A QUICK LOVE STORY was the winner of BEST PERFORMANCES at the February 2020 ROMANCE Festival in Toronto.
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?
Brenden Dannaher: Another short film that I was lined up to direct fell through. So I decided to produce my own short film myself. I had four different ideas in mind. This idea got the best reaction and also happened to be the cheapest to make.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?
Approximately 10 months from the initial idea to completion of the film. Six months of that was just letting the ideas gel.
3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?
Romantic silliness.
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Finding the right actors. It took us a while, but it was so worth it. Andy and Nicole really lifted the script to another level.
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I was just happy that they enjoyed it and appreciated it. I was glad that others shared my sense of humor.
Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:
6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?
Like many people, I get a lot of online surveys. I think I got one too many. Some of them started threatening to punish me in some way if I didn’t complete them. So my original idea was that a woman from the survey company would appear in this guy’s life and not go away till he completed the survey. And then the word “complete” evoked the phrase “You complete me” from the film Jerry Maguire. And then I realised that if the woman was the survey, he could literally complete her and I knew straight away that it was a romantic comedy. So then it had to adhere to the conventions of the romantic comedy genre, and I tried to make it as funny as I could.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Vertigo (30+ times).
8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?
I like it. Once you’ve supplied all the relevant info, it makes it very easy to enter festivals.
9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?
This is a really hard question to answer. I think there are two songs that I have chosen to listen to more than any others – Velveteen by Transvision Vamp and Blue Monday by New Order.
10. What is next for you? A new film?
I have some feature film scripts that I am working on. – a couple of comedies and also a couple of horror films.
Matthew Toffolo's Summary 