The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 76

Monday, June 9, 1997 THE TAMPA TRIBUNE ff Send comments and tips through e-mail to bayliieeprodigy.com or write co The Tampa Tribune, P.O. Box 1 91 Jampa, Fla. 33601 Vanessa Lee Chester talks about making "The Lost World." Story, Page 3 Television talk show world's Ruby Wax really shines. Story, Page 6 1 1 71 1 5 Sarasota independent filmmaker Elly Friedman is anything but blue about her latest movie, a romance set in Southeastern Mexico. "a LV7 lofT can rhap sod By JOHN FERRI Tribune correspondent Photos from Rainbow Films "Modern Rhapsody." Here, they share a moment in the ornate Peon Conteras Theatre.

Dalmacci's character is based on Mexican choreographer Jorge Faz. An American, played by Robin O'Dell of St. Petersburg, finds romance in Mexico with a choreographer played by Italian-born Ricardo Dalmacci, who lives in Mexico, in the movie SARASOTA After 30-odd years of visiting Mexico, Elly Friedman is finishing a "love letter" to the Yucatan Peninsula and its people. That's what bow Films. "My daughter is a criminal lawyer in Oregon and she was married to a Mexican-American, and she has worked with a lot of Mexicans in her practice," says Friedman, whose granddaughter is Mexican-American.

"So I have a relationship in a way and a deep interest in Mexico and the Mexican people. I hope to see better relations between the U.S. and Mexico." So instead of ceramic burros, colorful blankets and snoring siesta-takers under sombreros, Friedman and her crew tried to depict the true essence of the region in southeastern Mexico, its culture and Mayan ancestry. The scenes of '90s relationships and the world of modern dance play out against old mansions and churches in Merida, the cap the independent filmmaker calls her latest, "Modern Rhapsody," about a young American woman who falls in love with a Mexican choreographer. A local showing isn't expected until the fall but the movie will appear at film festivals soon, and the Mexican dance company featured in the film will perform next week at the Flor BRUCE HOSKING Tribune photo Elly Friedman, 76, who runs Sarasota-based Rainbow Films, is a longtime visitor to Mexico.

Members of the Jorge Faz Dance Company, above and at right, appear in "Modern Rhapsody," an independently produced film that combines a '90s romance with the flavor and culture of the Yucatan Peninsula. ital of the Yucatan. The ornate Peon Conteras Theatre was used for the opening and closing dance scenes. The crew also shot in Progreso, a neighboring resort town on the Gulf of Mexico, and at a pyramid and other ancient ruins to capture the flavor of the area, which, as much as the story line, is what the film is ida Dance Festival in Tampa. "The films made about Mexico have neverreally shown it in a light that I thought it should be shown in.

So I thought this was a chance to change some of those perceptions," says Friedman, 76, who runs Sarasota-based Rain- was able to get a good profile," says Friedman, who calls the movie "a character study." "It's more about his person, his un tv. romance, but the beautiful thing about it is that it shows Mexico as it really is," O'Dell says. "It's not a cliche Mexico." The crew worked 10-hour days, six days a week, during the six-week location shoot. But on Sundays, O'Dell and other crew members took day trips to Mayan ruins. "They are 10 minutes outside of town, which itself is built on ruins," says O'Dell.

"While I was there, they had a celebration for the 450th anniversary of the town. It had a sense of continuity. You feel like these are the same people who have been here all along. There are still people speaking Mayan in the market." Mexican choreographer Jorge Faz inspired the script, co-written by Friedman and Caroline Gallagher, also of Sarasota. Friedman interviewed him in person, on the phone and over the Internet.

"He was very candid and open, and I about. Female lead Robin O'Dell of St. Petersburg says one landmark caused a stir during the shooting of a street scene in Merida. "All of a sudden, we started seeing people jumping over a fence," says O'Dell, 34. "Everybody was going to see a cenote in a woman's back yard." Cenotes are natural wells, or warm-water springs, common to the Yucatan.

