FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Diana Rumjahn, www.dianarumjahn.com
Award-winning filmmaker, author
Diana Rumjahn’s drama is mysterious, eerie, suspenseful, poignant
“Diana is an
inventive filmmaker. Her images are eerie and poignant, recalling David Lynch
in their evocation of the uncanny,” said Gregg Rickman, a veteran film critic,
scholar and film historian.
Determined Spirits follows the daily life of the protagonist. All the
while, a supernatural element follows her, tormenting her mind and soul. The
film’s dialogue is in Cantonese with English subtitles. Dave Nelson of Outpost
Studios Inc. contributed the outstanding sound design and original score. He
incorporated Asian elements to evoke dread and curiosity. To create an
otherworldly feeling of suspense, one of the main instruments he used for the
soundtrack was an untuned zither. Nelson’s credits include films such as the
Academy Award-nominated Lost in Translation, Chloe, and Werner Herzog’s Wings of Hope and post production services for MTV, Apple, Dolby,
Nintendo, Nokia and CNN/Turner.
In her new film,
Rumjahn hopes viewers will come away with an understanding of Chinese
superstition and culture.
“We live in an
unpredictable world and our experiences can be quite scary,” she said. “Some
natural events can be the most terrifying experiences.”
Determined Spirits is Rumjahn’s fourth short film. Her 2006 debut, Going
Home, won a Memorable Film Award at the International Panorama of Independent
Film and Video Makers in
Rumjahn wrote an
award-winning children’s picture book based on Going Home, titled
Charlie and Mama Kyna (2009). Kirkus Discoveries praised her book
for its “laudable messages of friendship, love and fortitude” and “vivid,
evocative word choice.”
Rumjahn took to film
as soon as she was able to watch television. Throughout her childhood, she
developed an appreciation for television, film, sports broadcasting and music.
In the 1970s and 1980s these media became very influential, inspiring and
important to Rumjahn. She would often sit in class not thinking about math, but
film production.
She would often sit
for hours in front of the television and study every aspect of the show
especially the opening title, opening theme song, storyline, acting, editing,
cinematography, soundtrack, ending theme song and credits.
She is interested in
working on future short and feature films -- drama, romance, comedy, science
fiction, music video, suspense and documentary.
Rumjahn decided to
pursue her lifelong passion for film after graduating from