THE WALLPAPER MAN, 7min., USA
Directed by Amit Gupta
Based on the popular short story, “The Wallpaper Man”, this film is about a young girl who moves into a new home with her abusive father after the tragic death of her mother. There, living within the walls is a creature who offers Emma the ultimate deal: he will take away her pain, in exchange for human life.
https://www.instagram.com/wallpapermanfilm
Get to know the filmmaker;
1. What motivated you to make this film?
I’ve always been a huge fan of the fantasy genre, especially fantasy horror. For me, I wanted to make a project like this to see if I could actually direct a feature in the genre. Coming from the world of commercials, especially automotive stones and action oriented work. This is a bit of a departure from what I normally do, but wanted to give it a shot.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
The wallpaper man is actually based on a short story that I worked on with the author it took us about three or four months to write the short film, and then Production and Post Production probably took a total of 10 months. This is probably due to the fact that we had over 20 visual affects Shots to finish in the piece.
3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Two words : DARK FABLE
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Post Production was a challenge because I was working with a team that was Ukrainian. Due to the Russian war, we actually had to postpone our Post Production schedule and only kickoff when the team was able to work on the project.
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I loved getting audience feedback for this understanding what people are liking about your project and what they’re getting from it. It’s also wonderful to receive so much positive feedback.
6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker after watching the poltergeist when I was pretty young. There was a shot where a woman was rolling on the ceiling and I researched How they achieved that shot. They built a revolving set amount of the camera to the side, creating the illusion that the talent was rolling on the walls and ceiling. This blew my mind, and I wanted to learn how to create magic such as this.
7 You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
I love using from freeway and this has been a great festival experience as well.
8. What is your favorite meal?
Korean food.
9. What is next for you? A new film?
I’m a commercial Director and I’m finishing three different commercials in the next week. I’m also hoping to kick off the wallpaper man feature this fall.
Matthew Toffolo's Summary 