Second Annual YoFi Festival Announces Nominees

Second Annual Yofi Festival Announces Nominees

By Suzanne Rothberg

Hollywood comes to Yonkers with the Second Annual YoFi Film Festival scheduled for October 17. The inaugural film festival was held in 2013. Patch caught up with nominees in an email interview. The list of nominees and their films are in. Roll call please!

First up, is Liam McKiernan and Mark Lungariello, the writer/directors for the short film, “Unfit To Print.”

Patch: What was your motivation or idea behind the films you produced?

Mark: I’ve worked for community newspapers so it was kind of a natural fit to explore that world. In movies and TV you usually see big newsrooms and big publications with these noble fast-talking journalists working on some earth-shattering story. We thought it would be funny to kind of do the opposite and show a rinky dink operation and clueless journalists trying to find news where there is none. We initially wrote it as a TV pilot, cut out most of the characters, and focused only on the A story - that ended up becoming the finished film.

Liam: We wanted Unfit to Print to move at a sitcom pace to get as many laughs in as possible and to show that the overall concept could continue on a weekly basis. We broke down the 3 acts to: make the setup believable (enough), follow it with a really over-the-top dumb situation in Act 2, and end it with a tease for next week’s “big news story.” The idea is that if Unfit to Print were to become a TV series, it would loosely follow this structure each week.

Patch: Have you contributed your films to YoFi Fest before?

No and really in a way YoFi inspired us to even make the movie. Our good friend, Will Dickerson, premiered his feature The Mirror at last year’s festival. We decided that we were going to use this year’s festival deadline as our motivation to produce and direct our first movie. We put this all together rather quickly just so we could make the cutoff. To be accepted into this year’s YoFi Festival is a nice validation for all the hard work we put into making the film. We’re very excited to be included.

Patch: What is your background in film?

Liam: I’ve been at Viacom Media Networks for the past decade; currently working as a Line Producer for VH1 Series & Development. I create budgets and manage productions for all different types of programming; including reality shows and pop-culture variety shows. Many of the productions have strong similarities to the independent film world. It’s all about getting the best final product while not blowing up the budget.

In college, we made a DIY feature length film entitled “High School Dogs” that continues to have a small cult following to this day. Our parents still say it’s “the best film of 2001.” To be fair, it’s the only film they saw that year…

Patch: Were you ever nominated previously at YoFi Fest last year?

Liam: No.

Patch: Are you film students?

Liam: No.

Patch: What is your favorite film genre?

Science Fiction & Comedy.

Patch: How long was the process of creating your film?

Liam: The overall process took about 2 months from script lock to final cut. It was really important to us that we kept costs to a bare minimum. We called in A LOT of favors from close friends and colleagues for this film. Between the two of us, we’re very fortunate to know professional cinematographers, audio ops, editors - and have friends who can actually act! The timing also worked out really well since production tends to slow down in the summer months and people were more available. We produced the short on virtually no budget at all.

Mark: Most of our production costs revolved around pizza and coffee, though not at the same time.

Patch: Any of you actually work in the film industry or had your films presented at other film festivals?

Mark: This is our first film and we only just completed it. We’re looking to submit it to other festivals and have it available on various download sites

Patch: What message do you hope the audience will get after viewing your film at YoFi Fest?

Mark: Our goal is to make people laugh or maybe feel a little uncomfortable for the characters…and for someone to give us millions of dollars.

Patch: Any other comments?

Liam: Please give us a million dollars.

Scott Rocco is a filmmaker and actor. He has his own independent production company called, Rainbow Road Pictures and has contributed to the festival previously.

Patch: What was your motivation or idea behind the films you produced?

Scott: My inspiration for Somewhere Between came out of frustration for the most part. Not being able to connect with people organically or on a human level. I think I grew tired of leaving voicemails. Not getting an actual person on the phone, not getting responses via text or email. I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s so my generation is part old school, part new school. We know we need technology for many things, but we try not to necessitate it. I guess that comes with growing up in a time when the first 17 years of your life had nothing to do with the internet. I mean, I see some people out there treating their technologies as if they have heartbeats... it’s pretty interesting. From all that though, came a lot of inspiration to write a story about a lonely man searching for a genuine connection with someone. Trying to put the past behind him, but struggling to move forward.

Patch: Have you contributed your films to YoFi Fest before?

Scott: I have, yes. I had the honor of being part of the first ever YoFi festival last year through my short film, Come As You Are. It was an amazing time for me being that it was the first film I ever made and I’m even more thrilled to have Somewhere Between be a part of this year’s festival. Dave and Patty, the festival organizers, are incredibly supportive of filmmakers in general and I am very grateful for their support.

Patch: What is your background in film?

