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August 14, 2005

'Desperate' mother to work here

From: Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - Aug 14, 2005

By Michael Klein
Inquirer Columnist

Lupe Ontiveros, who played the meddlesome mother-in-law of Eva Longoria's character Gabrielle on ABC's Desperate Housewives, is expected to be working here next month.

She's starring in and helping to produce the film Universal Signs, an arty independent film dramatizing the experience of deaf people, through the story of a depressed, lonely man. It will be silent (though captioned) and shot in black and white, although dream sequences will be in color and will contain audible dialogue. Much mood will be generated by music, scored by composer Joseph Rezetti (The Buddy Holly Story, Poltergeist III).

This is a homegrown project. Creative Access, a Philly group that advocates for quality-of-life issues for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, is working with producer/writer/director Ann Calamia and producer/director of photography Catherine Miller, who run Doylestown's HNH Multimedia Productions. Justin Wineburgh, a lawyer with Cozen O'Connor whose practice includes entertainment law, is working pro bono.

Though Universal Signs focuses on a deaf man, it also is about depression; both conditions are not readily noticeable to casual observers.

The plan, says Miller, is to get the film into the 2006 festival circuit.

Contact columnist Michael Klein at 215-854-5514 or mklein@phillynews.com. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/michaelklein.

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