Screening and discussing at the crossroads of creative, film and technology

SOME MOMENTS FROM PIFF 2022

So much goes on early June, including my birthday, so my schedule didn’t permit me to attend as many films and events as I would have liked, but here’s some highlights I did catch.
Content warning: video contains excerpts of the standup acts from Opening Night Party, language contains expletives.

Be sure to scroll down below for 5 Question Interviews with a few of the Philly Filmmakers

PIFF 15 SCREENING AND EVENTS SCHEDULE JUNE 6-11, 2022

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Or click HERE for PIFF Official Schedule on Pifffilms.tv site

PIFF annually curates a unique collection of local and global Independent Drama, Documentary, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Music Video, Animation, Virtual, Web Series and other film forms in Philadelphia, PA…

T&T’s 5 Question Interviews for PIFF Filmmakers

Connor Rickman, Director, Story Concept

THE WHOLE LOT

click title for TRAILER

Synopsis: A woman, her husband, and her estranged brother meet at their late father’s property to divide his estate and confront an uncomfortable family history.

I could not have asked for a better screenwriter than Matthew Ivan Bennett. His experience as a playwright helped craft such a compelling and interesting story despite our lack of resources.

Connor has answered the 5 Questions via video & written below:

T&T: In a nutshell what was the main inspiration and/or the theme that is the heart of your film?

Connor Rickman We started the creative process by examining what our limitations and assets were and then engineered a character drama around our discoveries. I worked with my very talented screenwriter Matthew Ivan Bennett to come up with the plot based on our location and the actors I wanted to work with, and he layered in elements of thriller, horror, and drama to make the film what it is. A solid 3-hander character drama that was possible for our budget.

T&T: Tell us a bit about the music (Who did you work with? What did you want to convey? Or any other tidbits):

RICKMAN: I worked with my childhood friend Russell Huiskamp on the score. He generously volunteered to do it for free and his talent is immense: he has composed 2 Sundance documentaries for the director Jenny McKenzie. Russell composed a very unconventional but compelling score that lends itself well to the slightly surreal nature of the story. He also composed an original song based on lyrics written by the screenwriter Matthew Ivan Bennett. The lead character performs a demo of the song in the film, and a fully produced version performed by Russell himself plays over the end credits.

T&T: Was there a point where you almost didn’t finish? And if so, what pushed you forward?

RICKMAN: We shot this movie in the winter of 2018 and then did some pickups and re-shoots in the winter of 2019. Like most film industry freelancers, I was out of work for a large chunk of 2020 and didn’t have the cash to complete the final edit, VFX, sound, and color, but I managed to scrape together enough cash in the latter half of the year and in early 2021 to finish the film to what I believe is a very high standard.

T&T: Give a quick shout out to your creative team and anyone who helped get your film from an idea to Philadelphia Independent Film Festival 2022:

RICKMAN: This was certainly not a solo effort and so much work was put in by a passionate group of people: Themba Moyo and Lindy Stokes my producers, Matthew Ivan Bennett my screenwriter, Sarah, Blake, and Aaron my cast, Denver, Roman, Clarissa, Matt Whittaker, Sandra, Andrew, Derek, and Matt Webb my department heads. Joel, Ryan, Jacob, and Dan my post team, and all of my friends who did me favors throughout the process. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

T&T: Name 5 of your favorite films which influenced your desire to be a filmmaker?

RICKMAN:
1. Raging Bull
2 .The Conversation
3. Blow Out
4. The American,
5. Enemy of the State

@theWholeLotFilm (IG)

Connor Rickman is a graduate of the London Film School’s MA International Film Business Program, Connor Rickman has since run the Production Office for several studio and network projects including HBO, Amazon, Hallmark Channel, YouTube Premium, and Facebook Watch, and has also done the same for several independent films. In his hometown of Salt Lake City, Connor co-founded Overcranked Pictures: a production services company that provides business services to writers and directors creating their own films.

Gerald Webb, writer/director/producer/performer
$TACK$

click title for TRAILER

Synopsis: $TACK$ – Unprecedented times force two fierce rivals to come face to face, for the first time in over a decade, to close a deal for the most valuable substance on earth. – $TACK$, at its core, is a film that holds a mirror up to every viewer, offering them the opportunity to see the best and the worst in themselves. Upon first view almost everyone misses the stinging social commentary and myriad of clues teasing the audience as to what assumptions in their own minds. What judgments will you make and how will they affect your views of Magdalena, Hector, Ty, Rube, Momo and Jordan? In the end what do those judgments reflect within you?

T&T: In a nutshell what was the main inspiration and/or the theme that is the heart of your film?

