IT'S WHAT SHE WOULD HAVE WANTED Short Premieres at St. Louis International Film Festival

"It's What She Would Have Wanted," Dramedy Short will compete at the 29th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival, being held virtually November 5- 22nd. The film will be available as part of the Narrative Shorts: Comedy 2 block, throughout the duration of the festival.

The film centers around Maggie (Marie Selma), who welcomes four of her oldest friends back home after the unexpected death of one of their own. She convinces them to fulfill a childhood pact - destroy all evidence of their friend's most embarrassing secrets. Their plan proves less than fool proof when long-buried resentments begin to rise, and the group realizes Maggie is dealing with more than the loss of a friend.

The pilot was written by Semla. Desiree Staples, whose most recent short "The Influencers" garnered several wins on the festival circuit, appears as Steph and also served as Executive Producer. Kimia Behpoornia, Suzanne Turner, Lindsay Chambers, and Chris Lee round out the ensemble cast. "Its What She Would Have Wanted" was directed by Nate Trinrud and produced by DesiMo Productions, Andrew Tolbert, Addison Heimann, and Britta Rowings.

Staples is thrilled for "It's What She Would Have Wanted," to be competing at the Oscar qualifying St. Louis International Film Festival. "We are so excited for our female-driven dramedy short to be premiering in 2020 on the virtual festival circuit and screening this fall as a part of St. Louis International Film Festival. Myself and our team are tremendous fans of the St. Louis International Film Festival, and we are honored to be included in it's renowned and selective curated shorts program. At its core, "It's What She Would Have Wanted," is about the complexity of female relationships and friendships as we grow into adulthood, and how we navigate with others through grief. The humor in the piece is so visceral as well, with a darkly comedic look at the information and secrets that we try to hide in order to protect others. It was an honor to work on this piece with Nate Trinrud and Marie Semla, and we are thrilled to be showcasing the short this November."

Staples hails from Orange County and graduated from Northwestern University's Acting and Musical Theater Program in Chicago before moving to LA and honing her comedic voice as a multi-hyphenate actress, producer, and writer. She has been seen in Viral Videos such as Clickhole's "500lb Man" with 15 million views, a guest-star role in "In The Cut" on Bounce TV, appeared Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theater, and is a producer/actress in the upcoming comedy feature film "Take Me To Tarzana," Directed by Maceo Greenberg. "Take Me To Tarzana" will be premiering November 7th, at The Valley Film Festival, as the opening night feature film.

Semla's previously wrote for the TV series "Friend Pals." Trinrud's other directing credits include "Goodbye, Charlie"and "Girl Gang." Nate's thesis film, "Pop Rox" premiered at the 68th annual Berlinale and was nominated for both the Crystal Bear and the Teddy Award, it went on to compete in over forty festivals worldwide winning multiple awards and accolades.

Now in its 29th year, the mission of Cinema St. Louis is to showcase the best in international, documentary, and American independent cinema. Believing that we discover something about ourselves when we learn about others' cultures and perspectives, Cinema St. Louis offers programs that provide glimpses of the human experience from around the world and thoughtfully address issues of race, ethnicity, and sexual identity.

Staples is represented by Brent Paxton of Kreativ Artists.