Scott: I’m an Actor who eventually and thankfully fell into other areas like writing and producing. I never attended film school or studied filmmaking in that capacity, but I’ve spent quality time at The School of Visual Arts, meeting, collaborating, and making friends so I learned a lot about filmmaking through them. Other than that, I studied acting at Class Act Studios and The New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. I’ve been an Actor for about 11 years and have done a lot of films, some commercials, and Off-Broadway plays. I’m definitely in it for the long haul. It’s a lot of work, but it doesn’t feel like work when you love it as much as I do.

Patch: Were you ever nominated previously at YoFi Fest last year?

Scott: Hmm, not sure how to answer this question because they don’t give out awards at YoFi, but Come As You Are was accepted into the festival in 2013 and Somewhere Between in 2014.
!

Patch: Are you a film student?


Scott: I’m not in film school, but I’ll always be a student of film.

Patch: What is your favorite film genre?

Scott: Drama. I’m able to relate and connect better with those kinds of characters than the ones in other genres. There’s very little resistance, if any on my part. A great drama will inspire me more than say a great comedy. They just speak to me and I automatically get it.

Patch: How long was the process of creating your film?
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Scott: Somewhere Between took about 7 months from it’s inception to the final product.

Patch: Do you actually work in the film industry or had your films presented at other film festivals?

Scott: This was my first entry into the film festival circuit this year for Somewhere Between. It’s a great start and I’m looking forward to hopefully getting into other festivals so that more people can see it.

Patch: What message do you hope the audience will get after viewing your film at YoFi Fest?

Scott: I’m going to answer this based on my own experience and having written the story. Leaving the past behind is a difficult thing to do because we learn so much from it. It’s as if we owe it some kind of place in our memory for helping us grow as people. I would say the message is this... if you can’t leave all of the past behind you, and you’re trying to move on, then find a spot Somewhere Between. Then, perhaps one day when you’re finally ready, move on for good and be at peace.

Patch: Any other comments?

Scott: None. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I really appreciate it. These were great questions! :)

Zach Patton weighs in on his two projects, “The Wrong Frame” a student film and the other in the International Short section “Today I Did My Laundry”

Patch: What was your motivation or idea behind the films you produced?

Zach: My Motivation behind Today I did my Laundry stemmed from the resources I had in my hometown of Mitchell Ontario. I wrote a small screenplay utilizing all of the locations I had access to in Mitchell – including the Laundromat – and the script evolved out of that. It also comes from the several hundred stories of love turned tragic we see and hear about in the news regularly. It’s a sad topic, but always something I was interesting in exploring.

Patch: Have you contributed your films to YoFi Fest before?

Zach: No I’ve never been a part of YoFi Fest before.

Patch: What is your background in film?

Zach: I graduated from the Media Arts Program at Sheridan College in Oakville Ontario with an Advanced Diploma. Now, I’m in my last year getting my BFA in Screenwriting at York University in Toronto. I directed 5 short films during my time in school – including The Wrong Frame and I currently work in the film industry in Toronto trying to make a living. Today I did my Laundry is my first independent film.

Patch: Were you ever nominated previously at YoFi Fest last year?

No.

Patch: Are you a film student?

Zach: I’m technically a film student, but Today I did my Laundry was a completely independent film – funded by me and my Producer Danielle Clayson.

Patch: What is your favorite film genre?

Zach: I like blended genres. Usually something that incorporates elements of comedy, crime and drama all in one.

Patch: How long was the process of creating your film?

Zach: From the conception of the screenplay, to us showing the film at YoFi Fest it’s been roughly a two-year process.

Patch: Do you actually work in the film industry or had your films presented at other film festivals?

Zach: Yes I work freelance in the Industry in Toronto working as a PA for Rogers Commercial’s while also producing my own cooperate videos and Public Service Announcements for various companies throughout Ontario. Yes, Today I did my Laundry was one of thirteen short films in Competition at the Montreal World Film Festival this year and it ended up winning the Award for Best Canadian Short. Today I did my Laundry is also Official Selection of this year’s Zero Film Festival.

Patch: What message do you hope the audience will get after viewing your film at YoFi Fest?

I hope the audience feels an emotional attachment to the couple I’ve portrayd on the screen. As is the hope with every film, I hope people connect and relate to the relationship while also having an ambivalent perspective to the decisions Richard – my protagonist makes towards the end of the film.

Patch: Any other comments?

Zach: Hope you enjoy the films!! Thanks for this opportunity

The Wrong Frame

Patch: What was your motivation or idea behind the films you produced?

