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Bay Area Indie Romantic Comedy Filmed on iPhone to Have California Premiere at San Francisco Short Film Festival on October 23 at Beloved 4 Star Theater
The film, coming to the San Francisco Short Film Festival October 23, sparked conversations about contemporary city life, filmmaking, and romance. After the Oregon premiere, an audience member said the film made her “nostalgic” about her days in the Bay. Others were surprised to learn the film was shot on phones due to the quality of the cinematography. Preview audience and Oakland resident Beccah Rothschild said, “I related to the film. I loved the vulnerability. This film’s for anyone who has ever gone on a date, lived in San Francisco, or had hopes for love.”
The project received strong local support. The San Francisco Film Commission, Manny’s Cafe in the Mission, Nook Cafe in Russian Hill, and Live Oak Studio in Berkeley provided locations. Over 40 Bay Area donors helped fund post-production for this Filmmakers Collaborative project. The majority woman crew included a Foothill-De Anza College film instructor and her students. San Francisco-based producer Mayra Padilla wore many hats, including second camera, photographer, and location scout. Filmmaker Nada Djordjevich, producer Vera Djordjevich, and associate producer Michele Rabin, who all attended the same Peninsula high school, previously collaborated as editors of the Bay Area based magazine, On the Page.
The director has strong roots in the Bay Area arts community. Djordjevich raised $2 million to expand arts in local schools; participated many times in San Francisco’s Litquake Literary Festival; and taught writing at San Francisco’s City College. Her first film, the award-winning animated short California Pie, premiered at the 2023 Sonoma International Film Festival. Her inspirations include filmmaker Lynn Shelton (Inside Out) who began directing at 39, and the new wave of Bay Area storytellers, such as Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal (Blindspotting) and H.P. Mendoza (Colma: The Musical), who have created place-based and personal films.
Producer Mayra Padilla reflected, “The film is about connections. The ones we have with ourselves; with each other; and with the worlds we inhabit. Making this film helped me rediscover what I love about San Francisco.”
The 2024 San Francisco Short Film Festival plays at the 4-Star and Balboa Theaters (Oct. 17-24) and online (Oct. 17-27). Eat Surf Love screens Wed, Oct. 23, at 8:15 pm. Tickets are available at the websites of SF IndieFest website and at Eat Surf Love website at eatsurfloveproductions.com.
Eat Surf Love Productions LLC, of Santa Monica, produced the film.
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Author Erin Strong is offering her novel "She Never Left Ground Zero: A Novel of Courage, Love, and the Hidden Cost of 9/11" as a free download through September 30, according to the announcement. No registration, email address, purchase, subscription, or review is required, and coincides with the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
The novel is fiction but draws on the real experience of an NYPD officer, per the announcement. It centers on Sofia Vega, an NYPD officer whose work amid the smoke and debris in the aftermath leads to lasting consequences she and her family must face. Strong has said she wanted to write about what happened to first responders and their families after press coverage of the attacks faded — a theme that echoes a broader body of anniversary-year 9/11 literature, including nonfiction essay collections and survivor accounts published or reissued around the same milestone.
According to Strong, "I wanted to tell a deeply personal story about what happened after the television cameras moved on." "Many first responders and their families continued living with the consequences of September 11 for years. This novel honors their courage, their sacrifices, and the people who loved them through it all."
The free download is available at sheneverleftgroundzero.com. The book will also remain for sale on Amazon and other retailers after the promotional window closes. Strong’s team can be reached through the same website or by phone.
Studio CarryOnHarry Perspective
At Studio CarryOnHarry, we see Strong’s September timing as a textbook example of anniversary marketing strategy. Major commemorative dates like the 25th anniversary of 9/11 generate enormous search volume and media attention—precisely when potential readers are already thinking about the subject matter. By anchoring a free promotion to this peak-interest window, authors capture visibility they’d need to spend significantly on advertising to achieve otherwise. The counterintuitive logic: giving away the book for free during high-traffic periods can actually drive more long-term sales than traditional paid campaigns, because it builds audience reach, generates word-of-mouth momentum, and establishes the title in readers’ minds before the promotional window closes. When the book returns to paid status in October, those who downloaded it free become natural candidates for follow-up engagement—reviews, recommendations, and future purchases. It’s a calculated play on consumer psychology and search behavior that extends the book’s commercial lifespan well beyond September.
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Author C. A. Ballard has released a debut fantasy novel, "The Lost Legacy," following a young orphan protagonist drawn into a battle against a malevolent force seeking to strip the world of its magical power, according to the publisher’s announcement.
The book comes from Newman Springs Publishing, a New Jersey-based author-services publisher that works with writers across genres to produce and distribute their books; the company is handling both publication and promotion for the title. The novel is available in stores and through major digital retailers, including Amazon, Apple, Google Play and Barnes & Noble.
According to the publisher, Zara must safeguard her sibling while partnering with an ensemble of fantastical beings including fae warriors, mythical creatures, and magical beings to combat darkness — against an antagonist seeking to strip the world of its magic.
Ballard, described in the release as a wife, mother and grandmother with a background in accounting and medical billing, said medical challenges led her to pursue creative endeavors. "I wanted to craft deeply engaging stories about everyday individuals finding remarkable capabilities within themselves," Ballard said in a statement. "Zara’s story is about finding your tribe, embracing your power, and refusing to surrender to darkness." The publisher’s announcement notes additional projects from Ballard are already in development.
There is no independent review coverage of "The Lost Legacy" available yet; retail listings confirm the book’s publication details but do not offer critical assessment. Readers interested in the book can find purchase links through the publisher’s website or major retailers.
Studio CarryOnHarry Perspective
At Studio CarryOnHarry, we recognize that Ballard’s ensemble approach—layering fae warriors, mythical creatures, and magical beings alongside a resourceful orphan protagonist—speaks directly to a defining shift in contemporary fantasy publishing. Today’s YA and new-adult readers expect worldbuilding that extends beyond a single chosen one; they crave diverse supernatural allies and complex team dynamics that reflect both traditional mythology and modern storytelling sensibilities. Zara’s "finding your tribe" arc taps into this broader cultural moment where belonging and chosen family rival the hero’s individual journey. As the fantasy market continues to reward narratives emphasizing collective strength over solitary heroism, Ballard’s decision to populate her world with multiple fantastical perspectives positions "The Lost Legacy" within reader expectations that have reshaped the genre over the past five years. This matters because debut authors who understand—and authentically execute—these ensemble-driven narratives are better positioned to build engaged readerships from launch.
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