The Making of a Documentary

Producers/directors Martin Bedogne and Brent Scarpo Photo by M. Nanette Martin

After his mother’s death from lung cancer two years ago, Brent Scarpo began to view the world differently. He recognized that change was not necessarily a force which acts upon us, but a force which we can choose to enact.

Having devoted ten years of his life to being a producer, writer, director, and casting director in conjunction with such films as “The Shawshank Redemption,” “That Thing You Do,” and “Air Force One,” as well as numerous “Movies of the Week,” he decided that it was time to create his own reality. The result was a new production company titled New Light Media that combined his favorite interests of education, public speaking, and entertainment into a single entity whose mission was to stimulate, educate, and impact the world through multimedia works that celebrate and honor the human spirit. The first project that New Light Media produced was a theatrical production of the play The Boys Next Door. Using the performance proceeds to support New Light Media ventures and charities such as the American Cancer Society and scholarship funds, Scarpo’s production was a success, giving rise to future projects. Following the vigil for Matthew Shepard in October, 1998, Scarpo joined forces with Martin Bedogne â?? a filmmaker whose specialization was in documentary films. Together they worked with Judy Shepard; Darrell and Craig Scott, father and brother to Rachel Scott who was slain at the Columbine High School shooting; Holocaust survivors; Thomas James Leyden, a former skinhead and fifteen year member of the neo-Nazi White Supremacy Movement who now in conjunction with the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles speaks out against hate; Elton John; Olivia Newton John; and actor John Dye, from the television series Touched by an Angel to produce the documentary film Journey to a Hate Free Millennium: Stories of Hope and Compassion. Content of the film includes the presentation of various forms of hate dating from the turn of the century to present time. The viewer will gain insightful knowledge into the minds of those individuals who choose to hate. They will see and feel the painful consequences of hate, gain a perspective of how it has shaped the 20th Century, and ultimately, find hope and a vision for a new hate free millennium.

General admission tickets to the debut showing of Journey to a Hate Free Millennium are $36.00 each and are available by calling the CSU box office (970) 491-6444. There is a limit of four tickets per call, Visa and Mastercard accepted. Please DO NOT call the box office earlier than October 4th. Demand for tickets is expected to be high and seats are very limited. Private VIP tickets that include a reception, a limited edition black and white photograph silent art auction, and reserved seating for the film, became available as of September 20th, 1999 for $250.00 each. To obtain these tickets, please call Susan Swern at (303) 504-9524. This ticket purchase is tax deductible as allowed by law.

Brent Scarpo and Martin Bedogne would like to thank the generosity and support of the Denver community in the producing of this film. They hope that you will take the time to come and see it.

Denver’s Gay Music Artists
Assist in the Production

Davol Tedder’s music can be heard throughout Journey to a Hate Free Millennium.

Two local musicians and members of the gay community of Denver, Ron Wilcoxson and Davol Tedder, donated their musical talents to the production of New Light Media’s documentary Journey to a Hate Free Millennium: Stories of Hope and Compassion.  Davol Tedder, born in Hollywood, California in 1961, moved to Colorado when he was seven. With primarily classical piano training, he developed an interest in electronic music as a teenager. High school and college years exposed him to jazz and classical harpsichord studies.

In 1988, Davol produced a short demo tape as a present for some friends. As they in turn passed the tape along to other friends, one of them brought the music to the attention of James Marienthal, president of Silver Wave Records. Marienthal liked what he heard and backed up his interest with a recording contract. Davol’s instrumental music compositions may be heard throughout Journey to a Hate Free Millennium.

Ron Wilcoxson, a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a resident of Colorado for the past eleven years, began writing music over twenty years ago and has been singing with the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus for the past seven years. His composition Matthew’s Song, a lullaby originally written for a friend’s baby, was chosen for inclusion in Journey to a Hate Free Millennium and adapted by Ron and Celeste Krenz to include more lyrical references to angels–a reoccurring theme throughout the film.

Ron Wilcoxson

Ron is currently writing songs for his first compact disc, expected to be released in the year 2000 and is working with recently signed recording artist Celeste Krenz, alongside producer Bob Tyler.

By Vincent Crowder