About
When Don’s beloved vintage bicycle—a gift from his now-estranged father—is stolen off its rack, his carefully-managed life is thrown into chaos. As he sets out to recover the stolen bicycle, he finds himself drawn into a cycle of truth and deception, giving and forgiving, in which he is forced to confront old familial wounds.
Cycle Vérité, which was itself created by a father (writer/director) and son (editor/producer) team, explores the relationship between truth and forgiveness, and how familial wounds echo across generations.
"He is a good man, who can receive a gift well."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"A gift is something you do without knowing what you do, without knowing who gives the gift and who receives it."
-Jacques Derrida
The Creative Team
ADAM J. GRAVES
(Writer, Director and Producer)
Adam (Ph.D., UPenn) is Professor of Philosophy at MSU Denver and founding director of the Denver Project for Humanistic Inquiry, a center that explores the intersection of philosophy and film. Author of the book The Phenomenology of Revelation in Heidegger, Marion and Ricoeur, Adam has lectured on the nature of agency and selfhood in over a dozen countries and teaches courses on phenomenology, the theory of interpretation, and film & philosophy. He has lived extensively in both Europe and in India, where he studied medieval Sanskrit literature and conducted grant-supported research on temple iconography. In 2012, he managed a campaign in MN's 6th US Congressional District in the hopes of unseating a then-prominent figure in the so-called tea party.
Cycle Vérité is his first film project. It was initially born out of an interest in the paradox of forgiveness and the (im)possibility of a "pure" gift, i.e., one that transcends the cycle of exchange.
JAMES PATRICK NELSON
(Don)
James created the short film “Waking Up,” which premiered in the Santa Barbara Int’l Film Festival. His short film “Without Touch” won an Audience Favorite award on Dekkoo. He stars in the award-winning comedy “Love in Kilnerry,” which will soon be released theatrically. His Off-Broadway career includes productions of The Three Sisters with Maggie Gyllenhaal, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Bebe Neuwirth, and Ivanov with Ethan Hawke. He starred in Bedlam’s Sense and Sensibility at the American Repertory Theatre and the Folger Theatre, where he and his cast won a Helen Hayes award. He recently starred in Bedlam’s Pygmalion, and the world premiere of Terrence McNally’s final play, Immortal Longings. James wrote and will star in the upcoming pilot “For Years to Come.” Learn more about James here.
ARIELLA AMAR
(Claire)
Ariella is a born and raised Angeleno. Appearances include Starz' Blindspotting series (opposite of Jasmine Cephas Jones) Passionflix' Crashed movie series (opposite Olivia Applegate/Charles Shaughnessy) and starring roles in various commercials such as Kaiser Permanente, Covered CA, and CarMax. She can also be found in the classroom teaching science to her kinder and 1st grade classes. Learn more about Ariella on IMDb.
BRADY BOND
(Boy)
Brady was born in Denver, Colorado. He began acting in 2013 at the age of 4. His first stage performance was in Parker, Colorado in 2014 as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol. Right after that, he began splitting his time between Colorado and Los Angeles so he could begin training and working in Hollywood. Since then, he has become a proud member of SAG-AFTRA working in television, commercials, film and animation voiceover. Brady is known for his recurring role on MacGyver (2017-2018) as well as roles on Doc McStuffins (2020), Better Things (2019), Henry Danger (2018) and Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures (2018). Brady has also been seen in national commercials for Target, H&M, and Panera Bread. In his free time, Brady volunteers at beach clean-up events and with local animal rescue groups. See more on IMDb.
SCOTT PARK
(Director of Photography)
Growing up in the drizzly Pacific Northwest, introvert Scott Park pursued indoor, solo activities. His mother encouraged his creative side and fostered a permanent love for the arts. Ever restless, over the years he has enjoyed drawing, painting, sculpting, music, and writing. In 2005 he turned his attention to film. Loving the combination of creative and technical, he found cinematography to be the perfect outlet. He has shot more than 40 short film projects and two features, including Hoax (2019) and Rent-A-Pal (2020). Remembering a favorite quote, "learn the rules so you can break them properly", he has chased the idea of subversive cinematography – purposefully breaking the rules to greater effect than following them. Learn more about Scott and what he's been working on here.
SUCHITRA MATTAI
(Executive Producer)
Suchitra is a multi-disciplinary artist of Indo-Caribbean descent who holds an MFA in painting and drawing and an MA in South Asian art from the UPenn. Her recent projects include commissions for the Sharjah Biennial 14, “State of the Art 2020” at Crystal Bridges Museum/the Momentary, the Denver Art Museum/Biennial of the Americas, and solo exhibitions at the Boise Museum of Art, K Contemporary Art, Unit London, Hollis Taggart NYC, and the Center for Visual Arts at MSU Denver, and group exhibitions which include Kavi Gupta Gallery, Aicon Gallery, Pen and Brush NYC, the San Antonio Museum of Art. Her work has been reviewed in Hyperallergic, Document Journal, the Boston Globe, Widewalls, Cultured Magazine, and Wallpaper Magazine and is in the collections of Crystal Bridges Museum, the Denver Art Museum, and the Taylor Art Collection.
JULIA ARCHER
(Producer)
Julia Archer was born and raised in New Orleans. She stumbled into film making and never looked back. As a life enthusiast she enjoys the multi disciplinary outlet of bringing art to life. She has worked in a wide variety of production facets, from art departments to fund allocating, casting, etc. She has contributed to music videos, commercials, shorts, and a couple of feature length projects. This title is her first producer credit.
DEVANANDA GRAVES
(Editor and Associate Producer)
Devananda is a sophomore at East High School in Denver, CO. He has been engaged in computer programing and game design since the age of eleven, when he negotiated the sale of one of his first games to an international mobile game publishing company. An avid traveller, Devananda has visited more than 50 counties on five continents. He has a passion for political debate, travel, technology and cinema.