"The movie is a usual determination to succeed and his focus on that, devoting his whole life to it and his determination to remain celibate." THE CHARACTER based on Faz is named Paco and is played by Italian-born Ricardo Dalmacci, who lives in Mexico and has appeared in "Acapulco Heat" and other American television shows. O'Dell's character, Kate, travels to Mexico to check on a dance company funded by an American philanthropist. She falls in love with the company choreographer, Paco. O'Dell plays a recurring role on the syndicated television show "The Cape" and has starred in several independent films. Stage and film actor Karen Black will grace the screen as Consuelo, an American expatriate living a laid-back life in Merida.

Academy Award nominee Edward Albert with more than 80 films to his credit, portrays Consuelo's love interest, Ramon, also an expatriate. The two run a metaphysical bakery in the Yucatan dispensing spiritual advice. The Jorge Faz Dance Company also appears in the film. "I had Jorge choreograph several dances," Friedman says. Her first film, "Hidden Fears" star-See FILM, Page 2 Hollywood veterans Edward Albert left, and Karen Black, shown here with Ricardo Dalmacci, play supporting roles in "Modem Rhapsody" as a couple who dispense spiritual advice from their bakery.

Intuition leads to women's magazine By LINDA GOLDSTEIN Tribune correspondent The point of Intuition is to move women out of the world of competition and into the space of community and supporting one another. 1 1 i Jfw' I I I rv- I 1 money through advertising. Intuition is produced 10 times annually, on newsprint, with about 18,000 copies of each issue. It's available in some churches, bookstores, libraries, health food stores, and health and fitness centers in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Sarasota counties. Robin Tuthill, 46, of Tampa serves as editor-in-chief.

She was a newspaper reporter for the St. Petersburg Evening Independent, publications coordinator for St. Anthony's Hospital and technical editor of McKee an environmental engineering firm. Tuthill handles her chores part time; she also teaches comparative religion at Unity Progressive Theology Seminary in Clearwater, where she's associate dean. She says she and Hankins are "philosophically of a like mind, so it lets us each do our best and what we love to do." "This magazine has created a vehicle for lots of women in the area to make their voice be heard.

We even have a column called and it's a narrative piece by all kinds of different women in the community, not necessarily professional writers." Tuthill feels Intuition fills a void in the market. "It's a vehicle to promote women, to help compensate for the history of women being more invisible. It brings visibility to women and their businesses, whatever their business is." See INTUITION, Page 2 CLEARWATER For Robin Hankins, it has always been about intuition. Her intuition led her to change careers almost six years ago and publish her first magazine, Pathways. And it was her intuition that led her to change the direction in April 1996.

That change brought a new name for the magazine: Intuition. "When I first moved to Florida almost 12 years ago, I owned a jewelry and coin shop with a partner," recounts Hankins, 37, of Clearwater. "I got to a point that I was tired of trading merchandise and wanted to do something that made a difference. So, I published Pathways in 1991. It was a wellness magazine, with a focus on educating people on how to take better care of themselves spiritually, physically and emotionally.

"I don't have a formal education. I had no clue. I started from scratch and was told it was impossible. But we made money on the first issue, and I had been told that was impossible." Success reaffirmed her belief in following her intuition. "I wanted to transform the magazine to focus on women.

Believe it or not, it took a while to come up with a name! But this name is so appropriate because that's been the guiding force behind the publication from the beginning." Hankins wants to provide information that empowers women and supports self-esteem, Robin Hankins Intuition publisher from an interview with author Clarissa Pinkola Estes to a feature on Guatemalan activist Rigo-berta Menchu to recipes for healthy eating. Hankins views Intuition as a forum for women to express themselves on many fronts. She also has shared some of her innermost feelings in her "Message to the Reader" column, including her struggles with her weight. She writes about overcoming challenges in hopes of helping others facing similar situations. "The point of Intuition is to move women out of the world of competition and into the space of community and supporting one another," she says.

HANKINS HANDLES daily operations, supervises the part-time staff of five and sells a lot of the ads. The free magazine makes its BRUCE HOSKINGTribune photo Robin Hankins holds a copy of the first issue of Intuition, the magazine she publishes for women. Intuition marked its first anniversary in April. i.