Two Young Yorktown Filmmakers Win for Best Drama and Overall Film

For all you know, two future academy award winners might be living right here in town.

Matt Seger, senior, and Chase Eaione, 2010 YHS graduate,.

The most recent was winning for best drama and best overall film for their 20-minute "Between The Cracks" drama film at the Hen Hud Film Festival in May. Stephen Velichko, starring in the film, won for best actor. 

Between The Cracks is about a high school boy who becomes increasingly obsessed with a classmate, but when he finally builds up the courage to talk to her everything goes wrong, the two filmmakers said. The character makes a decision that not only affects him, but everyone around.

The message of the film is to treat people nicely, Eaione said.

"[It] shows how many people it could affect when you treat someone negatively," he said. 

The film was shot entirely in Yorktown. For two days in a row, crew members filmed at Sophia's Pizzeria, some scenes were also shot at Yorktown High School and in one of the crew members' Yorktown home. Seger said he and Eaione started writing in December, production started in January and shooting of the film began in February. 

"The most difficult scenes for us to film was anything that took place outside," Seger said. "Working all day in 20-degree weather was brutal. Although throughout the whole shooting experience nobody once complained about the weather, we stayed focused and got what needed to be done, done."

This is Seger's s sixth film, who talks modestly about his accomplishments and describes what he has done as a "good thing" to put on your resume. During this year's Hen Hud Film Festival, he got to meet Andrew Jenks (of the World of Jenks MTV show) who announced their names on stage for having won the award. 

"We couldn't believe it," Seger said of hearing they've won.

While making films does not feel like work and the young men truly enjoy what they do, seeing their work come to life is an incredible reward, Seger said. For their latest film, Seger and Eaione came up with the idea for the movie, then co-wrote and co-edited the script. The initial vision was for a scene of a boy running down the street covered in blood, from there they developed the rest of the film.

"We both know what we want," Eaione said. "It's really easy to cooperate."

He said he has always wanted to be a director, so working on the last films has been a "huge learning process." The most significant change in his life, he said, was when he got his first computer in 6th grade and started putting videos together. Until then, he said he had no idea what it takes to make or edit a movie.

 started making films at the age 12 of him and his friends skateboarding around town and now the Yorktown High School senior directs, edits and writes his own short movies.

Seger will be attending SUNY Purchase in the fall and will be enrolled in the film conservatory. Eaione attends Westchester Community College and will be transferring to SUNY Purchase to continue his studies next year.

Last year, Seger and Eaione won the Andrew Jenks (of the World of Jenks MTV show) Grand Prize at the Hen Hud Film Festival, as well as Best Director and Best Movie for their film "Staccato."

In November, Seger and Eaione were up for another award, the Viewer's Choice, for their film, "Inheritance," was chosen as a finalist in the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) film challenge. The film was shot in a Cortlandt house on Watch Hill Road, owned by town resident Burton Greenberg, who is a retired commercial director. 

The duo already has plans to work on their next film (and their first feature film) called "Lucidity," which was written by Steven Martinucci, a Yorktown High School senior. Production is expected to begin at the end of June. 

The cast and crew for Between the Cracks is as follows:

Matt Seger - Director, Editor, Cinematographer, role: Boyfriend

Chase - Director, Editor, Cinematographer, role: Extra

Henry Myers - Assistant Director, role: Extra

Stephen Velichko - role: Doug Briggs

Francesca Giordano - role: Nicole Summers

Marc Roffi - Crew/ Audio

Watch Between the Crack trailer, which is attached to the story.

If you want to watch the entire film, you can purchase the DVD for $10. All profits will go toward the young filmmakers' next film. Email mattseger@me. com to get a copy.