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And anyone he encounters along the way can either work with him or get out of his way, he added.
Rosenkreuz, a 2002 graduate of York Suburban High School, is a Los Angeles actor, writer and filmmaker who produced a seven-minute drama film, "Drain Desert Tanner," being shown during the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, which started Wednesday and continues through Sunday, May 23, in Cannes, France.
Also being shown is "The Guilty," a short film that Rosenkreuz co-wrote and acted in.
The prestigious festival marks a gathering of notable film producers, distributors, programmers, directors, agents, buyers and actors from around the world.
"I'm ecstatic that my film will be there," said Rosenkreuz, 26. "This is my first time submitting a film, and it got in. It's absolutely unbelievable. This is the first time I felt I had something that was worthy of making it there."
In L.A.: He said he will not be able to attend the festival because of his filming schedule in Los Angeles.
Rosenkreuz said Shant Hamassian, the director of "Drain Desert Tanner," is at Cannes, where the film has been listed as "very favorite" in the festival's short film corner.
Rosenkreuz said "Drain Desert Tanner" details the ventures of a forensic investigator, Tim Tanner, who goes on a blind date and ends up at a crime scene, which he is forced to clean up by the villains who then plan to kill him.
"I hope a distributor (at Cannes) will like this film and help us make it into a feature," he said. "We made this film on a limited budget, and it got to Cannes. Imagine what we could do if we had more cash, more time, more resources."
Its origin: The film was initially shot on a $2,000 budget in 2009 in Calabasas, Calif., as an entry for the 2009 Inland Empire 48 Hour Film Festival competition held in Riverside, Calif.
Festival officials gave contestants two days to write, cast, shoot and produce short films. Though the requirements seemed impossible, Rosenkreuz said he was determined to complete the project and only worked with people who believed it could be done.
"I kept insisting that we were going to win and we were going to Cannes," he said. "When you do a 48-hour project like this, it either breaks you or makes you. I decided I'm not stopping. I'm going to the top."
Rosenkreuz, who played Tanner, won the 48 Hour Film Festival's best actor award. His film also won in the best director, cinematography and music composition categories.
At Suburban: Rosenkreuz said he found his acting passion while participating in plays at York Suburban High School. His interest in film grew after his parents, Alex and Tanya Rosenkreuz, bought him a camcorder when he was in the ninth grade.
After high school, he studied broadcast journalism and political science at Temple University, while doing acting gigs in Baltimore, New York and Washington, D.C. After graduation he bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles to begin his acting and filmmaking career, his mother said.
"This is fantastic what he's achieving," she said. "He is very passionate, very hardworking. I cannot dream for a better son."
--Reach Eyana Adah McMillan at 505-5438 or emcmillan@yorkdis patch.com.
Information
Alex Rosenkreuz, a 2002 graduate of York Suburban High School, has his short-film "Drain Desert Tanner" -- which he wrote, acted in and produced -- showing at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival in France.
To see the film's trailer, go to www.youtube.com and enter the film's title in the search field.
