges,
the largest of which is
securing funding to make
the film. Production was
postponed from May to
August because of fund
ing concerns, and the
crew is still actively
working to secure funds
to cover production costs
through a variety of chan
nels, including a cam
paign promoting the film
on uic lunuiais
ing site
indiegogo.com,
Lui explained.
"We've been
trying to reach
out to as many
people as we
can," stated the
Jackson, Tenn.
native. "...We
need more
money - that is
always the hardest part."
Despite the setbacks.
Varine is optimistic about
the film's progress.
"You're working with
people who believe in the
project," he said. "Of
course you have those
moments when you don't
know how you're going
to get from (point) A to
Z, but you do know
you're going to get to Z,
and that's all that mat
ters."
Lui, who already has
several producing or co
producing credits to her
name, also has high
hopes for "Law."
"It'd be great if we
could get it in a top tier
film festival like
Sundance or Toronto or
South by Southwest," she
said. "We'd love to get
into one of those festivals
and get onto Netflix.
We'd be beyond excited
if we got that."
Wherever the film
takes him, "Law" has
been an important and
rewarding step in his
career, Varine said.
"The bottom line is
for somebody to believe
in you as a storyteller and
that you can bring it all
together - that's the most
encouraging part," he
commented. "Really, it's
just about a group of peo
ple believing in one
another. That's the bot
tom line."
Varine says he can't
wait for cameras to start
rolling next month.
"With each and every
moment of every day,
we're getting closer to
making it happen, so I
feel really good about it,"
he declared. "We're ready
to get started."
Donations to "Law of
the Land" can be made at
www.indiegogo.com/pro
jects/law-of-the-land
through Friday. July 12.
For more information
about donating clothes,
food and/or other prod
ucts and services, email
lawofthelandfilms? gmai
1.com
Actor Kwame Patterson has signed on to star.
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r n?
Public input
sought as Sheriffs
department seeks
accreditation
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
A team of assessors from the Commission on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.
(CALEA) will be in town from from July 13-16 to
examine all aspects of the Forsyth County Sheriff's
Office policy and procedures, management, operations
and support services for reaccreditation, according to
Sheriff William T. "Bill" Schatzman.
The assessment team consists of the Chief Deputy
Brad Slater from Cache County Sheriff's Office in
Utah and Chief of Police Wayne Isbell of the Mount
Pleasant Police
Department in Mount
Pleasant, Texas.
As part of the on-site
assessment, agency per
sonnel and members of the
community are invited to
offer comments at a public
information session on
July 15 from 6-8 p.m.
The session will be con
ducted in the Sgt. James
M. Johnson Memorial
Training Room of the
Forsyth County Sheriff's
Office, 120 W. Third St.
If for some reason an
individual cannot speak at
Sheriff Schatzman
I
the public intormation session but would still like to
provide comments to the assessment team, he or she
may do so by telephone on July 15 from 1 - 3 p.m.
The public may call the Forsyth County Sheriff's
Office at 336- 917-7315 to speak to the assessors.
Telephone comments, as well as appearances at the
public information session, are limited to 10 minutes
and must address the agency's ability to comply with
CALEA Standards. A copy of the standards is avail
able at the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office or from the
Sheriff's Accreditation Specialist Lewis Wayne Moore
at 336-917-7405. Persons wishing to offer written
comments about the ability of the Forsyth County
Sheriff's Office to meet the standards for accreditation
are requested to write to the Commission -on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.
(CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320.
Gainesville, Virginia 20155-6660.
Sheriff Schatzman states the assessment team is
responsible for verifying that the Forsyth County
Sheriff's Office meets the Commission's state-of-the
art standards as part of the voluntary process for
CALEA reaccreditation - a highly prized recognition
of public safety professional excellence.
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