HOBOKEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - OPENING NIGHT

Ryan Charles, Director and Josh Folan Producer
ALL GOD'S CREATURES
Opening Night at the Hoboken International Film Festival
Photo by Eric Roffman

HOBOKEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2011
JUNE 3 � JUNE 9

hobokeninternationalfilmfestival.com

The Hoboken International Film Festival began last night with large and friendly crowds and a fine film, and continues with an enormous number of films through Thursday, June 9, all screening at the Cedar Lane Cinema in Teaneck, NJ.

For the record, HIFF is an acronym used by several film festivals, notably:

HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (they got the HIFF URL)

www.hiff.org

HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

hamptonsfilmfest.org

HOBOKEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

hobokeninternationalfilmfestival.com

NORTH HUNTSVILLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (CANADA)

www.filmnorth.net/

The Hoboken International Film Festival is organized by Kenneth Del Vecchio, a filmmaker, actor, lawyer, writer, producer, self-described 400 pound bench-presser, former judge, and current politician � he's running for the NJ State Senate on the Republican line.

From the 4th to the 8th of June, there are two screens running feature or short film programs from about 2 PM until 8 or 10 PM: that�s about 40 film programs at the festival! (Films that Del Vecchio is involved with � in some combination of the roles of actor, director, writer, or producer -- make up about 10% of the programming.)

Opening Night had something of the flavor of a political event. A large fraction of the audience consisted of people who had worked on the Opening Night film, THE GREAT FIGHT, which was written and produced by Del Vecchio. Much of the rest of the audience consisted of filmmakers and actors in other films to be shown later in the festival. The large theater was packed. Before the film there was a food-and-drink party. There were several interviewers outside the theater speaking on camera with the filmmakers. People came early. After the screening, people stayed late.

One film that�s coming, which I can recommend, is WEST SIDE GIRL, made by Andrew Serban, screening with other short films on Tuesday, June 7 at 6:00. A devout Catholic up-and-coming female punk and lifelong resident of Manhattan's rapidly gentrifying Hell's Kitchen plots violent revenge against her landlord for evicting her in the middle of winter.

Roland Uruci, Shannon Lower (Patty Reilly), and Eric Kappenberg
In WEST SIDE GIRLPhoto by Andrew Serban

I play the landlord, and I can tell you that this punk is a scary tenant. 

Eric Roffman (aka Me)
As Bertelsman, the landlordIn WEST SIDE GIRL
Photo by Andrew Serban

The film was shot in natural low light, with brilliant cinematography. The acting by Shannon Lower and her low-life pals is terrific.

This short is a calling card for a feature length film: Andrew is just completing a script for a feature length film centered on the same character � and the same neighborhood.

Two other films that seem interesting, from conversations with the filmmakers on Opening Night, are ANYWHERE, TX, screening at 4:00 PM on Wed Jun 8 and ALL GOD�S CHILDREN, screening at 2:00 PM Saturday.

Melissa Swanepoel
Producer: ANYWHERE, TX
Opening Night at the Hoboken International Film Festival
Photo by Eric Roffman

Teaser for ANYWHERE, TX:

Teaser for ALL GOD�S CHILDREN:

Trailer for THE GREAT FIGHT

LINKS

HOBOKEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

www.hobokeninternationalfilmfestival.com

THE GREAT FIGHT - IMDB

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1703147/

WEST SIDE GIRL IMDB

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1621062/

ANDREW SERBAN'S "WEST SIDE GIRL" (with ME!) - Story in tattoowesley

http://tattoowesley.blogspot.com/2010/03/andrew-serbans-west-side-girl-with-me.html

ANYWHERE, TX

http://anywheretxthemovie.blogspot.com/

ALL GOD'S CREATURES

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1261964/

ANDREW SERBAN'S "WEST SIDE GIRL" (with ME!)

Roland Uruci, Shannon Lower (Patty Reilly), and Eric Kappenberg
Photo by Andrew Serban
WEST SIDE GIRL is a short film written and directed by Andrew Serban.

WEST SIDE GIRL WILL HAVE ITS WORLD PREMIERE
ON AUG 18, 2010 at 7:15 PM at Anthology Film Archive
as part of the Short Film Program at the NewFilmmakers Film Festival.

http://newfilmmakers.com/

Patricia Erin Reilly, the West Side girl of WEST SIDE GIRL is not an eight year old in pigtails hanging around Zabar's, but a tough young woman from Hell's Kitchen with a criminal record and dangerous friends.

I'm Bertelsman, the landlord, and I do not want Patty Reilly in my building.

Eric Roffman (aka Me)
As Bertelsman, the landlord
Photo by Andrew Serban
It's true I only have a few minutes on screen and a few lines. But as far as I'm concerned, this is my story.

Now, this movie could have been called "One Dark and Very, Very, Very Cold Night," because the action happens on... well, I just said it. And the long nights we filmed were just that bitterly freezing and windy.

In my scene, I'm coming out of one of my buildings where, according to Patty, in her vulgar speech, I've been "porking someone on the side".

Unfortunately, I am not a post-method actor. As a post-method actor I would have prepared for the scene by actually doing just what Patty said (in a nice warm place, too!), and then getting dressed and coming out into the street right when the director needed me. As a mere method actor, I used sense-memory and got ready for my long shot while waiting outside in the cold.

Perhaps in the sequel or prequel I get to present the intimate details of my story.

With a different cast, the director Andrew Serban, made another, earlier short film Patty Reilly Was Here, about the same character, Patty Reilly. This first film was shown recently by "New Filmmakers" at Anthology Film Archives.

Andrew has been doing excellent work as a professional photographer for years. And he has a strong visual style. WEST SIDE GIRL was shot at night, entirely in available light, on location on Hell's Kitchen streets. He worked slowly and with tremendous attention to detail, making sure that every shot was carefully framed, perfectly focussed, well lit, and properly played, according to his needs, and that the audio was cleanly recorded -- in between noise, stray lights, and raindrops... from passing cars, trains, clouds and airplanes. It was immensely careful work, taking great pains to get the acting, the creative storytelling, and the minute technical details in every scene all just right.

The cast, some of whom are pretty scary in the movie, did a great job of acting -- they're actually really nice people.

The story is tense and the look, film noir at its most contemporary.

The film has just been completed. As of this moment, I haven't even seen the DVD yet... it's in the mail!

I've been covering film festivals for tattoowesley. My hope is that WEST SIDE GIRL will be accepted to one of the festivals I cover, so that I can interview myself live on the Red Carpet.


CREDITS:

CAST (in alphebetical order)

Eric Kappenberg (Tommy)
Shannon Lower (Patricia Erin Reilly)
John Newsome (Johnny)
Eric Roffman -- aka Me! (Bertelsman - the landlord)
Roland Uruci (Shane)
Liane Wunderlich (Sassy)


CREW

Directed by Andrew Serban
Produced by Andrew Serban and Liane Wunderlich
Written by Andrew Serban with additional material by Liane Wunderlich
Sound recording by Joe Savastano
Music composed by Richard William Flores
Music composed for the opening credits by Stuart Torrance