Vikrant Rona, Review: Ducking in 3D Exotic, lush green locales and serial killing do not go together, but here they do. Vikrant Rona is the name of the protagonist (or is it?), the second part of which, ‘rona’, means ‘crying’ in Hindustani. The ‘n’ is pronounced more harshly in the film, so it is not exactly ‘rona’ but roȠa (approximation). The makers decided to retain this name from the original Kannada, although it could have easily been chan...

Shouters and the ‘control freak’ Empire questions power and social control through exposing the central conflict between Euro-centric and Afro-centric religions. Through the emergence and Prohibition of the Shouter Baptist religion in Trinidad & Tobago, this 28-minute documentary reveals how power, disguised as Prohibition laws instituted by the colonial government, attempted to legislate against a belief system. Yet despite prosecution, the letter of the law could not legislate ...

FROM ON HIGH has been selected to the Festival Internacional de Corto ESMI in Buenos Aires, Argentina, sponsored by the Alianza Francesa de Bella Vista. The film plays March 28-April 16, 2019. FROM ON HIGH is about a Syrian refugee girl who finds a better life in Europe. It has been accepted to over 50 festivals and won 12 awards, in Italy (8), the US, the UK, France and Brazil. Written/helmed and produced by Dawn Westlake under her Ron de Cana Productions, Inc. shingle, FROM ON HIGH was shot/...

FROM ON HIGH has been selected to Asterfest in Strumica, Macedonia for July 26-28, 2019. FROM ON HIGH has now been accepted to 50 festivals and has won 12 awards, in Italy (8), Brazil, the UK, France and the USA. The film tells the story of a Syrian refugee girl who finds a better life in Europe. It was written/helmed and produced by Dawn Westlake under her Ron de Cana Productions, Inc. shingle. Pol Carrizo Vilarroig of Imatge Barcelona shot and edited on location in the province of Catalunya, S...

FROM ON HIGH has just been accepted to its 50th festival! It will play the Portobello Film Festival at The Muse, 269 Portobello Road in London, UK on December 8th at 6pm. Admission is free. Written and helmed by Dawn Westlake and produced by her Ron de Cana shingle, FROM ON HIGH tells the story of a Syrian refugee girl who finds a better life in Europe. The film has won 11 awards, in the USA, the UK, Spain, Brazil, and 7 awards in Italy, including Best Cinematography for Pol Carrizo Vilarroig o...

Both FROM ON HIGH (2017) & POOLING (2018), films from Ron de Cana Productions, Inc. and directed by Dawn Westlake, have been accepted to the 14th annual LA International Children's Film Festival at Plaza de la Raza. The films will screen in a block starting at 4p on Saturday, December 1st, 2018. Admission is free. Both films were shot and edited in Barcelona, Spain by Pol Carrizo Vilarroig of Imatge Barcelona. "Pooling" is a hybrid live-action breakdance/animation/visual effec...

FROM ON HIGH will have its Canadian premiere at the 2018 Silver Wave Film Festival in Fredericton, New Brunswick on November 10th, 2018. Written and helmed by Dawn Westlake and produced by her Ron de Cana Prods, Inc. shingle, the film is about a Syrian refugee girl who finds a better life in Europe. The film has won 10 awards, in the US, UK, Spain and Italy. It was shot and edited on location in Catalunya by Pol Carrizo Vilarroig of Imatge Barcelona. An original score was provided by GC Johnson ...

FROM ON HIGH won the Best Drama Award at the RATMA Film Festival in Keighley, UK this evening. Written and helmed by Dawn Westlake, FROM ON HIGH tells the story of a Syrian girl who finds a better life in Europe. This is the 10th award for FROM ON HIGH and the 65th award for films produced by Westlake's Ron de Cana Productions, Inc. shingle since 2000. DP/Editor Pol Carrizo Vilarroig of Imatge Barcelona won a Best Cinematography Award for FROM ON HIGH during the summer from Festival Carpine...

FROM ON HIGH has won the Prayer Award for Excellence in Intercultural Exchange from the Children's Jury of the Religion Today Film Festival in Trento, Italy, October 4-11, 2018. Children from Italy, France, Germany and Israel participated on the festival jury. This is the 9th prize for FROM ON HIGH. Other awards have come in to director/producer Dawn Westlake and her DP/Editor, Pol Carrizo Vilarroig, and her composer, GC Johnson, from the USA, Spain and Italy since the film was made in Catal...

FROM ON HIGH has been selected to play Le Temps Presse Festival in Paris, France from January 29-February 1, 2019. The film has also been nominated there for a Student Prize with 4 other films. Written and helmed by Dawn Westlake, FROM ON HIGH tells the story of a Syrian refugee girl who finds a better life in Europe. It has been accepted to 45 festivals and won 8 awards, in the US, Spain and Italy (6). It was shot and edited on location in Catalunya, Spain by Pol Carrizo Vilarroig of Imatge Bar...

FROM ON HIGH has been accepted to two more festivals, Sandpoint Film Festival in Sandpoint, Idaho, USA & DiversimaCine in A Coruna, Galicia, Spain, both for November. FROM ON HIGH was filmed in Barcelona, Collsuspina, and La Sala de Sant Llogari, Catalunya, Spain in September 2017 by Pol Carrizo Vilarroig of Imatge Barcelona. It tells the story of a Syrian refugee girl who finds a better life in Europe. Since its completion in the fall of 2017, FROM ON HIGH has been accepted to 41 film festi...

"From On High" has been accepted to the 26th annual Fesancor Film Festival in Santiago, Chile for October 22-29, 2018 and to Festival de Cine de Tres Passos in Tres Passos, Brazil for November 6-10, 2018. Written and helmed by Dawn Westlake, "From On High" tells the story of a Syrian refugee girl who finds a better life in Europe. The film has been accepted to 40 festivals and other venues since it was made in Barcelona, Spain in September 2017. It's won 8 awards in the U...

"From On High" has been selected to play out of competition in the 8th annual Festival Internacional de Cine Politico in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 17-23, 2018. Written and helmed by Dawn Westlake, the film is about a Syrian refugee girl who finds a better life in Europe. It marks the professional acting debut of 11-year-olds Zoe Pinell Lopez and Esteve Serra Coll. "From On High" was shot on location in Barcelona, Collsuspina and La Sala de Sant Llogari in the Catalunya pr...

"From On High" will have its French premiere with Festival Retours du Monde in St. Jean-St. Nicolas, France May 23-26, 2018. The film, shot and edited in the Barcelona area of Catalunya by Pol Carrizo Vilarroig of Imatge Barcelona, is about a young Syrian refugee girl who finds a better life in Europe. An original score was provided by GC Johnson of Acoustic Labs. "From On High" was written, helmed and produced by Dawn Westlake under her Ron de Cana Productions shingle out o...

Ron de Cana Productions' "From On High" has been selected to MUESTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CORTOMETRAJE SOLIDARIO Y SENSIBIIZACION DE CIUDAD REAL-ESPAÑA running from November 20-30, 2017. The film was written and directed by Dawn Westlake. This will be the Spanish premiere of "From On High", which was shot and edited on location in Collsuspina, La Sala de Sant Llogari and Barcelona, Spain. Pol Carrizo Vilarroig of Imatge Barcelona was DP/Editor, and the film was scored...