14 North Shore Towers Courier n September 2015 documentarian, I like the idea of doing a comedy. What did you find most rewarding about the experience? I love hearing people laugh during the film. That’s what makes it all worthwhile. What do you hope to achieve with this film? It’s definitely entertainment, but the ending of the film has heartfelt moments and the relationship between the grandmother and the granddaughter comes together. It doesn’t have a totally happy ending, but the growth of the relationships are interesting to watch. Life is a process. What’s next for you? We’ve just completed a feature film, “The Birdwatcher,” a drama, which is just about to start its festival run. We were fortunate enough to have the same cast (Gabrielle Rose and Matreya Fedor) as in “OMG.” TOBACCO BURN Based on an oral history from the W.P.A. Writers, Tobacco Burn is set thirty-five years before the Civil War at the height of American slavery. When two of the enslaved weigh the complexities of killing their overseer, each develop a different understanding towards violence, acting on which could cost all of them their lives. Produced by Alvaro R. Valente Directed by Justin Liberman Interview with Justin Liberman What was the hardest part about making this film? There are so many challenges that pop up when one makes a film it is hard to isolate what the hardest part was. We faced a lot of adversity while making this film not the least of which was dealing with Hurricane Sandy and the subsequent blizzard that followed but when you keep things in perspective and understand that there was a lot more devastation for other people effected by Sandy, you take stock of the challenge and push forward. What inspired you to tackle this subject? I grew up in a historically rich area of Connecticut. At one time it was one of the biggest producers of tobacco in the country, and as a result, some of my friends growing up lived in these old farm houses from the early 1800s. I remember one night going down to the basement of one of their houses and finding an old passage used in the Underground Railroad. It was a very big event in my life and when I was thinking about what my next project was going to be, I remembered that energy I felt in the basement that night and followed that emotion. That was the spark of working with American Slavery as a backdrop, but once I engaged with material and my co-writer Ajani Jackson, I was compelled to tell these stories, because it felt incredibly important for us to reflect on our history and understand some of the context of the turbulent and ongoing race relations in this country. What did you find most rewarding about the experience? Being able to build a team around an idea is a thrilling feeling for a director to have. Nobody can make a movie by themselves and being able to work with a group of talented and passionate people and create a story or a piece of art that didn’t exist before—there is nothing like that. You become incredibly intimate with your collaborators and you experience all the complex emotions of intimate relationships. My producer, Alvaro Valente, and I grew as close as brothers, and as a result, there are many times we fight and hug and bicker back and forth and then hug again and laugh. It is really a profound relationship that is solely based on creativity and cinema. What do you hope to achieve with this film? I remember when I wrapped production I said to my professor, “If god-forbid I die tomorrow, I can say that I feel like I really directed a ‘movie.’” Being able to have that inner feeling is an achievement enough. That all said, I just want to share what I think is an important story and a piece of art that highlights the wonderful craft of filmmaking, from the acting to the cinematography, to the musical score to the costume design, for someone like me who loves cinema above all, I just want to share something that people will hopefully appreciate as a film. What’s next for you? I am currently in development on my first feature film. It’s titled “Mary Joe” and tells the honest, funny, and heartbreaking story of a family living in today’s wacky milieu. It was written by a wonderful NYU writer named Erik Hansen and really gets the heart of the confusion and wonders of life. It’s a small film in all the right ways and a large film in all the right ways. Small in scope and big in heart. We plan to shoot in the Hudson Valley in June 2016. WATER DOGS It happens one afternoon in NYC, when a small bit of luck sparks a chain reaction that leads a homeless man down an unexpected path of extraordinary success; an inspiring and creative story that captures all the quirks and intricacies of one of the greatest cities in the world. Writen, directed and edited by Matthew Slamowitz Interview with Matt hew Slamowitz What was the hardest part about making this film? As with a lot of low budget films, time was our enemy. We had to shoot 17 pages in only three days, and we were completely dependent on the weather. This forced me to make some difficult decisions, which included cutting entire scenes and forgoing much of the coverage I wanted to get. Luckily, I had amazing assistant directors who allowed me to capture all the important aspects of the story. It was a great crash course in quickly deciding what elements of a story were essential. What inspired you to tackle this subject? Many people have focused on the plight of the homeless when discussing the film with me, and the everyday reality of homelessness in NYC was certainly an influence. But the inspiration for this story comes from a halal cart in midtown that always has dozens of people waiting in line for chicken and rice. They swear that out of all the halal carts in the city, this one has the best white sauce, though the ingredients are a secret. That was the spark that led to the creation of a story about great successes with small beginnings. What did you find most rewarding about the experience? This was my first professional short film, and it was a success by all measures. I reflect frequently on the enormity of such a small film, a project, which took more than a year and involved more than 75 people. What is most rewarding has been talking with audience members after they have seen it. I’ve had people share hot dog recipes with me, tell me I ruined hot dogs for them, and some have given Bob (our lead actor) dollar bills! I’m not sure they knew he wasn’t actually homeless. What do you hope to achieve with this film? My hope is to entertain the people who watch this short film. Movies can be a great vehicle for inspiring humanitarian action or raising awareness, but my primary goal has always been entertainment. If I can get one person to laugh, one person to feel empathy, one person to have butterflies as the end credits roll, it’s a success. What’s next for you? I recently finished editing a feature film and am currently editing for an advertising agency. I’m looking forward to the next time I can get on set as a director, and am keeping my eyes peeled for interesting stories. (See pages 22-23 for information on the films to be shown on October 8) Tobaco Run Water Dogs
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