{"id":1593,"date":"2020-03-04T02:04:34","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T02:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/?p=1593"},"modified":"2020-03-04T02:04:37","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T02:04:37","slug":"astrid-ovalles-award-winning-feature-film-road-of-bygones-coming-to-amazon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/?p=1593","title":{"rendered":"Astrid Ovalles\u2019 Award-Winning Feature Film Road Of Bygones Coming to Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Mona Elyafi <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Award-winning writer, actress, and\nfilmmaker Astrid Ovalles has a lot to be grateful for these days! Her\nlatest kinky dark comedic feature length drama, Road of Bygones, is set to be\nreleased on Amazon March 15th<\/sup> 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Road of Bygones tells the story of three women\nwho embark on a road trip to retrieve the ashes of a figure from the past.\nHoping to find closure at their destination, the women are confronted with a\nseries of self-destructive, sometimes hilarious, events that threaten to\ndestroy all harmony between them. \nA journey of laughter and melancholy in the slice-of-life of wonderfully\nflawed characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written and directed by Astrid Ovalles, the\nfilm stars Sarah Jo Ovalles, Oriana Oppice and Astrid Ovalles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Road of Bygones tackles the taboo topic of BDSM and kink\nrelationships breaking the stigma typically associated with both terms. In\nfact, Ovalles masterfully goes where no other filmmakers have gone before\neffectively normalizing this taboo sexual practice. Yet Road of Bygones is\nabove it all a beautiful story about humanity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venezuelan-born actor, writer, and director,\nAstrid Ovalles debuted her film career with the award-winning and globally\nacclaimed short film “Camp Belvidere.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New Yorker and founder of Recluse Films\nsplits her time between film and painting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She continues to collaborate with filmmakers\nin front of the camera as an actor and behind it as a writer, director, editor,\nand colorist. Her goal is to use heart and innovation in the film medium to\nshare powerful, human stories that benefit minorities by bringing them to the\nforefront of her work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We caught up with the incredibly talented\nOvalles to learn more about the film, her career and the upcoming Amazon\nrelease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– How did the idea for Road of\nBygones come to life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oriana and I had done a scene in acting class\nwhere we played sisters, and the chemistry felt addicting to both of us. After\nthat scene, I brainstormed for years about the scene and how to build upon that\nchemistry. I also wanted to do something with D\/s (Domination and submission) relationships,\nsomething blatant. So, I thought I would put these three women in a place where\nthe option to leave the room was not available, and let them get into\ninevitable trouble. I had also seen a lot of shows that made D\/s relationships\nstem from a place of abuse, and being a dominant myself, I felt like this film\nwould present an opportunity to have a healthy D\/s lifestyle represented on\nscreen, especially within the lesbian and bisexual community. I feel as though\nD\/s people don’t have a seat at the LGBT table. To me, “Road of\nBygones” felt like an opportunity to begin breaking that stigma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Why was it important for you\nto make this movie?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I usually don’t care much for autobiographical\nwork. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go before non-vanilla people\ndon’t have to tiptoe around the nature of our relationships. I was welcomed\nwith open arms after our first lesbian movie (a rather vanilla romance), but\nonce Sarah (who plays Ally and is also my wife) and I came out as  D\/s, a lot of people in the lesbian and\nbisexual community harassed us online, saying we were “sick” and\nclaimed that the premise of being a submissive woman was rooted in\nanti-feminism. Quite a low blow for a feminist like myself. In a way, our own\ncommunity treated us in the same way they ask not to be treated. So, it felt\nlike we had a responsibility to educate people about this dynamic through our\nwork, as well as to include D\/s lesbians and bisexuals in film, so that people\nlike us felt as though there was no need to hide because we were celebrating\nthem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– What makes this film a\nMUST-SEE? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s different, it’s innovative, it’s\nexciting. I watch a lot of lesbian cinema because I am as starved for content\nas the next lesbian. However, I crave more than romance stories. I crave\nstories of all kinds that happen to have lesbians and bisexuals as leads, I\nassume members of the audience feel the same and would like the same variety.\n“Road of Bygones” will make you laugh, cry, question things about\nyourself and perhaps give you a taste of what it’s like to be honest about\nrelationships that differ from the norm. It’s a good time! It’s also worth\nnoting that all leading ladies identify as lesbian and queer, which is rare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Message wise, what do you hope\nviewers will leave with?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope viewers have a unique experience\nwatching “Road of Bygones,” something different from the “two\ngirls aren’t allowed to be together but they’re gonna do it anyway!”