THE RACE - With American Sign Language Interpretation (storytelling style) by Charley Valo and English subtitles.Winner of 80 international film festival laurels (including BEST CHILDREN & FAMILY FILM and BEST MUSICAL FILM), Opera Modesto's world premiere youth opera movie is a joy for all ages. THE RACE brings five famous Aesop's Fables to joyful life in this whimsical live action film, starring 19 youth artists ages 11-19 years old from the Central Valley of California.
Award winning composer, Deborah Kavasch and lyricist Linda Bunney-Sarhad have created a musical delight, conducted by Liisa Davila. 24 year old director Carolina Stevens makes a stunning debut, winning BEST DIRECTOR laurels in international film festivals around the world. Filmmaker and editor Michael Everett of The Creation Lab also won laurels for his work on THE RACE. Outstanding young costumer Keilani Gleave from Hollywood creates an award winning tapestry of charming "animal" looks combined with text embedded in the fabric, so that the characters appear to have stepped right off the page.
Younger children seem to be mesmerized by the movie and watch it over and over. Older children are startled to see teens performing "opera." Adults are amazed to see young people performing "opera" so seriously and with such obvious enjoyment. All are surprised to find themselves humming the tunes.
THE RACE is centered on "The Tortoise and the Hare," which then becomes entangled with "The Bear and the Bees," "The Hares and the Frogs," "The Fox and the Grapes" and "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," before the conclusion of the race between the Tortoise and the Hare. Excited sportscasters from FNN (Fable News Network) follow the action from beginning to end.