The Soft-Boiled Detective: Daniel Lafrentz’s Millennial PI Short Film SAINT CITY Has Viewers Laughing While on the Edge of Their Seats

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What does one think of when they think of a private investigator (PI)? A tough guy with a rough exterior and a drinking problem? Maybe a loner who refuses to let anyone close? Elton Jennings may not be exactly who comes to mind when someone talks about a New Orleans PI — yet he’s the soft-hearted hero capturing hearts in Daniel Lafrentz’s new short film SAINT CITY.

When two escorts are strangled, Elton Jennings (Phil Biedron) and his overzealous geriatric informant develop a plan to capture the killer and bring justice to the city of New Orleans. Unlike traditional PIs, Elton Jennings is Columbo meets Mr. Rogers; a warmer, fuzzier kind of detective with unparalleled empathy and thirst for justice. As a single father to a mixed-race teenage boy, Jennings brilliantly displays the spectrum of emotions, feelings, and patience required to be a parent and friend in the 21st century.

While perhaps the unlikeliest of heroes from appearances, Jennings and his over-the-hill Desert Storm Army vet partner hunt down a serial strangler while leaving audience members laughing, holding their breath, and creeping to the edge of their seats to find out what happens next. Written and directed by Daniel Lafrentz, SAINT CITY is dark, funny, and occasionally violent, but held together by its heart-on-the-sleeve good nature.

Produced by Kenneth Renaldo Reynolds, SAINT CITY was made with a $15,000 grant from Panavision New Orleans that Daniel Lafrentz won along with a Jury Prize at the 2019 New Orleans Film Festival for his debut feature film THE LONG SHADOW. SAINT CITY is showing as a short film for proof of concept for an hour-long TV series that has an accompanying pilot script.

“I’ve done nine shorts and a feature film in my career, but SAINT CITY is the one where I put the most of myself into each of the characters – my own devotion to the people in my life, anxieties about fatherhood, and attempts to be brave when I’m really scared shitless.” – Daniel Lafrentz

Through proof of concept, dedication to the craft, and unwavering commitment to flipping traditional cinema on its head, Daniel Lafrentz’s purpose-driven vision has come to fruition with SAINT CITY.

To learn more about Daniel Lafrentz and SAINT CITY, please visit: https://www.daniel-lafrentz.com/ or https://www.daniel-lafrentz.com/saintcity

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About Daniel Lafrentz

Daniel Lafrentz is a writer, director, producer, and entrepreneur dedicated to creating content that defies traditional cinema. Born and raised in the Silicon Valley of California, Daniel succumbed to the charms of Southern Louisiana in 2010 and has been bi-coastal ever since. Daniel graduated with an MFA in Directing from the UCLA School of Film and Television where his Horror/Western BLEEDING, KANSAS won the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Award and the Roadmap Writers Shorts Contest Grand Prize. His feature writing/directing debut, a bayou-noir called THE LONG SHADOW, premiered and won the Jury Prize for Best Louisiana Feature at the New Orleans Film Festival; despite Daniel being the only director in competition not born there.

Website: https://www.daniel-lafrentz.com/ // https://www.daniel-lafrentz.com/saintcity

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.lafrentz

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/dlafrentz

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3235271/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

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