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Damned If I Do

Juan Garcia is an immigrant from Mexico, newly smuggled into the United States, his only desire is to provide a life for his daughter back home. With the help of a kind stranger, Juan manages to rent a room but next door to someone he assumes is preying upon helpless naïve women. With no evidential proof, Juan still with no doubt believes his neighbor’s activities are nefarious. Faced with a decision to call the police and get deported, or take matters into his own hands, Juan’s moral conundrum is just the beginning of his problems. In addition, the neighbor has a secret identity that increases the risk and consequence of Juan’s decision.

  • Jeffery A. Thompson
    Director
  • Jeffery A. Thompson
    Writer
  • Jacqueline Horton
    Producer
  • Jeffery A. Thompson
    Producer
  • Orlando Pineda
    Key Cast
    "Juan Garcia"
  • John Wilcox
    Key Cast
    "Mike Harris "
  • Sadie Johannsson
    Key Cast
    "Motel Receptionist/Owner"
  • Alexander Suarez
    Key Cast
    "James"
  • Bobby Reed
    Key Cast
    "Detective O’Reilly"
  • Malachi Beasley
    Key Cast
    "Detective Mitchell"
  • Divine Apex Films & Productions
    Damned If I Do
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    35 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 15, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    40,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Jeffery A. Thompson

Jeffery A. Thompson is from Chicago Illinois originally, but now resides in Georgia. The youngest of two siblings, Jeff has always had a love and deep appreciation for the art of cinema and film scoring. He is the founder and Co-owner of Divine Apex Films and productions. Jeff aspires to entertain a multicultural / multigenerational audience with thought provoking dialogue, visuals and unique storyline concepts, plus raise social awareness / consciousness through cinematic artistic expressions.

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Director Statement

"Damned If I Do" is special to me because this was a project with many challenges and has evolved my directing & writing ability on so many levels. I wrote the script with the intention of showcasing my business partner and Co-Owner of Divine Apex Films Jacqueline Horton's (film composer) musical brilliance. I also wanted to take movie lovers back to a time when a film score can be just as if not more engaging than the visuals on screen. By giving her a dramatic visual landscape to interpret musically, I feel this film has accomplished that goal, and I look forward to creating many more in my directing future. The actors that we chose for this movie are extremely talented and gifted in the art of emotionally compelling physical story telling.
It also was an honor to work with 2 time Grammy award winning recording sound engineer Brian Losch. He engineered a high quality score mix on par with other Academy award winning movie soundtracks. Along with fellow audio editing colleague Gintas Norvila, they provided so many detailed atmospheric nuances with their realistic sound design and dialogue editing.
Editor Jacob Ross gave the film a suspenseful nail biting pacing that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Overall this was a intense educational and at some times stressful experience, but I wouldn't change it for the world.