5 Questions for Filmadelphia Shorts Filmmakers PFF29

by Le Anne Lindsay, Editor (Originally Posted Oct 19, 2020)

The 29th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival (Virtual /Drive-In) runs from October 23 -November 2, 2020.  Click HERE for coverage.  This year, I’m also featuring filmmakers with shorts in the Filmadelphia section of the festival (Filmed in or around Philly) as part of my continuing 5 Questions Series!

All Films in this Filmadelphia Shorts Program Screen Virtually on Saturday, October 24, 2020 5:30pm and available throughout the fest.

Jump to Film: GABBY | ISLANDER |ON THE FENCELINE |OLD YOUNG | THE WELL | TRASHY BOOTY

ISLANDER
Filmmaker : Derek Pastuszek | Story:  D. Pastuszek and Nicholas Bupp
Instagram | Facebook

Synopsis: The storm took everything. But now pieces have begun to wash ashore.

Derek Pastuszek Intro…

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

Derek Pastuszek: My family and I were affected by Hurricane Sandy: We had a quirky old house in Beach Haven on Long Beach Island, a home my grandfather built himself in the 1960s (after the March Storm of 1962) – and although the house survived Sandy, my family parted ways with it in the aftermath. At the time we shot Islander, I was attending the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles – and the project began simply as a way for me to return to LBI and capture the landscape and the atmosphere and the damage that the community still wore. As the story began to come together, Islander became a weirdly poetic little fable – and a love letter to those sacred childhood memories that are in my heart. The prevailing theme, for me at least, is that we humans will always seek meaning and purpose and connection – even in the aftermath of tragedy — even in times when we feel alone.

T&T: Tell us a bit about the music of your film? Does food play a big part in your film? Or answer both.

DP: Because there’s no dialogue in this film, music plays a major part in our storytelling. We always knew that our score would be the primary emotional pathway for the audience to connect with our character, and at every stage in the process I was considering how the visuals and score would cooperate to make that as strong a connection as possible. The score was done by a dear friend, Katy Jarzebowski, who is so immensely talented as a composer – and as an overall storyteller. The music she wrote for this film perfectly captured and elevated our narrative and thematic ideas – and I’m so proud of the work she did for us. She and I spent a lot of time working out the ‘themes’ of the film – and she masterfully expressed all of the melancholy, nostalgia, tenderness, and love that we set out to evoke. I wanted her to write music that would make me cry – that would create a swell of memory and emotion when I heard it – and, to this day, her music still does that to me.

When I first read this question, I thought there was no food in our film – but, in fact, there is a crucial moment in Islander that is built around food. The Islander brings his newfound companion to a pier, where he then begins to feed a frenzy of seagulls. This caps a sequence that is all about our character building a connection to something – and finally feeling love in his heart again. It may not be a conventional ‘food scene’ – but I do believe that, in feeding these birds, the character is nurturing others again – in this moment, he is finally giving something back to the world again — because he has love in his heart. This scene is also special to me as it is an homage to my father, who would always feed the seagulls like this. I’ll always have the image of him, on our upper deck, throwing bread into the air as a tornado of birds swirls above him – an image of pure joy and chaos.

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

DP:  Nicholas Bupp (our Cinematographer) and I hurriedly shot this film during our brief winter break while we were in our second year at AFI – this was back in 2014 (maybe January 2015). And I didn’t start editing, with Yuri Chernykh, until May of 2019. So, in those four years, I was constantly wondering if I’d ever get to putting this film together and finally finishing it. In that time, I was going through some personal struggles with depression, and just generally trying to figure out who I was and how to carry on, and – in getting through that — suddenly this story meant so much more to me. That’s what pushed me forward — the fact that I myself had gone through such a dark and lonely time, but still endured, and even found connection, and love, at the end of it. I could now express that in the narrative of Islander – I could tell that story because I’d just lived it. The fire was lit. I then spoke with Yuri about collaborating — having him edit the film — and, with him at my side, the final film came together. Sometimes I wish it hadn’t taken so long to complete, but sometimes I tell myself that if I hadn’t waited, it wouldn’t have been so cathartic and true.

T&T: Give a quick shout out to your creative team and anyone who helped get your film from an idea to the screen.

