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Local Filmmaker's Movie On Child Abuse Makes Premiere

Photo from CRAIG LITTEN

'Gisela's Closet' stars 9-year-old Ande Morgan of Valrico. All of the actors are from the Tampa area.

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 19, 2008

Updated: 12/19/2008 01:07 pm

TAMPA - A young girl with long, dark hair backs away from a closed door. Moments later, she curls into a ball at the foot of a bed as an adult enters, unrolling a belt like a strap.

The images appear on YouTube in the trailer of "Gisela's Closet," a new 25-minute film about child abuse developed by a local filmmaker and starring local actors. Inspired by news reports of child abuse and neglect, the film shows how the fictional Gisela finds refuge in a fantasy land in her closet.

"I wanted to get into the child's point of view," filmmaker Ben Rosa said, describing how the gothic fairy tale of "Pan's Labyrinth" had captivated him. "Kids interpret their trauma in a fantasy world."

"Gisela's Closet" premieres at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Carrollwood Cultural Center, 4357 Lowell Road. Admission is $5, Rosa said.

Rosa plans to submit the film to the Sarasota, Gasparilla and Sunscreen film festivals for wider distribution next year.

Rosa, who has a 2-year-old daughter, said he was so troubled by news reports of imperiled children that he felt the urge to do something. He wrote "Gisela's Closet" this year with friend Steve Beaudry of New Port Richey.

He included the state's abuse hot line at the end of the film.

"Maybe it [the film] can educate people about the problem," he said.

Rosa owns Stairway Studios, a Tampa graphic design and digital production company. He shot "Gisela's Closet" with "zero dollars," using students from the International Academy of Design and Technology as the crew.

Nine-year-old Ande Morgan of Valrico plays Gisela. Rosa met her a year ago when filming a music video, also on YouTube, for her portfolio. "She wanted something to challenge her, so I gave her the script. She just ate it up," he said.

Ann Morgan, Ande's mother, let Rosa use their house as the set. She said she read the script beforehand to "make sure it wasn't too much" for her daughter to handle.

The cast also includes Jan E. Ray as Gisela's mother, a stressed-out nurse in the midst of a divorce; Rachel Barcellona as the imaginary Princess Helga; and some of Ande's classmates from Buckhorn Elementary School as extras.

A low-tech effect – filming in color – signifies Gisela's fantasy world. Her reality appears in black-and-white. "It's very easy to do, and very effective," Rosa said.

Ann Morgan hadn't seen the finished product, but from the filming and the trailer, "it's heart-wrenching," she said. She was proud her daughter was part of the project.

"I'm glad Ben made this film," she said. "I think people need to know this can happen anywhere."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.

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