Experiencing Interruptions?

A Nice Guy

Kenneth is furious when Dana takes an interest in their eccentric co-worker Jamie, frustrated at being overlooked himself. With Jamie lending unexpected wisdom, and Dana sharing her darkest secret, Kenneth learns that relationships can be much more complicated than they appear. Facing their misconceptions head on, what begins as an innocent flirtation, turns into three people from distinct walks of life learning about themselves and each other.

  • Shae D'lyn
    Director
  • Hamad Al-Tourah
    Director
  • Dominique Nieves
    Writer
  • Dominique Nieves
    Producer
  • Dominique Nieves
    Key Cast
    "Dana"
  • Amilcar Javier
    Key Cast
    "Jamie"
  • Kelvin Grullon
    Key Cast
    "Kenneth"
  • Dominique Nieves
    Casting Director
  • Shae D'lyn
    Art Director
  • Sam Schmitz
    Cinematographer / DP
  • Carlos Berrios
    Colorist, Editor, Sound Editor, Sound Mixer
  • Taylor D. Martin
    Production Assistant
  • Peggy Sheretz
    Script Supervisor
  • Igor Kuwonu
    Key Grip
  • Jackie Mitchell
    Boom Operator, Sound Recordist
  • Ariana Draper
    Makeup Artist
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 28, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Shae D'lyn, Hamad Al-Tourah

In addition to her twenty years as a working actress on stage and in film, Shae also directs and produces theater, film, and television productions. Her film “Morir Para Ser Libre” was featured in the Boston Film Festival, “Contragolpe” won the Coco de Oro festival, and her documentary “El Coro en Japon” was featured on public television in Puerto Rico. Her feature-length documentary “Los Vandalos” about the struggle between the power structure and graffiti artists fighting to have a personal voice, premiered at the Latino Film Festival of Los Angeles.

Her project, “HEARME – The Imagine Project” won the Audience Award at the Elevate Film Festival from its 5,000 attendees. The film connects orphans in Iraq, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Puerto Rico and Compton through music. To further peace and brotherhood, Shae and her producer partner Kevin Jackson donated music studios to each orphanage and asked the children to create their own song based on John Lennon’s “Imagine." Because the project inspired such a profound reaction, both from the children and the audience, they founded a nonprofit, HEARME, Inc. to carry the vision forward.

Her recent acting credits include Nicole Holofcener's "Can You Ever Forgive Me" as Nell opposite Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant, "Gypsy" as Margaret opposite Naomi Watts, "Orange is the New Black" as Mary-Bethany opposite Taylor Schilling, and Woody Allen's "Cafe Society" as Carlotta.

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Director Statement

A Nice Guy was inspired by Dominique Nieves' work in sexual violence response and prevention, and the daunting statistics of intimate partner violence in Puerto Rico- having one of the highest rates in the world. The film is essential in the wake of the Me Too campaign. Sexual assault occurs in film, but the complexities of assault are rarely tackled. This film highlights distinct perspectives on the consent and explores everyday acts of harassment and the difficulty in defining assault.

We purposely never use the word "rape" in our film. Survivors are expected to tell their stories, but it isn't an easy thing to repeat. Since everyday acts of assault are still deemed acceptable by society, victims who come forward are consequently dismissed. We want to challenge people to rethink their definitions of consent, coercion, and assault.

Nieves, writer-producer-actress, wanted to tell this story because of her experience feeling hypersexualized by the gaze of others as a direct result of her Latinidad. The film is inspired by the unfortunate rate of violence on the island, but sexual assault and intimate partner violence are a universal issue. The Latinx cast of characters, is having a conversation that is still taboo in the Latinx community, but on-screen, they are simply people dealing with an unfortunately common issue. Jamie is the one to ultimately get through to Kenneth, because the impetus needs to be on men to start changing the culture that contributes to violence against women.

The confrontation between Dana and Kenneth was filmed in a smaller room to emphasize how trapped she is, not only by his misogyny, but also by her past experience with violence. Some people think rape is something that is over quickly, but the victim is constantly confronted with the resulting trauma. The final scene, in which Jamie piles the boxes onto Kenneth is inspired by the ‘Carry That Weight’ artistic project at Columbia University, and symbolizes that it’s Kenneth’s turn to carry the weight that Dana was previously carrying alone. The visual tone was inspired by Wes Anderson, and reflects an innocence in each of the characters.

A Nice Guy has had a very successful festival run, screening at various festivals including HBO's NY Latino Film Festival, Official Latino Short Film Festival, and Allen Maldonado's Everybody Digital Film Festival.