Zach: My Motivation behind The Wrong Frame was a news article I read about a couple of thieves putting baseball tickets in random persons barbecue. When the person went to the baseball game with the tickets – the thieving couple broke in and robbed his house. I took this idea and ran with it crafting my film loosely around this premise. I’ve also always been a large fan of Boston themed films and I wanted to take a stab at setting one my own films there. I was also fairly motivated by the aesthetic style of Guy Ritchie and tried to incorporate his use of humor and violence to make The Wrong Frame.

Patch: Have you contributed your films to YoFi Fest before?

Zach: No I’ve never been a part of YoFi Fest before.

Patch: What is your background in film?

Zach: I graduated from the Media Arts Program at Sheridan College in Oakville Ontario with an Advanced Diploma. Now, I’m in my last year getting my BFA in Screenwriting at York University in Toronto. I directed 5 short films during my time in school – including The Wrong Frame and I currently work in the film industry in Toronto trying to make a living. Today I did my Laundry is my first independent film.

Patch: Were you ever nominated previously at YoFi Fest last year?

Zach: No.

Patch: Are you a film student?

Zach: When I made The Wrong Frame I was in my third and final year at Sheridan College in Oakville Ontario. I’m technically still a film student in my final year at York University getting my BFA in Screenwriting.

Patch: What is your favorite film genre?

Zach: I like blended genres. Usually something that incorporates elements of comedy, crime and drama all in one.

Patch: How long was the process of creating your film?

Zach: The film was created in 2012 and from conception to finished product it took roughly 9 months.

Patch: Do you actually work in the film industry or had your films presented at other film festivals?

Zach: The Wrong Frame won Audience Choice and Best Drama at the Sheridan College year-end awards ceremony, but this is technically the first screening of it outside school.

Yes I work freelance in the Industry in Toronto working as a PA for Rogers Commercial’s while also producing my own cooperate videos and Public Service Announcements for various companies throughout Ontario. Yes, Today I did my Laundry was one of thirteen short films in Competition at the Montreal World Film Festival this year and it ended up winning the Award for Best Canadian Short. Today I did my Laundry is also Official Selection of this year’s Zero Film Festival.

Patch: What message do you hope the audience will get after viewing your film at YoFi Fest?

Zach: The Wrong Frame is essentially about paying for your sins and how greed never gets you anywhere in life. It is a film that explores petty thieves, committing petty crimes for petty rewards and how getting away with crime is never as easy as you think it is.

Patch: Any other comments?

Zach: Hope you enjoy the films!! Thanks for this opportunity.

And the final nominee is Matt Willis-Jones nominated for his two short films on equality and sanity.

Patch: What was your motivation or idea behind the films you produced?

Matt: I have two films playing at YoFi this year - A Short Film on Equality and A Short Film on Sanity. They are from an album of films entitled ‘Everything is Perfect and There are no Problems’. Like songs on a musical album, each film is separate but they all feature the same characters - the same band.

Patch: Have you contributed your films to YoFi Fest before?

Matt: Yes, last year I showed two other films from the same album, A Short Film on Democracy and A Short Film on Freedom.

Patch: What is your background in film?

Matt: I studied film at Columbia College Chicago in the 90s before returning to London where I worked in post production on some big budget films and tv series until eventually I had enough of walking around wearing black and thinking I was really cool. Now I live in Norway where I make all my films with a norwegian cast.

Patch: Were you ever nominated previously at YoFi Fest last year?

Matt: I don’t think so.... (No one told me if I was! :)

Patch: Are you a film student?

Matt: Yes - the grips on these two films were students.

Patch: What is your favorite film genre?

Matt: Hmmmm.... Anything that doesn’t have lots of guns or fighting in it.

Patch: How long was the process of creating your film?

Matt: As these films are part of a family of films, it’s a bit misleading to say that one of the films took 6 days from the first shot to the finished film (even though that is true) because so much work is done in the process of making the universe of the films... and the characters grow, and on set the fluency between the cast and crew increases... And it’s hard to say how long it takes for me to write the scripts, as although from the first to the final draft might take 3 weeks, the ideas themselves have been building up in me for months - sometimes years. So it’s a long process that has the illusion of being a quick process when you look at a single film in isolation - a film made by a group who have been working together for 3 years.

Patch: Do you actually work in the film industry or had your films presented at other film festivals?

Matt: Yes to both. Almost all my cast are professional actors who have appeared in numerous film tv and theatre productions in Norway. (Seen lillyhammer? A couple of them pop up in that show). And I’ve had films playing at over 30 festivals in the past 2 years or so.

Patch: What message do you hope the audience will get after viewing your film at YoFi Fest?

Matt: As long as they aren’t getting messages during the film I don’t mind! (Turn that phone off!)

Patch: Any other comments?

Matt: Sorry I can’t be there and I hope you all have a great time x