Quiet Descent Films is the current production banner of filmmaker Alex Valderana, whose work explores psychological tension, transformation, and the quiet consequences of human behavior. Valderana has been involved in independent film production since 2010. His earlier work, including the nonprofit web series Nightwing: Escalation and the short film Disclosure, was produced under the banner 2 A.M. Already Productions.
Nightwing: Escalation ran for eight years beginning in 2011, with Valderana serving as executive producer, editor & director before becoming showrunner. The series is noted in genre circles for featuring David Howard Thornton (Art the Clown, Terrifier) as The Joker.
After several years working in television post-production, Valderana returned to narrative directing with Disclosure, written and produced by Raul Barquet, which is currently entering the festival circuit. Quiet Descent Films reflects the present and future direction of Valderana’s work — a focused slate of psychologically driven films favoring restraint over spectacle and interior descent over externalized conflict. New projects, including Surfaces, are currently in development.
DISCLOSURE
In this trailer for the short film “Disclosure”, disgraced news anchor Gary Carmichael receives a shot at redemption when he uncovers something that can change the world and his life forever. Directed & edited by Alex Valderana•Written by Raul Barquet•Produced by Raul Barquet, Jared DiCroce & Alex Valderana•Cinematography by Mattie Cameron Rosen
NIGHTWING: ESCALATION
SEASON THREE
In the final season, Barbara Gordon (Katalena Mermelstein) takes up the mantle of Nightwing in honor of her fallen predecessor and re-teams with her Birds of Prey: The Black Canary/Dinah Lance (Maya Murphy) and The Huntress/Helena Bertinelli (Diana Cherkas). Barbara faces her past when The Joker (David Howard Thornton), who once shot & tormented her, escapes from Arkham and causes chaos in the city. After directing & producing the first 2 seasons, Alex took a backstep out for Season 3 and welcomed other NYC creative filmmakers into the sandbox to tell their stories in the larger narrative.
In this compilation below, witness David Howard Thornton’s iconic Joker.
In S3E4 “War Games”, producer Jared DiCroce directs as The Joker's reign begins. This is the most popular episode in the series & most infamous, highlighting the Clown Prince’s capabilities for terror. Edited by Alex Valderana
CATWOMAN: ATARAXIA
In this three-part mini-series, Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Brittney Parker Rose) confronts her past as a deadly new serial killer, Seraphim (Christina Jolie Breza), appears in Gotham. As Catwoman hunts Seraphim, she discovers a shocking truth about the killer's identity. This series was created by Alex Valderana, conceptualized by producer David Givens and directed by actor Kristen Seavey (Julie Hartman in “Nightwing: Escalation”) Seavey helms an all-female cast in this story, aiming to tell a more personal story for Selina.