6 North Shore Towers Courier n February 2015 MOVIES ON DEMAND Retrospective Gives Residents a Second Chance to See Audience Favorites The SFF@NST (Short Film Festival at North Shore Towers) has been presenting the wonders of short filmmaking to residents since fall 2013. From separate showings of five movies apiece in September and October, audience members choose their favorites, from which a pair receive an honorary “Audience Appreciation” award. A highlight of the Festival is the Q&A sessions with filmmakers which follow some of the screenings, which can run as short as five minutes. In a mere two years, the event has proven so popular that this past season’s second annual festival was simulcast in the Towers on the Green so as to handle the overflow of attendees that filled the NST Cinema, where the movies are held. After two successful events, the SFF@NST’s board is planning a special retrospective of its past winners in mid- March in the newly renovated NST Cinema. The exact date and time are yet to be determined, but the program will feature “Haber” by Daniel Ragussis and “Comfortable Distance” by James Bang, Audience Appreciation award winners from the Festival’s debut; and “Achille” by Giorgia Farina and “Hirosaki Players” by Jeff Sousa, from this fall’s second anniversary. Special Q&A sessions with filmmakers James Bang and Jeff Sousa will follow the screenings. North Shore Towers resident and professional actor, Marilyn Wallace, who spent 20 years on the television soap opera, “One Life to Live,” spearheaded the festival with her husband, Lee, after their arrival at The Towers two years ago. Now a retired actor, Lee’s career is filled with roles on Broadway and the big screen, and he may best be remembered for his role as the Gotham City mayor in the 1989 Tim Burton movie, “Batman.” As someone familiar with the business, Marilyn saw the need for short filmmakers to have a means to screen their work for the public, as opposed to the insular world of industry people at isolated festivals around the globe. The SSF@NST committee comprises Marilyn and Lee, Fred Chernow, and Marilyn and Dr. Robert Eagle. In March, they’ll begin screening movies for potential inclusion in this fall’s 3rd Annual event. Movies can come from anywhere and the committee encourages anyone who knows a filmmaker to submit their films for consideration. “We see a lot of films,” Marilyn admitted. “We try to choose ones that will resonate with our audience and are of the highest quality. We also look for films that are fun and might elicit a smile or two as well!” ACHILLE Written & directed by Giorgia Farina This humorous drama explores the emotional world of a senior former diving champion who challenges himself to find the will to live after his daughter tries to convince him to retire to a nursing home. THE HIROSAKI PLAYERS Written & directed by Jeff Sousa On a tense opening night, a Japanese playwright struggles with his aging, arrogant actor father, a legendary Samurai film star, for control of the play and their relationship. HABER Written & directed by Daniel Ragussis Brilliant German chemist and 1918 Nobel Prize winner Fritz Haber finds his love of country in conflict with his morals and his wife, when he’s asked by the German military to develop a weapon of mass destruction to break the bloody stalemate of trench warfare of World War I. COMFORTABLE DISTANCE Written & directed by James Bang Helen is caught on the horns of a dilemma as her sense of obligation to her longdeteriorating husband conflicts with the sense of newfound happiness she feels when she experiences a romantic reawakening in the autumn of her life.
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