The Beverly Hills Film Festival’s very own festival alumnus, Frederico Lapenda, produces yet another spectacular film, starring Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, Thomas Jane, Matt Lanter, and James Remar.

According to ussindianapolis.org, “the world’s first operational atomic bomb was delivered by the Indianapolisn (CA-35) to the island of Tinian on July 26th, 1945. She was directed to join the battleship USS Idaho (BB-42) at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines to prepare for the invasion of Japan. The Indianapolis, unescorted, departed.”

Only 14 minutes after midnight on July 30th, 1945, midway between Guam and Leyte Gulf, Indianapolis (CA-35) was hit by two torpedoes out of the 6 fired a Japanese submarine. The bow was blown away by the first torpedo; the second struck near midship adjacent to a fuel tank. Result: explosion.

The ship was split to the keel, and all electric power was knocked out. Within just a few minutes, the Indianapolis (CA-35) went down as rapidly as possible by the bow. Out of the 1,196 aboard, 900 made it into the water within the 12 minutes of the ship’s sinking.

With no food or water, the 900 men who made it to the surface of the water faced exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning, and shark attacks while floating with few lifeboats. The Navy learned of the sinking when survivors were spotted four days later by the crew of a PV-1 Ventura on routine patrol.

Only 317 survived. USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage tells their story.

Watch the official trailer here:

The executive producer of USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, Frederico Lapenda, served as one of the expert panel members during the 2016 Beverly Hills Film Festival, sharing his experience as an entrepreneur in the film industry while connecting his filmic vision to that of his extensive repertoire of knowledge as the only individual who is responsible for the globalization of MMA, producing more than 100 fights in 15 countries.

The Beverly Hills Film festival is always proud of the achievements of its alumni. Frederico’s Hollywood career upon entering the Beverly Hills Film Festival has brought him many successful cinematic adventures.

Witnessing yet another festival alumnus success story is exactly why the Beverly Hills Film Festival strives for excellence every single year, emphasizing the unique qualities in every film and screenplay it features during the festival.

To be a part of yet another spectacular film festival, submit your film and screenplay by the deadlines:

Regular Deadline: November 15th, 2016

Late Deadline: December 15th, 2016

Extended Deadline: January 15th, 2016

Learn more by visiting our SUBMISSIONS page.

Mark your calendars for April 26th-30th, 2017 to learn from expert festival alumni, such as Frederico Lapenda, and many others during the BHFF expert panel discussions.

To learn more, visit our blog dedication to Frederico Lapenda.