ARE THE STARS
OUT TONIGHT ?Actors, Directors,
and more make 5th
Annual SFF@NST a
star-studded affair
Screen Gems (l. to r.) Actor Jordyn DiNatale, SFF@NST
Founder Marilyn Chris, Filmmaker Rosalie Devereaux Gaffney
and Storyboard Editor Theo Gaffney
Film stars share a laugh with Chris
Chris introduces the
second evening's films
Filmmakers Jonah Bleicher and
SFF@NST Founder Chris and
“Crick in the Holler” Director/Writer
Ursula Ellis
Erstwhile host, SFF@NST Judge and Fiancée Min Ding
Board Member Fred Chernow opened
the 5th annual Short Film Festival
Given its immense popularity
the last few years,
the capacity audience at
the opening evening of the 2017
SFF@NST should have been
no surprise. Still, with residents
tying up the elevator a full hour
before the scheduled 7:30 pm start
and descending into the Towers
Cinema in droves, the quickness
with which the theater was filled
and electricity brewing in the air
before the curtains arose were
staggering. Many were turned
away at the door well before the
festival’s start, and even VIPs, no
less so than SFF@NST Founder
Marilyn Chris, were forced to take
Standing-Room Only (SRO) spots
along the partition at the back of
the house during the show.
As in previous years, Towers
Video Productions Gurus John
Virga and Marty Ragusa created
a spectacular show, including a
looped teaser—played during
audience seating and opening
remarks—of a strip of celluloid,
containing images from the SFF@
NST’s films, orbiting the Earth.
True to the video wizards’ exactitude,
the images featured on the
loop corresponded to that evening’s
featured movies, so each
of the festival’s two nights had its
own teaser.
Resident raconteur and master
moderator, Fred Chernow, who
also serves on the judging board
of the festival, introduced Chris.
No stranger to the stage, the
award-winning actor and SFF@
NST Founder in turn explained
the voting procedure, presented
a brief synopsis of each the evening’s
featurettes and thanked
everyone, including her fellow
festival Board mates—Chernow,
Husband Lee Wallace and Robert
and Marilyn Eagle—NST General
Manager Glen Kotowski and
Messieurs Virga and Ragusa.
Chris also introduced a few
special guests in attendance:
Filmmaker Rosalie Devereaux
Gaffney and brother, Storyboard
Editor Theo Gaffney, of “En
Pointe,” about a young girl chasing
her dream of being a prima
ballerina, cleverly told through the
point-of-view of the actors’ legs
from the knees down. Chris was
hopeful of the imminent arrival
of another guest, a victim of New
York City’s infamous rush-hour
traffic, but was more demure
about revealing any further details
until they arrived. The lights went
down, the screen lit up and the 5th
annual celluloid saturnalia was
underway with an inventive intro
inspired by the signature opening
of Universal Pictures with an
SFF@NST logo floating before a
rotating Earth by the aforementioned
video wizards.
The slate of six films for the first
evening of the 2-day event was a
balanced mix: bittersweet, emotional,
powerful, romantic, informative,
shocking and funny. The
The SFF@
NST Audience
Appreciation
Awards go to…
According to Founder Marilyn
Chris, the opening night’s vote
tally was a neck and neck AND
neck race among three films.
Conversely, the second night had
a clear winner by a large margin
with a distant second and the
rest of the herd vying for third.
Here are the results…
OCTOBER 3
Winner: How Far She Went
1st Runner Up: A Whole World
for a Little World
2nd Runner Up: Good Son
OCTOBER 19
Winner: Crick in the Holler
1st Runner Up: Sandal
16 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ November 2017