DP: Even for this very-small movie, there are so many people to thank for helping it along the way. The main collaborators, who deserve so much praise and gratitude are Nicholas Bupp (Cinematographer and Story), Jeff Swisher (who plays The Islander), Yuri Chernykh (Editor), Katy Jarzebowski (Composer), Joseph Miller (who voices The Islander). It was such a gift to work with these folks.

T&T: One Pro and One Con regarding Shooting Independent Films in and around Philadelphia

DP:  The PRO is easy: I’m proudly from Philadelphia – I was raised just outside the city, in Swarthmore – but I am based in Los Angeles. So any time I can come home and make a film, I’m thrilled to do so. I get to see my family and my close friends and walk through a city I’ve always loved so much. My mother lives in the Fairmount neighborhood and, when I’m visiting, I love getting lost in those old cobblestone streets while listening to music and thinking about new stories I could tell here.

CON: I’ve been sitting here staring at the blinking cursor for five minutes now, and I still can’t think of a con. So, either Philadelphia has no flaws – or I just haven’t had enough coffee yet.

THE WELL
Filmmaker : Neal Dhand
TRAILER | Website

Synopsis: Stepan comes to believe that an abandoned well can help his comatose sister.

Neal Dhand intro…

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

Neal Dhand: The themes of The Well are hopefully present at its initial shot: the precipice between life and death, and a child’s harsh coming-of-age.
The Well was inspired by a legend in the Czech Republic about a portal to hell.

T&T: Tell us a bit about the music of your film?

ND: The music was composed by Philadelphia-based composer Ilan Isakov. We worked to find a tone that was somewhere between fantasy and drama, childhood and adult, wonder and danger. I love what Ilan wrote!

T&T:  What’s been the most memorable response you’ve received thus far from anyone after seeing your film?

ND: The most memorable response came after its premiere at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. One viewer’s comment translates from the original Korean to, “If the well was not deep, it would have been nice. It’s damn deep…I just look at it and it’s crazy.” I want to get that printed and framed.  I was also happy when the jury at the same festival gave it an Honorable Mention, citing the “poetic expression of the film.” That felt like we had achieved what we were after.

T&T: Give a quick shout out to your creative team and anyone who helped get your film from an idea to the screen.

DH: Lots of people gave me feedback on early drafts: my wife Katerina, friends Ali, Brendan, and Diego, in particular. Michael Brierley, the cinematographer, was instrumental in the film from start to finish, as were the ADs, Amanda Erixon Ekelund and Fu Ying Hui. Producers Steve Reverand and Martin Raiman gave such useful guidance, especially in the post-process. Jamie Branquinho has now done sound on my last several projects, his ear and creativity elevated this film.

T&T: One Pro and One Con regarding Shooting Independent Films in and around Philadelphia

DH: Pro: huge support system. Con: the Philly accent can be hard to lose or to imitate!

OLD YOUNG
Filmmaker : Emma Baiada
TRAILER | Website | Instagram | Twitter

Synopsis: 92 year old Ruth Young, clad in newspaper shin guards and a paisley headscarf, begins to contemplate her inevitable death, but she has no intention of slowing down. Accompanied by her jolly 53 year old companion David Maitz, Ruth mows her lawn with a bread knife, visits The Philadelphia Mint to learn how pennies are made, and makes a heartwarming pilgrimage to her family’s cemetery plot where she and Dave will eventually rest.

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

Emma Baiada: The main inspiration for Old Young came from the characters themselves. Ruth is actually my great Aunt, but it wasn’t until my partner met Ruth and her friend Dave that I realized that there was a heartwarming story there. I wanted to get to know these two unique people not only as individuals, but as an unlikely pair with an unusually sweet and strong bond. As I started to explore their friendship and delight in life, the theme of death began to reveal itself, and the film became a meditation on companionship, coins, life, and death.

T&T: Tell us a bit about the music of your film?

EB: I decided to use a minimal amount of music as I wanted the characters and images to speak for themselves, but I did open the film with a piece of early music (G. Frescobaldi’s “Se l’Aura Spira” performed by the Clematis Ensemble) to lend a sense of regality, vivaciousness, and olden-times to the film. I felt this music reflected the energy that exists in both Ruth and her home city of Philadelphia despite their old age. The other piece of music, composed for the film by Nicolas Snyder, comes during the graveside prayer, welcoming viewers into a somber and reflective headspace as Ruth and Dave ponder their relatives’ deaths, and perhaps their own.

