"Opportunity Knocks" Honored with CINE Golden Eagle Award

Silver Beach Productions and BusEye Films are pleased to announce Palm Beach County filmmakers Aaron Wells and Suzanne Niedland have won a prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Award for their film Opportunity Knocks. Since its founding in 1957, CINE has been dedicated to discovering, rewarding, educating, and supporting established and emerging talent in film and video. The CINE Golden Eagle is recognized internationally as a symbol of the highest production standards in film-making.

“This award recognizes the excellence of your production,” writes Mary Frost, Chair of the CINE Competition Committee. “It is a pleasure to acknowledge the excellent film-making craftsmanship evident in Opportunity Knocks.”

CINE Golden Eagle winners include such internationally recognized artists and producers/directors as Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Ken Burns, Mel Brooks, and many others. CINE’s honorary awards have been presented to such industry leaders as Executive Vice President of HBO Sheila Nevins, the pioneering comedy team The Smothers Brothers, entrepreneur and innovator Ted Turner, USA Network and Sci-Fi Network President Bonnie Hammer, and preeminent film critic Roger Ebert.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized,” states Wells. “The CINE is a prestigious award, and we’re thrilled to be in the company of some of the heavyweights of the film and television industries.”

Opportunity Knocks is a dark comedy about a distraught woman who’s suicide attempt via poisoned tea is interrupted when Death’s bumbling bureaucratic assistant arrives early—causing “mortis interruptis”. The film stars Tristan Rogers as Death, Niedland as suicidal Luci, and Tim Powell as Death’s assistant, Mr. Morehead. Wells directed as well as edited the film. It was shot in HD on a Panasonic HVX200 entirely in Palm Beach County, Florida.

“Sitting down to a cup of tea with Death? It’s very surreal,” chuckles Rogers, a veteran of over 40 films and television programs, best know for his legendary role as Robert Scorpio in the ABC soap opera General Hospital. Regarding the win Roger’s adds, “Cream always rises to the surface.”

According to Niedland, “Being recognized by our peers is a true honor and makes receiving a CINE Golden Eagle an important award for any filmmaker.” This is Niedland’s second CINE Golden Eagle, the first being in 2005 for her short documentary, Miss Lil’s Camp.

In the Fall 2007 competition, over 300 judges viewed and evaluated hundreds of distinguished entries. Experienced professionals in the field of film and video production, as well as subject matter experts, serve in a volunteer capacity. They judge the entries using standards of overall excellence, evaluating such criteria as storytelling, production value, artistry, the extent to which the film meets its stated goals and communicates with it’s intended audience, and overall excellence.

CINE Awards are greatly valued in the moving-image industries. As a CINE Golden Eagle winner, Opportunity Knocks is eligible for the CINE Special Jury Awards, based on a “best of category” determination by panels of distinguished jurors. Special Jury Awards winners in turn automatically compete for CINE’s top film and video honors—the CINE Masters Series Awards, which recognize the highest-ranking winners in five professional divisions, and the CINE Award of Excellence for the most deserving student/non-professional work. The CINE Masters Series Awards are sponsored by Henninger Media Services, which is providing a total of $25,000 in film and video services to the winners. The CINE Award of Excellence is sponsored by Eastman Kodak, which has traditionally provided product grants to winners and runners up, and an invitation to the producer of the best student film to join the Kodak delegation at a prestigious film festival or other valuable networking event.

Wells and Niedland are currently in development on a feature-length television pilot and series based on Opportunity Knocks. In addition, the short film continues to be well received on the festival circuit.

Opportunity Knocks held its world premiere at the 12th Annual Palm Beach International Film Festival in April of 2007, where it opened for the feature film a Lobster Tale. Much of Opportunity Knocks‘ cast and crew were in attendance, including Rogers who also hosted the Black Tie Gala. Nearly 200 film-goers turned out for the premiere including several of Rogers’ fans traveled over 1,000 miles to be part of the festivities.