\nstory. I certainly hope they laugh! It’s unfortunate that one still has to make\na film with a message. Maybe one day we’ll be able to make films to simply tell\nstories and not to educate or defend ourselves from criticism. However, in the\nstate we’re in (socially), I hope this film humanizes D\/s relationships and\nkinksters, especially those within the LGBTQ community who get ousted by the\nself-righteous. More than anything, I hope people leave the film with the\nunderstanding that different is beautiful, that complicated relationships\nexist, and that with consent and communication we can be open about our desires\nin the search for companionship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–  <\/strong>What\ndoes the film offer in terms of perspective for the LGBTQ community that other\nfilms don\u2019t?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Road of Bygones” is very unique, in\nfact, I don’t even like the fact that I had to choose a genre for it. First of\nall, it’s funny. You will laugh, even when perhaps it seems inappropriate to do\nso. But it’s ok! Because it\u2019s rooted in dark comedy. It’s also a one-of-a-kind\ndrama. Things happen that you don’t typically see happen. Our characters have\nvisible, palpable flaws, yet you care for them. They aren’t good or bad, they\nare human. Our cast is queer on and off screen!! We know it’s important to the\naudience, so we made it happen. “Road of Bygones” gives insight on a\ntaboo topic that’s typically exaggerated and portrayed with ignorance. We walk\nthe walk when it comes to D\/s. We’ve been told that people think about the film\nlong after they’ve viewed it, and we’re taking that to the bank. Feel-good art\nis all well and good. But a film that leaves you thinking, fantasizing,\nwishing, and questioning is a rarity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– How does your Latin heritage\ninfluence your art? As a Latin woman how do you see the LatinX community\nconnect with the film?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, I don’t even notice my heritage in\nmy work until I’m asked to think about it. I know in hindsight that the scene\nin the church was a way to rebel against the turmoil and self-loathing I had as\na teenager raised with Catholic ideologies. With this film in particular, it\nwas important to me that Sam and Bobbi preserved their strong bond despite\ntheir flaws, because in my culture, family is everything. We have several\nLatinX fans who are simply happy to see a South American woman direct and\nproduce films. I think even more so than LGBTQ North American audiences,\nHispanic audiences lack representation in the LGBTQ community and in general.\nI’m not interested in stereotyping my culture or clumping all countries south\nof Texas into one box because Latin America is beautifully diverse. But I do\nplan on highlighting the beautiful memories I have of South America in my work\nmoving forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– What\u2019s next for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have already begun writing our next feature\nfilm. Three of us lezzies (Cara Kilduff, Sarah J. Lucey, and myself) are\nwriting it. It’s going to be a fantasy\/drama which we’ll be approaching\ndifferently than our past works. Of course, it’s a lesbian story but it is also\nmuch more than that. I think of it as a breath of fresh air. We will be filming\nit over the span of a year using mixed media and music much more prevalently\nthan before. At this stage, I’m reluctant to say anything about the plot, but I\ncan tell you that with each film we’ve learned a lot about the craft and we’ve\nbecome very innovative. We’ve also gotten to know our audience because we speak\nto them personally. What we’re working on now is very dear to me, and perhaps\nwhat I’m most proud of to this day. If you follow me on social media, you’ll be\nsure to catch glimpses of it and witness its formation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film will be available to rent\/purchase\non Amazon March 15, 2020.For more information go to: https:\/\/www.roadofbygones.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mona Elyafi Award-winning writer, actress, and filmmaker Astrid Ovalles has a lot to be grateful for these days! Her latest kinky dark comedic feature length drama, Road of Bygones, is set to be released on Amazon March 15th 2020. Road of Bygones tells the story of three women who embark on a road trip to retrieve the ashes of a figure from the past. Hoping to find closure at their destination, the women are confronted with a series of self-destructive, sometimes hilarious, events that threaten to destroy all harmony between them.  A journey of laughter and melancholy in the slice-of-life of wonderfully flawed characters. Written and directed by Astrid Ovalles, the film stars Sarah Jo Ovalles, Oriana Oppice and Astrid Ovalles.  Road of Bygones tackles the taboo topic of BDSM and kink relationships breaking the stigma typically associated with both terms. In fact, Ovalles masterfully goes where no other filmmakers have gone before effectively normalizing this taboo sexual practice. Yet Road of Bygones is above it all a beautiful story about humanity. Venezuelan-born actor, writer, and director, Astrid Ovalles debuted her film career with the award-winning and globally acclaimed short film “Camp Belvidere.” The New Yorker and founder of Recluse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1381],"tags":[2229,1322,2231,2230],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1593"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1593"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1595,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1593\/revisions\/1595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}