T&T:  What’s been the most memorable response you’ve received thus far from anyone after seeing your film?

EB: I don’t have one favorite response, but I am repeatedly touched by the love of Ruth that many viewers have expressed after watching the film.

T&T: Give a quick shout out to your creative team and anyone who helped get your film from an idea to the screen.

EB: I want to thank my filmmaking and life partner Nicolas Snyder, who held my hand through the process of making this film. Not only did he shoot and compose the original music, but he provided invaluable feedback as I brought it to life through the editing process. I also want to thank my family, without whom, I would not know Ruth!

T&T: One Pro and One Con regarding Shooting Independent Films in and around Philadelphia

EB: Con: I live in Los Angeles, so I would say that the main con to shooting in Philadelphia is less accessibility to rental gear. There are a few great rental houses, and sites like ShareGrid have made finding gear a lot easier!

The main Pro is the natural vibrancy and beauty of the city. It was inspiring to be surrounded by so much color and life, and I wanted that to be present in my film. For instance, I love the reggaeton that you can hear Ruth’s neighbors listening to as she and Dave weed in her garden. Philadelphia is a beautiful melting pot of all kinds of people.

GABBY
Filmmaker : Adam Murray | Screenwriter: Alexis Quasarano
Instagram | IMDB

Synopsis: Meredith Pottsworth, artist of the comic strip “Gabby”, is at the end of her creative rope. While trying to find inspiration in her work she witnesses a murder in her own backyard.  The masked killer makes his way into Meredith’s house. Things go from bad to worse when he reveals himself to be an incredibly huge fan of her comic.

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

Adam Murray: The inspiration for the short came out of seeing toxic culture online from people who think they have ownership over a specific franchise or film, like Star Wars. Women in creative roles and positions get it ten times worse. So I wrote up a story about toxic fandom, but through the lens of a Sunday morning comic strip, and Alexis Quasarano (screenwriter) ran with it.

T&T: Tell us a bit about the music of your film?

AM: For the score I reached out to my friend, Tyler Parks Burton, who I’ve worked with before on a handful of other projects to compose the score. Since the film is focused on a comic strip creator he said he wanted to hit the Charlie Brown type of score and blend it with something more sinister when the tension ramped up. I had been listening to a lot of Nicholas Britell scores, so the music is a mix of Succession blended with It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

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

AM: For the most part production ran smoothly. We shot over the course of a weekend, at a friend’s home, but the pre-production leading up to it was a pretty big undertaking. It’s a very low budget short that I funded out of pocket, and it came together with a lot of favors from friends who I’ve worked with over the years. We only had a crew of eight people, and I was working both behind the camera and collaborating with our art director pretty heavily.

T&T: Give a quick shout out to your creative team and anyone who helped get your film from an idea to the screen.

AM: We had an incredible team on this project. Mike Mayfield (Animator/UArts Graduate) drew the official art of Gabby as well as the comic strips. I drafted up some super rough doodles, and he went to town on the whole look of the character. I really wanted it to feel like Gabby was a comic that had been around since the 80’s. Tiffany Wong (art director/UArts Graduate) and Chris Wehba (photographer/UArts Graduate) really helped bring that to life. Jackie Coon did a great job as our makeup artist, working with a small budget and a small window of time to work in. Marhyan Franzen (cinematographer), Drew Johnson (Gaffer), Isaac Ruth (Steadicam Operator/UArts Graduate), Jim Funicelli (Sound), and Alexis Quasarano (screenwriter/Asst. Director) all operated at 1,000%, and made the filming process fly by.   Our cast: Deanna Rooney, Davey Johnson, Tom Sibley, and Page Ridgeway (UArts Graduate) did incredible work with only a few rehearsal days and an incredibly tight schedule. Also, Orson
the Cat did a fantastic job.

T&T: One Pro and One Con regarding Shooting Independent Films in and around Philadelphia

AM: Not answered

ON THE FENCELINE: A FIGHT FOR CLEAN AIR

Filmmakers : Tara Eng, Kristen Harrison, Alex Klein, Alisha Tamarchenko
TRAILER | Website | Instagram | Facebook

Synopsis:  On the Fenceline: A Fight for Clean Air is an urgent call for justice for a Philadelphia community. After living on the fenceline of the east coast’s largest oil refinery and suffering from cancer, asthma, and COPD for years, residents have come together to stand up to CEOs and fight for their right to breathe.

