Former Decorah resident is now making movies at the American Film Insitute Conservatory

Decorah native Cade Loven is now living in Los Angeles, working on two short films as part of the graduate degree program at the American Film Institute.  Production of "Plea" and "Manners of Dying" will begin early in 2016.

But first Loven is returning to Decorah--and will host an event December 20th at 6:00 p.m. on the second floor of T-Bock's.  He will host a screening of several short films produced by Cade's fellow AFI students, then will answer questions.

"Manners of Dying" is based on a short story of the same name wrtten by Yann Martel, who also wrote "Life of Pi."  He read the short story after he spent 25 cents at Decorah's Depot Outlet for a book that was a collection of Martel's short stories.  He was so taken by the story that he contacted Martel--and got the rights to turn the short story into a short film.

"Plea" is the working title of a film he'll produce that follows someone who has been in foster care in Los Angeles, but gets put into juvenile detention after a woman files rape charges against him.

Loven is producing "Plea" and the screenwriter on "Manners of Dying."  He says the program at AFI is Los Angeles has been his chance to meet famous and accomplished movie makers and to use facilities at Universal Studios and Warner Brothers, among others.

While Cade is getting an education in all phases of the movie industry, he admits to enjoying being a producer.  He describes the job as being the person "in charge of making sure it doesn't fall apart."  That involves pre-production issues, finding filming locations and putting out any fires that might happen during filming.

The AFI Conservatory has just 250 students and is ranked #2 in the country for film-making.  He says it's a chance to learn skills--but also teaches people to step up their games in order to become part of the film industry.

Anyone wishing to attend Sunday, December 20th's film screening at T-Bock's is asked to send an e-mail to: cloven@afi.edu, with the subject line "fundraiser RSVP."  There is no charge for admission, but Loven is hoping to find Decorah residents interested in helping him to cover some of the costs of his productioins.