Shelter will premiere in theaters in March 2008, launching in 10 markets across the country. Shelter will premiere exclusively on here! Networks on April 18.

Winner of numerous awards including Best Feature, Best Actor, and Best New Director in over 10 Film Festivals, Shelter is the accomplished, romantic debut from talented writer/director Jonah Markowitz, marking the first project to be developed and produced by here! Films’ Independent Film Initiative.

Shelter marks the first film produced under here! Films’ Independent Film Initiative. The here! Films Independent Film Initiative supports filmmakers in their efforts to realize their cinematic vision by providing financing, creative and logistical support, and ultimately, distribution and exhibition. The Initiative allows filmmakers the opportunity to focus on telling their stories the way they want to without the burden of raising financing for what are often considered risky films from a commercial standpoint.

Seeing the world through someone else’s eyes is what has always drawn me to cinema. It makes me realize that no matter how different we may seem, we are all essentially the same. Although situations may differ, most of our desires are quite universal. We do things for many of the same reasons, often with similar results. I wanted Shelter to be a story that anyone could relate to – a story about tuning into one’s sincere desires, finding love, and creating family.

To keep this story accessible, I wanted to make sure that the characters were struggling with more than just their sexuality. I wanted Shelter to be about identity and family. We live in a time when many of us leave our families, move far away, and create new ones. These created families are just as important in forming our identities as the ones we are born with. I wanted to show that if you can create love, you can create family, and become comfortable with who you are.

I entered the world of filmmaking through production design. I worked on large budget films where we were able to visually tell the story by building large sets and modifying locations. I also designed smaller, independent films, which taught me how to do this without expansive resources and expensive settings. These experiences taught me how to analyze a set, and reduce it down to its true purpose in the context of the film. I learned how to focus on the most important elements and make them shine. When I began Shelter, I knew that with an 18-day schedule and limited resources, we would all have to employ this philosophy and really focus on the core of what we were trying to say. In doing so, we could create a film with a simple and universal message.

Shelter is a story about people – not gay people - just people. It’s not a gay story, but a story about an ideal relationship born from a less than ideal situation. During casting, it was important to me that the cast valued this as much as I did. Both of the leads are straight. Instead of trying to sum up the experience of being gay, we simply focused on intimacy. We talked about what it felt like to stay in bed with someone all day – how rare and desirable it is, how fleeting it can be, and how much it can hurt when it’s gone. I really respect that both Trevor and Brad were able to see that it didn’t need to be any more complicated than this. This allowed them to approach the decisions their characters made from a genuine and personal place.

The rest of the amazingly talented cast and crew that assembled to make Shelter came on board for similar reasons. They found elements of the story they could relate to and wanted to help bring to the screen. Shelter is about the difficulties we have relating to both the families we are born with and the families we create. It shows that the burden of struggling through these experiences is something we all share. Making Shelter taught me how much I enjoy diving into these moments, threading them into a story, and bringing them to life.

- Jonah Markowitz