Gerald Webb: $TACK$ is my sarcastically angry plea for every viewer to be responsible for the attitudes, assumptions and judgments buried deep inside themselves. It’s timely message taunts, teases and dares the audience to discover hidden twists and clues before their own biases and assumptions lead them down the wrong path. It was inspired when I went to a Costco in Burbank, Ca in early March 2020 and witnessed a woman hoarding flatbed carts full supplies. The selfishness and disregard for other human beings I saw on display combined with the rapid rise of racism, stereotypes and hatred made me want to scream. I couldn’t believe that just as our country faced a massive pandemic many were allowing the worst in themselves to come out. Rather than berate the woman, I went home and poured my outrage onto the pages of $TACK$. It was equal parts a therapeutic and creative outlet for me to challenge the audience and our society as a whole to look in the mirror and see what we have become.

T&T: Tell us a bit about the music (Who did you work with? What did you want to convey? Or any other tidbits):

WEBB: Delaware based producer and remixer Knappy (Knappy.com) composed “$TACK$” score and produced the “Dropping Deuces” song in $TACK$ end credits. Knappy and I have been friends and have worked together for over two decades and were once in the rap group ONE a.d. together. I really trust him and sent him a rough cut of $TACK$ with some temporary place holding music we borrowed from the Bad Boys 2 score to help set the tone. Knappy used that as a baseline but really flipped it and made the entire score his own. When he sent it back I had just a couple of notes. His score really helps drive the tension that is one of the main threads that makes $TACK$ work.

The song “Dropping Deuces” was an after thought and wasn’t part of my original plans. I was sitting on quarantine lockdown in March of 2020 and waiting for the second cut of $TACK$ from the editor and thought, what if I write a Will Smith style rap to play during the end credits to punch home the true message behind $TACK$. I started writing and told Knappy I needed a beat and a few days later the song was ready to record. Since we were all on quarantine, with me in Los Angeles and Knappy in Dover, DE we recorded the vocal remotely via my living room and Knappy’s studio.

The song came out so good, I couldn’t resist doing a music video and the cinematographer, Thomas Hennessy and I got together and shot it in about two hours with he and I as the two-man crew and of course with me wearing a ridiculous outfit in front of the camera! I had zero plans to ever rap again, let alone make a music video or have another song released but “Dropping Deuces” really was the perfect complement to $TACK$ and fits perfectly in the end credits as a bonus for the audience. The crazy things we do for art!

T&T: Was there a point where you almost didn’t finish? And if so, what pushed you forward? AND/OR What’s been the most memorable response you’ve received thus far from anyone after seeing your film?

WEBB: YES! Our window was ridiculously tight from the start. I wrote $TACK$ on a Saturday and Los Angeles went into mandatory just six day later. It was literally a shoot now or it never happens situation! Late that Saturday night I sent the script to Mark Christopher Lawrence and the cinematographer Thomas Hennessy. They both got back to me immediately and said the same exact thing: “When are we shooting?” This put me on the spot to take this idea and script and make it a reality. I have the support of a team and I need to make it happen! I got on the phone and put the rest of the cast and crew in place quickly. Sixty-eight hours later I called “action” on the first shot of $TACK$. We shot the entire film in one nine-hour night and wrapped shooting forty-six hours before Los Angeles’ mandatory Covid-19 quarantine went into effect. If Thomas and Mark didn’t immediately say let’s do it, $TACK$ would have never happened.

So many film festivals were forced to go virtual over the last two years, I am so happy that we are finally getting to see audiences’ responses to the film in person. I cherish each of those opportunities to hear and see how they are impacted by and react to $TACK$. I can’t wait to hear what Philly thinks about this jawn when we make our Philadelphia theatrical premiere at PIFF this week.

T&T: Give a quick shout out to your creative team and anyone who helped get your film from an idea to Philadelphia Independent Film Festival 2022:

WEBB: The entire team at $TACK$ showed out! Everyone brought their A game. It really takes an amazing team to complete a film and #teamstacks crushed it. The DP Thomas Hennessy really understood the feel of the script and crafted the perfect look for $TACK$ by utilizing vintage lenses to get a gritty film feel. Jeff Murphy the film editor is such a professional and masterfully covered up some things I would approach and shoot differently the next time. His team at Quest Pacifica also handled all our sound design, color correction and post-delivery making it all pretty seamless. Ken Prieto really got the tone of Dropping Deuces and edited the music video portion with the fun, sarcasm and lightness that was the perfect counterbalance to $TACK$’ inherent grittiness. Meredith Thomas our supervising producer was instrumental in crafting our film festival presence and strategy- something a lot of filmmakers start to think about much later than they should. To have that level of professionals share their amazing talents and support made my inaugural directing experience a dream. I hope I lived up to my responsibility to each of them and to the $TACK$ audience.

