THE WEIGHT OF IT

Former Rhode Islander Debuts "Short" at RIFF

When the 12th Rhode Island International Film Festival takes place August 5-10 a short film by a native Rhode Islander filmmaker will be among the 279 selections slated to be shown at this prestigious annual event. "The Weight of It" is a fourteen minute "short" directed by Helen Alexis Yonov, who was born in 1979 on the Newport Naval Station while her father, Captain Sergei Alexis Yonov, a Latvian born US Naval Officer and Diplomat attended the Senior International Officer course at the War College before commanding the USS Connole. Her mother, Gail Helen Yonov was a real estate agent in Middletown. Read More...

L.A. movie crew shoots short film in Auburn

A rural Auburn home doubled as a New England house filled with angst and suffering on Monday.

A Los Angeles-based film crew shot scenes for a 15-minute short titled "The Weight of It" that could eventually be spun into a full-length feature.

For director Helen Alexis Yonov, a New Englander sporting a Boston Red Sox baseball hat on the set Monday, the film is a personal one -- with glimpses into her own relationship with her dying father. Read More...

Sierra Knolls Vineyard & Winery hosts filming of short movie

The Los Angeles-based film crew arrived at dawn on the morning of October 26. Screen-play writer, director and producer Helen Alexis Yanov and a 25-member crew were at Sierra Knolls Vineyard & Winery to film her short movie, "The Weight of It."

After breakfast, work began in earnest on the first of four scenes, to be filmed at Sierra Knolls Winery, which is owned by John and Linda Chase and Steve and Brenda Taylor. Read More...