A June 21st explosion at the refinery was the tipping point for most, if not all, of the residents living nearby. As the now-defunct refinery land has been put up for sale, the opportunity for community members and environmental activists to shut down operations for good has finally come. Throughout the film, we begin to see and understand that communities, against all odds, have the power to stand up to large, polluting corporations.

On The Fenceline Intro…

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

Tara Eng: The more time we spent with Philly Thrive, the more we realized how special it was to have a group of people who leaned on each other, uplifted each other, and empowered each other whether they were meeting for the first or hundredth time. We were inspired by that strong sense of community and deep level of caring, and it became the heart & soul of the film.

Alisha Tamarchenko: We also wanted audiences to come out of the screening feeling uplifted and inspired. The topics we tackle – the inequity of climate disaster and environmental degradation can often be demoralizing. We really wanted people to walk away feeling the resiliency of a community, the power of grassroots organizing and hopefully inspired to take action.

T&T: Tell us a bit about the music of your film OR Does food play a big part in your film? Or answer both.

Alex Klein: A goal of our film was to delve the viewer into Philadelphia as much as possible, and we found that with rapper/Philly Thrive Activist, Ricky Green. Ricky, who goes by “Ricky Chase Da Green” was originally one of the first subjects that we interviewed, and we fell in love with him, but unfortunately couldn’t fit his interview into the film. We did, though, find a place to insert Ricky’s music over our footage introducing the viewer to their first sights of South Philadelphia in the beginning of the film. And, we used his song “Right to Breathe” in our credits, a song he made specifically for Thrive. By using Ricky’s music, we make it more clear for the viewer that this is a film for and about the South Philadelphia community.

Alisha: Food doesn’t play a big part in our film on screen but it definitely played a huge part behind the scenes. A big part of the process when it comes to making a documentary is actually the time you spend with cameras off, just listening and learning from the organization. A lot of these conversations happened over pizza slices in the park – sharing food, chatting and listening. 

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

Alex: To say making this film went by without any hitches would be a lie. COVID was a real bump in the road just mentally. I was so used to sitting in the editing room with Alisha, tag-teaming the edit with her for hours. Then Kristen was a huge addition becoming more of a lead editor with Alisha and I. The three of us I think found our groove post-production wise heading into the spring and then we had to rethink the editing workflow once the pandemic hit. For me personally, it took me a couple to get my motivation back to finish the edit. The deadlines really were what got the motivation back up for myself and I think the team too. Having to finish the film for our thesis class was a good push. Then, after looking into festivals and seeing that deadlines were nearing for those, we really put our heads down and pushed the edit out, with constant reworks of the edit, team meetings and hours of little tweaks being made. So, in the beginning, COVID really put a damper on things, but I think it made us a stronger team, given how well and quickly we adjusted to our new conditions.

Kristen Harrison: In late February, we made what we didn’t know would be our last trip to Philadelphia. We weren’t sure yet if we had needed to go back to film more in the future, but when COVID hit, it pretty much ended our production phase. The four of us at times over the next few months were spread out and we weren’t quite sure how to proceed with editing. Luckily Alisha and I lived together and Alex was right around the corner for much of quarantine, so we passed a disinfected hard drive back and forth most of the time. At the end of May we had to really finish quite quickly for a festival deadline we hoped to meet in June, so that fast-tracked the process and we all put our feet on the gas to make sure we had a film we were proud of.

T&T: Give a quick shout out to your creative team and anyone who helped get your film from an idea to the screen.

Tara: This film sprouted and took shape with patient consultation from Ben Crane and John Scott at Ithaca College. Dante DiAndrea worked miracles as our audio mixer under impossible deadlines. The film wouldn’t exist without our parents, who fed and housed us and cheered us on. We are indebted to Philly Thrive, who greeted us with warm hugs and stacks of pizza after every 4-hour drive.

T&T: One Pro and One Con regarding Shooting Independent Films in and around Philadelphia

Kristen: I am in love with Philadelphia and the people of Philadelphia. Having lived in the suburbs for most of my life, I was in and out of Philly often but never fully knew the community within all the different neighborhoods. Getting to know South Philly through the lens of Philly Thrive brought to light a whole community that has come together to fight this huge polluting entity that I can’t say has affected me as greatly from living a bit farther away. Every interaction we had with Thrive made me realize just how distant I was from these communities. This understanding shifted my personal perspective and I feel so lucky to learn more about the people in the Point Breeze and Wilson Park neighborhoods that we filmed in. We also absolutely love Wawa so that was a major pro. Also since Tara and I are both from the area, we were able to see and stay with our families during our trips to Philly. They accommodated our whole team for which we are incredibly grateful. I can’t think of any cons, other than drone restrictions around the airport and refinery were a bit sketchy at times. I would love to make another documentary in Philly.

