OSCAR® Qualified Short THE HEART OF TEXAS
Gregory J.M. Kasunich’s OSCAR® Qualifying THE HEART OF TEXAS is a profound examination of the American dream
Los Angeles, CA (Feruary 2, 2025). After receiving news from a potentially life-changing radio contest. An aspiring country singer Janie May (Lauren Noll) races to the studio after her overnight diner shift. Then she collides with an undocumented worker — changing the course of both their futures. This is Gregory JM Kasunich’s phenomenal The Heart of Texas. The film has been a festival favorite, with screenings at HollyShorts. In the Palace International Short Film Festival and Sidewalk Film Festival, accumulating 14 accolades so far during its festival run. The film has qualified for the 2025 Oscars®.
The film’s Director and co-writer Gregory JM Kasunich is an award winning filmmaker. He is a commercial and music video writer, director and producer from Pittsburgh, PA. His body of work includes projects for Taylor Swift, The Pentatonix, and The Summer Set. Also, DreamWorks, Disney, Lucasfilm, and General Mills. DirectTV, Mattel, iHeatRadio and many others. Gregory’s editorial and portrait photography has been published in several periodicals. His films have been nominated and awarded in festivals the world over.
Lead actress, co-writer and producer Lauren Noll is a LA-based actor and filmmaker with a Master’s Degree in Acting from Harvard University. Since arriving in LA post-grad school, in addition to acting in various films, commercials, and music videos, Lauren’s curiosity around other roles in filmmaking led her to write, direct, and star in her first award-winning short film, Honor (2020). A personal drama about the encounter of a queer student with Brigham Young University’s honor code office.
The Official Trailer for The Heart of Texas Directed by Gregory J.M. Kasunich
She followed that filmmaking debut with Gen V (2021) for which she was granted a development deal with Adi Shankar’s Bootleg Universe, and Clean Slate (2022), which was awarded a grand jury prize at the Collaboration Filmmakers Challenge, and The Heart of Texas (2023), which has garnered her six acting awards to date. She is currently preparing for her feature film directorial debut.
Male lead Carlos Moreno Cravioto is an actor with multiple film and TV credits to his name including a recurring role in the popular Mexican series La bella y las bestias (2018). The film is additionally produced and executively produced by Soledad Bautista and Mario Davila respectively and the stunning cinematography was captured by Brent Johnson.
This heartrending short has qualified for the 2025 Oscars®.
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