Independent film “Icon” premieres this year at the 2021 Cinequest film festival. The film is based on a true story and takes place in the hometown of director Tony Ahedo St. Petersburg, Florida. The film is an adaptation of a short film and is Ahedo’s first feature film.
The film uses the location of St.Petersburg, Florida, and the early aughts to show a different side of Florida. Ahedo used elements from his own childhood in the 90s and 2000s in Florida in order to tell the love story of Sam and Ana.
The film explores the realities, struggles, and experiences of a young couple making a decision surrounding an unplanned pregnancy while still in high school. Teen pregnancy has been explored in film before however, Icon takes on the difficult task of showing the realities many American teens and couples share with unplanned pregnancies. Couple Ana and Sam go through their individual struggles during Ana’s pregnancy both taking accountability for their unborn child.In the process of deciding whether or not to continue the pregnancy, Sam explores his own masculinity and what it means to be a man through the lens of his absent father and the women in his life ultimately giving a powerful critic on masculinity and manhood.
When asked how they would describe the film, actor Parker Padgett and director Tony Ahedo described the film as intimate and real. Devon Hales applauds the film’s ability to show both Ana and Sam’s perspective but also the power within a women’s choice and agency over her own body. The authenticity of the story can be felt while watching.