T&T: Name 5 of your favorite films which influenced your desire to be a filmmaker?

WEBB:
1. 12 Angry Men
2. O Brother Where Art Thou?
3. Shawshank Redemption
4. Antoine Fuqua’s Equalizer
5. Gladiator

More recently, the creativity of Everything Everywhere All At Once blew me away and I honestly loved the new Top Gun Maverick movie. They did such a good reviving a classic staying true to the original film’s feel but while still breaking new ground. BTW: the poster for $TACK$ was inspired by the poster for the classic movie JUICE.

$TACK$ is the directorial debut of Philadelphia and South Jersey native and Daytime Emmy Award nominee, Gerald Webb (HBO’s Barry, Sharknado). In 2012, Gerald co-founded production company, DeInstitutionalized, LLc, with Christopher Ray. The company has produced and delivered films to partners including Netflix, Paramount, Syfy Network, Lifetime Network, ION Television, Saban, and Cinedigm. Gerald is also executive producing DeInstitutionalized’s new scripted digital series, FraXtur.

www.Stacksmovie.com | www.GeraldWebb.com | Socials @Stacksmovie | @GeraldWebb

Ashwin Chaudhary, Co-Director
BLIND EYE ARTIST

click Title for TRAILER

Synopsis: The origin story of Philadelphia-born painter Justin Wadlington, who is self-taught despite being blind in his left eye. Forced into isolation during the pandemic, Wadlington devotes himself to a series of masterpiece acrylic paintings, including one entitled “Black American Dream”.

T&T: In a nutshell what was the main inspiration and/or the theme that is the heart of your film?

Ashwin Chaudhary & Jonathan Korn: A friend told us about Justin Wadlington’s page on instagram, where he had uploaded pictures of his amazing acrylic paintings, often with inspiring captions and personal posts about his life story. Both the artwork and the journey of this artist, blind in his left eye, hooked us immediately. We knew his story had the chance to impact many people, so we devoted ourselves to doing it justice.

T&T: Tell us a bit about the music (Who did you work with? What did you want to convey? Or any other tidbits):

CHAUDHARY/KORN: Most of the music in the film is stock, but the title track “Man With One Eye” was composed by his close friend Neil Carter.

T&T: Was there a point where you almost didn’t finish? And if so, what pushed you forward?

CHAUDHARY/KORN: There was a point where we thought we were done working on it! In the summer of 2021, we thought we had captured enough for a 55-minute film. However as we were working on the color and sound into the fall of 2021, Justin got an invitation to have his art auctioned off at Sotheby’s in New York. Luckily since we weren’t at picture lock, we extended our timeline to include this scene in the film, and it wound up being our opening scene! The film is now 76 minutes long.

T&T: Give a quick shout out to your creative team and anyone who helped get your film from an idea to Philadelphia Independent Film Festival 2022:

CHAUDHARY/KORN: Korn and myself have spent countless hours working on this self-financed production with our company Juice Groove. The 2 of us hail from Media, PA, so the PIFF selection is definitely an honor. And of course we have to thank Justin Wadlington, for entrusting us with his life story, and for being the inspiring force behind all the hard work and dedication that went into creating this documentary.

T&T: Name 5 of your favorite films which influenced your desire to be a filmmaker?

CHAUDHARY/KORN: Jon and I are deeply inspired by documentaries. A few that influenced us in the making of this film are

1. 13th by Ava DuVernay
2. Hoop Dreams by Steve James
3. Knock Down The House by Rachel Lears
4. Dos Escobars by Jeff & Michael Zimbalist
5. Icarus by Bryan Fogel

“A juice groove is inside the border of a cutting board that collects the juices from food that’s being cut. Instead of the knife, our apparatus is the camera. Our subjects are the fruit that sits atop the cutting board. The juicy runoff that our blade produces is the art, captured in the juice groove.” – JON KORN & ASHWIN CHAUDHARY

Website | juicegroovefilms.com

Brandon Keeton, producer

TURBO COLA

click title for TRAILER

Synopsis: Turbo Cola – With all of his friends headed to a party on the last night of 1999, Austin takes an extra shift at the Quality Mart gas station and is forced to look down the barrel of what it means to graduate high school and face a future stuck in his middle of nowhere hometown. He’s got one night to make his dreams come true, legal or not, and he’s taking it.

Brandon has answered the 5 Questions via video

Turbo Cola is written by Samantha Oty and a directorial debut for Luke Covert, a filmmaker from Harrisburg, PA – www.covertfilm.com/turbocola | Socials: IG: @turbocolamovie FB: @TurboColaMovie