Inspiring and True Story, “For the Love of Friends”

(Decatur, GA) May 4, 2023 - Avondale Estates resident, Cara Consilvio, is a female director and producer of opera, film, and theater. Consilvio produced and directed mini-documentaries for the NEA Opera Honors, NEA Jazz Masters videos, OPERA America, and the American Composers Orchestra. Her latest project is “For the Love of Friends,” a documentary chronicling activist Brent Nicholson Earle's 10,000-mile run around the country in 20 months to bring awareness to the AIDS epidemic. The documentary will be airing for the first time on Public Broadcast Stations on June 1st.

Early in the AIDS epidemic, Brent refused to watch his friends suffer due to the government's inaction and public ignorance about the disease. His audacious response in 1986 was to embark on a run around the perimeter of the United States to draw attention to the plight of AIDS.

Consilvio was introduced to Earle by her mother-in-law, Barbara Martinez, an AIDS activist. Consilvio and Earle’s connection to theater as former NYC actors bonded them immediately; their first meeting was five hours long. Consilvio pitched Earle her concept for the film and how she would use a live theater show to dramatize key moments in his life.

"Brent had turned down filmmakers in the past who wanted to tell his story, but not in the way he wanted, so I was relieved that he trusted my vision for approaching his story," said director and producer Cara Consilvio.

Like Brent Nicholson Earle, Consilvio overcame many obstacles while making this film. She championed and fought to bring this heartfelt film to the masses even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The opera director by day turned film director by night was resilient and never gave up trying to get the film distributed.

Interviews for the documentary were filmed in parallel with the writing and production of a stage play based on the same story. “For the Love of Friends,” blends performance rehearsal clips and interview and archival footage to highlight activist Earle's remarkable life's work. Brent's activism has continued since.

Quote from Brent Nicholson Earle, "It means the world to me. The fact that the filmmakers put so much effort, and passion, and commitment into making this beautiful film—I don’t have the words to express how grateful I am. I will be forever indebted to the team for taking this on, to tell my story and to tell it so beautifully. I can’t believe that it’s going to be on TV in a few weeks. It’s unbelievable!”

Facts About the Film

• Cara Consilvio wrote, directed, and produced the film through Hup! Productions, which she co-founded with producer Alex Charner.
• Barbara Martinez and David Charner of Hup! Productions were executive producers of the theater show in NYC that started in January 2020 and the film. Cara Consilvio wrote and directed both the film and theater production.
• The show worked within and in parallel with the eponymous film "For the Love of Friends."
• In the film, director Cara Consilvio builds a picture of Earle’s life and work through journals and interviews. These same first-hand documents create the drama and reality of the show.
• Salomon Lerner, the composer for the film is Venezuelan and runs a music studio in NYC where he often hires musicians to record remotely. Through his efforts, the film boasts a score with a 29-piece orchestra of Caracas-based musicians for almost 60 minutes of music for the movie.

"It was an honor and incredibly humbling to create this film about Brent Nicholson Earle's incredible run around the United States and his life as an activist," said director and producer Cara Consilvio. "Researching, writing, producing, and directing this film has been inspirational and life-changing!”

About Cara Consilvio
Cara Consilvio is a female director and producer of opera, theater, and film with extensive experience in dance and choreography whose inventive, kinetic, and evocative productions are in great demand. Professional credits include engagements with Houston Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Portland Opera, Tulsa Opera, American Opera Projects, and Opera Saratoga. Recent projects in 2023 include directing The Last American Hammer for Opera Grand Rapids and a residency at Depauw University. She is currently serving as The New Works Administrator at The Atlanta Opera.
In 2022, Cara directed Glory Denied for Opera Naples, the world premiere of I Give You My Home for Guerilla Opera and The Sound of Music for Charlottesville Opera. In 2021, Cara directed Scalia/Ginsburg for Chautauqua Opera and the world premiere of Our Trudy for the Ad Astra Music Festival. She also directed both Penny, an opera film, and Second Nature for Opera Grand Rapids. Cara also directed and edited Bernadette’s Cozy Book Nook; a world premiere opera film for Fort Worth Opera, composed by Joe Illick with a libretto by Mark Campbell.
In 2020, Cara directed Scalia/Ginsburg for Opera Carolina and the world premieres of The Leader and Kassandra for Opera in the Heights. She also wrote, directed and produced For the Love of Friends; a music-theater play produced at The West End Theatre in NYC. Other stage directing engagements include new productions of Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox at Chautauqua Opera, of which the press said, "It is hard to imagine an interpretation of this work which would be more effective." Other opera directing highlights include new productions An American Dream at Anchorage Opera, Il Trovatore for Opera in the Heights, The Threepenny Opera for Syracuse Opera, Suor Angelica and Glory Denied at Tri-Cities Opera, and The Elixir of Love for Piedmont Opera, which was praised for its "visually appealing, genuinely funny...expert comic timing."
Cara is a co-founder of Hup! Productions. Her feature film directing debut, a documentary called For the Love of Friends, is currently playing in the Festival circuit and recently was named Best Documentary Feature at Out South. Her other film directing projects include narrative short films C.I.T. and Dry. Cara is the executive producer and co-story writer of the horror comedy feature film Camp Wedding, which is distributed by Gravitas Pictures.
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