Miami Herald - Thursday, October 17, 2002
Nicole Acosta, Herald Writer

Verena Faden's story won the Scenarios USA "What's the REAL Deal?" contest on which the 15-minute film, Just Like You Imagined, is based. The documentary takes viewers into the lives of six young people in Miami who are dealing with dating, relationships and HIV.

Faden wrote the story last year while a senior at Hialeah-Miami Lakes High and entered it in the contest that is about coming of age in the time of AIDS.

Maura Minsky, one of the creators of the Scenarios USA project, said the topic of the contest was "not just about having sex" but about making students examine their choices and make decisions about sex and express how they feel about their decisions.

Minsky believes the film of Faden's story will touch many different kinds of people.

Scenarios USA, which was created in 1999 in New York and Texas, is a program to encourage teens to make proper decisions concerning HIV and teen pregnancy prevention.

The program made its debut in Miami-Dade County last fall because of the county's high rate of AIDS infection. The local project was a year-long collaboration between Scenarios USA and the public school system. It involved 16 schools that participated in the contest through drama.

The story by Faden, 19, who graduated in June, beat out 200 others. She was partnered with Academy Award-winning writer/director David Frankel to turn her script into a film.

The film was shot in the Hialeah community, as well as at the high school, by a professional crew and 15 of Faden's classmates. Kodak donated the film for the project. The contest was an assignment that drama teacher Timothy Flay gave to his students at Hialeah-Miami Lakes High.

Faden, former president of her school's drama club, almost didn't turn in her story.

"I was trying to do something different," she said. "I didn't want to turn in something I wouldn't be happy with."

She said she was satisfied with the final version when she turned it in but did not feel confident; consequently, she was surprised to win.

'I thought it was a big joke,' she said.

Faden spent many hours with Frankel as they turned the story into a film. Frankel was patient throughout the process, she said.

"He kind of knew what I wanted to do with the film before I even said anything," she said."

The film was completed Monday, and Minsky said the Showtime cable movie channel is already reviewing it for possible broadcast. The movie will be distributed through television, film festivals and the Internet and will be shown locally and nationally, she said.

Faden, who is studying education and filmmaking at Miami-Dade Community College's North Campus, hopes her work will lead to bigger things.

"To me, it's not just 'Oooh, I got to make a film.' I hope this is the beginning for my career," she said.

Tickets for tonight's premier cost $20 each and reservations are required. For information concerning tickets, call 305-573-6477.

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