Emmy-Award Winning CityTV Helps Produce First PSA for LAFLA

Emmy award-winning CityTV Santa Monica sparked a groundswell of support for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles by mobilizing entertainment industry professionals and inner-city film makers to produce LAFLA’s first public service announcement at Gaona’s Trapeze Workshop in Woodland Hills, CA.

The beautiful and poignant public service campaign, "Tell Someone," depicts a trapeze artist flying gracefully through the air, then losing her grasp, and falling helplessly, but thankfully, into a safety net as a visual metaphor for the “safety net” LAFLA is for our community.

"Tell Someone" was directed by Sarah Elgart, written by Alison Marek, and produced by Sonya Blake.

Richie Gaona, a fourth generation circus performer and Hollywood stunt man, was captivated by the poetic script and offered his full-service acrobatic arts facility to realize the project. 

“I’m involved,” says Gaona, “because I hope that people seeing this commercial will be inspired by the great work LAFLA does and to empower themselves by doing something fearless for themselves and for other people."

The weight of LAFLA’s mission and the power of the trapeze concept also attracted volunteer participation of a whole crew of industry professionals and three high-school filmmakers.

CityTV Station Manager Robin Gee explains, “In tough economic times, paying jobs are more scarce.  Rather than remaining idle, highly-talented people like our crew donate their time for causes they believe in, especially this time of year.  This is an excellent environment where filmmakers of the future can learn new skills and be mentored by industry professionals giving back to the community.”

Additional support for the project was provided by HBO, CAMTEC, CineWorks, FilmLook and SonicSound.