TRASHY BOOTY

Writer/Director : Iris Devins
TRAILER | Website | Instagram | Twitter

Synopsis:  Two trans women discover a robot while dumpster diving. Unwittingly caught in a social experiment, the women face their routine challenges.

Iris Devins intro…

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

Iris Devins: Trashy Booty centers around two dumpster diving trans women who happen upon a hitchhiking robot. I took inspiration for the robot from hitchBOT, the real hitchhiking robot that was found destroyed in Philadelphia a few years back, but the story is primarily driven by the friendship between these two women. I wanted to show a small part of the friendships and chosen family that are central to the lives of a lot of trans people. I see an abundance of stories about trans people coming out or transitioning, and many of these stories focus on tragedy or hardship. I wanted to make a film about trans friendship and joy, even as these women navigate through an unkind world.

I framed the film around the question: What if the last two people who saw hitchBOT alive were two dumpster diving trans women? I wanted to reframe the conversation around the destruction of hitchBOT and the trans experience as shown on screen.

T&T: Tell us a bit about the music of your film?

ID: Anthony Vargas wrote the score. We worked through the score in my apartment over two to three weeks. I wanted the score to support the playfulness of Trashy Booty, and I felt like a retro synthesizer score would be perfect for a weird robot, built out of a bucket and other scrap parts. For the closing track, my friend Anna Young performed the vocals, and I’m really happy with how it all came out. She came up with the lyrics on the spot, based on some vocalizations that she worked through earlier in the week. We added some vocoder sounds to her vocals in the mix to support the robot vibe of the film.

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

ID: The closing scene of the film is set near Elfreth’s Alley, which is a popular tourist location. I set the scene there, because it coincides with something in the real story of hitchBOT. The location proved to be one of the most difficult shooting situations that I’ve ever had, because of the amount of foot traffic and tourist buses going by. I did expect some difficulty at the location, but not to that extreme. I definitely wasn’t sure if we could get through it, and I didn’t have the budget for a reshoot. After talking with the director of photography, Marie, we came up with a strategy to shoot the scene. From there, I was able to remove any unwanted issues in the footage by doing some time consuming vfx cleanup work.



T&T: Give a quick shout out to your creative team and anyone who helped get your film from an idea to the screen.

ID: My producer Rafael “Q” Quinde is my most critical collaborator. His eyes are always the first and last set of notes on my scripts, and he helps me back up on my feet when I feel like quitting. I wouldn’t have been able to finish any of these projects without him. Marie Hinson is a wonderful director of photography, and her aptitude for lighting, composition, and lensing perfectly complimented the visual palette that I proposed during our early conversations. My casting director, Erica Palgon, has also become a close collaborator over the years, and I very much trust her instincts through the casting process.  I loved working with my leads Michelle Hendley and Denny. Their dynamic worked really well to bring Kat and Willow to life. Sarah Juma, who did the production design, did a great job executing on the original look that I pitched for the film.

 I’m fortunate to be surround by a great network of film crew in the region, and I want to shoutout everyone who worked below the line on Trashy Booty. These kind of indie films wouldn’t be possible without them. Pat Boyle, who also plays the grocery store manager in the film, provided me with the perfect location for the dumpster diving scene.

The film was financially possible due to three major supporting organization. My Leeway Foundation Transformation Award was a big part of the funding, and some of the funding for post-production came from the Sundance Institute, through their work with the Knight Foundation.



T&T: One Pro and One Con regarding Shooting Independent Films in and around Philadelphia

ID: I really love working with the film crew network that I know in the region. They’re all great people. It’s harder to come up with a con! I would say that sometimes I feel a little disconnected from the larger film industry, but I have been able to find some reach outside of the region through festivals and organizational support.

Check out the Full Line Up of Films and Events and Tinsel & Tine’s #MiniMovieReviews for Philadelphia Film Society’s Philadelphia Film Festival #PFF29