Lorenda Starfelt, American producer, died from cancer she was , 56.

Lorenda Starfelt was an award-winning ^[1] independent film producer, as well as a committed political activist and blogger died from cancer she was , 56..

(January 11, 1955 – March 16, 2011)

Career

Lorenda (Lori) Starfelt was the producer of the independent feature film comedy The Watermelon, which premiered at the 2008 San Diego Film Festival.^[2] Directed by Brad Mays, The Watermelon was written by Michael Hemmingson and stars Will Beinbrink, Kiersten Morgan, Elyse Ashton, Julia Aks, Steven Shields and Mike Ivy.

In 2000, Ms. Starfelt produced, in conjunction with Turman-Morrissey Productions, an independent feature film adaptation of Euripides' The Bacchae. ^[3] Her next project was an adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, entitled Shakespeare's Merchant, directed by Paul Wagar. She followed up that particular project with Schooled, a drama written & directed by Brooks Elms, which portrays the unique difficulties facing both students and teachers engaged in alternative education. Ms. Starfelt's next film project was the documentary feature SING*ularity (2008), which examines the cutting-edge training of student and professional-level vocalists at Ann Baltz's world-renowned OperaWorks program in Northridge, California. ^[4]
In 2009, Starfelt's feature-length political documentary film The Audacity of Democracy was released. The film offered an inside view of the 2008 race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, focusing in particular on the notorious PUMA movement. In multiple Blog-Radio interviews,^[5] Lorenda Starfelt spoke candidly about her commitment to Hillary Clinton's presidential run, and the misogyny she personally encountered in various liberal political circles. ^[6][7]
In addition to her film work, Ms. Starfelt has also produced for the Los Angeles stage, most notably The Bacchae ^{[8][9][10][11]} in 1997 at the Complex, Marat/Sade in 2000 for the Theatre of N.O.T.E..^[12][13] and a multi-media production of Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange which was nominated for Best Direction, Best Revival Production, and Best Actress by the 2004 LA Weekly Theater Awards.^[14] Vanessa Claire Smith won Best Actress for her gender-bending portrayal of Alex, the story's music-loving teenaged sociopath.^[15][16] In a 2011 web radio interview with Priscilla Leona, ^[17] Ms. Starfelt discussed a new comedy web series, Customer Diss-Service, ^[18] that she and her husband Brad Mays were currently engaged in. Stressing the need for strong scripts and experienced, well-trained actors, she asserted that working within small budgets enables creative freedom, thus affording experienced artists a change to present their work in a completely unfettered form. ^[19] Starfelt also discussed a number of new projects in the works, including the musical feature film Beginnging Blue, which she co-wrote, and the Los Angeles premiere of Doraine Perez's dramatic fantasia Anais Nin: Woman Of The Dream, which she is producing for the Los Angeles stage.

Filmography

Year	Film	Function	Notes
2002	The Bacchae	Producer	Screen adaptation of Euripides' classic play, filmed roughly two years after Mays' acclaimed Los Angeles stage production.
2004	Shakespeare's Merchant	Producer	Adaptation of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, adapted and directed by Los Angeles stage director Paul Wagar.
	The Trojan Women	Producer/Actress	Documentary Film of Brad Mays' 2003 Los Angeles stage production of Euripides' classic tragedy, produced by the ARK Theatre Company.
2007	Schooled	Co-Producer
2008	SING*ularity	Producer	Documentary about the world-famous OperaWorks training program for classical vocalists, filmed in the years 2006 - 2007.
	The Watermelon	Producer	Oddball romantic comedy, written by Michael Hemmingson. World premiere at the 2008 San Diego Film Festival. Released July 7, 2009. Received the California Film Awards 2010 Diamond Award.
	The Audacity of Democracy	Producer	Documentary Film of the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary, shot in Dallas, Princeton, Washington, D.C., and Denver. Released in 2009.
2011	Customer Diss-Service	Co-Producer	Web Series directed by Brad Mays and starring Frank Noon and Johnny D'Agostino.
2012	Beginning Blue	Producer, Writer	Feature film about an all-girl rock band determined not to trade on looks or gender appeal.

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