New Noa Film Screened at DC Festival

May 21st, 2009

By Sarah Pride

CONTACT:

David Halbrook Patrick Henry College (540) 338-8727 OfficeOfCommunications@phc.edu

Film producer and PHC alum Daniel Noa

With a growing list of film credits in his portfolio, PHC alum Daniel Noa recently relished the chance to brush shoulders with established independent filmmakers as well as members of Congress at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C. The occasion was the selection of Noa’s newest short film, Scorpion 5, as an official entry by the G.I. Film Festival. There it was screened alongside feature films from across the country.

Since his 2007 graduation from PHC as a Government: Public Policy major, Noa has found many opportunities to improve his film craft. Another of his films, Smuggler’s Ransom, was released on DVD by Cloud Ten Pictures and he won third place in a 36-hour film festival from Christianfilmmakers.org with A Dim Light, another film short. He also served as an Assistant Director with Advent Film Group during the shooting of Come What May in summer of 2007. That movie was released nationally on DVD this past spring by Provident Films, one of the largest and most successful Christian film distributors.

While Patrick Henry College does not yet offer a formal film program,

Noa on the set of Scorpian 5

Noa regards PHC as the staging ground for his emerging career as a legitimate filmmaker. It’s where he developed many of his production skills, working on such projects as Streaming Media Network, a student club he co-founded and which continues to create series of episodic films popular with PHC students.

The main goal, he says, has always been to “make movies. . . . That’s how you learn.”

Now back in California, Noa continues to hone his craft on different types of independent video projects from week to week, polishing his skills in all areas of production (directing, producing, camera) and post-production (editing). In addition to Scorpion 5, which he will be submitting to various film festivals in coming months, he says he has been writing a feature film screenplay since January.

Touching on a series of timely topics, Scorpion 5 follows the story of fictional CIA agent Todd March, who has been left for dead behind the Iranian border. Another character, Corporal Matthew Scott, has arrived to escort him and his valuable information safely back to the States. Juxtaposing March’s story with that of his wife's back in the States, the film and its characters sound echoes of We Were Soldiers, Saving Private Ryan, and Pitch Black. Yet in some of its more psychological elements, Scorpion 5 occupies a category all its own.

The complete film is available for viewing on www.scorpion-5.com or through Facebook. Behind-the-scenes cast and crew footage is also available through the Scorpion 5 Facebook group. Warning: Some of the more violent elements of this film are not suitable for younger children.