By KATHERINE ROSENBERG, Editor

LUCERNE VALLEY — A woman is kidnapped, taken into the desert and the race against time begins — she has a only small window to escape her assailant.

Frightening, but luckily, it was not real life. It is the premise of a film created in part by a local married couple which recently cracked the top 8 at the international film contest put on by www.DVXuser.com.

Jeremiah and Lisa Rounds of Lucerne Valley helped to create the short film “Survival,” with the help of Sultana High School graduate Kevin Chacon and Tristan Carnahan, a 2001 Granite Hills graduate.

The movie was shown at Cinespace Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, along with the other top seven movies chosen.

The first place winner was by Tim Hyten, also a 2001 Granite Hills High School graduate who directed and edited the short film “O2,” beating out about 65 other entries.

Jeremiah Rounds said that he was first approached by his friend Carnahan, now a resident of Fort Collins, Co., to work on something for the festival.

“I was already a member of the Web site, but I didn’t know they had a festival,” Rounds said.

They began throwing around ideas for the film that had to be completed in less than three months, and had to be no longer than six minutes in length. And since Carnahan was only in the area for a few weeks, their deadline became even shorter.

“We started to shoot a different one in Lucerne Valley and it just turned out we didn’t feel that we’d be able to get it done in time,” Rounds said.

So, a different idea was born. Since the film had to include a time element and feature a clock in the film, they thought the idea of a woman trying to escape the clutches of a crazy man in the desert would suit their needs.

Lisa Rounds, who works at Cafe 247, played the victim. Her husband Jeremiah played the kidnapper and Carnahan played a second victim, who fell prey to Rounds’ character after trying to help the distressed woman.

Once Carnahan went back to Colorado, Jeremiah Rounds was left to do sound design, voice-overs, special effects and titles.

“We filmed almost entirely in Lucerne Valley, some shots were from the Deep Creek area,” Jeremiah Rounds said. “Lucerne Valley is a great place for interesting looking locations.”

In fact, after having so much fun filming in town, Carnahan and Rounds have decided to complete a feature-length film shot entirely in Lucerne Valley.
Rounds said it was the overwhelming support they received from community members that has given them hope of completing the daunting task.

“Everyone was so supportive and helpful. One woman stopped and asked if we needed help and ended up telling us that if we ever needed a barn in a shot that we could use hers. We talked to local businesses and they said they didn’t mind if we shot there. It’s incredible that random people would open up their homes like that,” Rounds said.

If they are able to produce the movie and get it in theaters, they would like to donate the profits to charitable organizations, a reflection the giving nature they’ve seen in Lucerne Valley.

Jeremiah was formerly in the Navy and said that when he got out, he wanted to find his passion and do something creative that would enhance his life. He loves movies, to tell stories and to write, so he bought tons of books, his first videocamera and a computer and set about learning how to make movies.
“It’s something where if you want to do it as a hobby it’s expensive, and if you want to do it as a career it’s hard to break into. It takes a lot of effort and a lot of willingness to give things up that might be more fun or easier to do at the time, but I am dedicated to it,” Rounds said.

To watch the movie go to www.DVXfest.com and go to the previous festivals, and select the time festival to download and view the film for yourself.