Uncategorized

Interview with Poet Rhscribbles (RUN MAMA RUN)

matthewtoffolo Poet, Uncategorized , ,

Matthew Toffolo: What is the theme of your poem?

Rhscribbles: Immigration and refugees

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

The frustration with government and people confusing illegals and people needing asylum and the complexity of the issue.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

Not long. I’ve wtitten a poem here and there and took a creative writing course in 2013. That got me interested. Then in 2017 I took the monyhly Poetry Challenge and decided I wanted to try my hand at writing regularly to see where it goes.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?

Michelle and/or Barak Obama

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

A fellow blogger recommended submitting and I liked the reading of her poem.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

No or maybe not yet.

7) What is your passion in life?

Crossing the divide… simplifying life

Watch Poetry Reading: 

Performed by Val Cole

 

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Interview with Poet Patricia Poulos (Saint – Kathleen my Mum)

matthewtoffolo Poet, Uncategorized , ,

Matthew Toffolo: What is the theme of your poem?

Patricia Poulos: Love and Loss.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

To help cope with the loss of My Mum.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I guess since I can remember.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?

My Mum.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

To share ‘The Saint’ who was My Mum, with the world.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

I am the author of four non-fiction books, 5 Award-winning feature movie scripts and one Short and my three published Poems.
I am on IMDb: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm5673147

7) What is your passion in life?

To prevent poverty, homelessness and to do all that I can to make things right in the world. Probably best described by the late Professor Zhu.

“A lady who wishes all the world in happiness and joyfulness.” (Professor Zhu of the China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing) [meaning of the name Chinese name ‘Poh-Luh-Shi’ he gave to Patricia Poulos].

Watch the Poetry Reading: 

Performed by Val Cole

Interview with Poet Mary Freericks (The Bombing of Tabriz)

matthewtoffolo Poet, Uncategorized , ,

Matthew Toffolo: What is the theme of your poem?

Mary Freericks: The theme of my poem is bombing.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

I was writing family memoir poems at the time. I now have a book of them Blue Watermelon available on Amazon. I have nearly completed my next book, Cheer for Freedom.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I’ve been writing since the late 70’s.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?

Jesus.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

I thought you were doing a film.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

I have a prose book, Creative Puppetry in the Classroom and a number of articles

7) What is your passion in life?

I love to paint as well as write poetry and walk along the Pacific Ocean holding hands.

Watch the Poetry Reading: 

Performed by Val Cole

Interview with Poet TAK Erzinger (UNANSWERED CALL)

matthewtoffolo Poet, Uncategorized ,

Matthew Toffolo: What is the theme of your poem?

TAK Erzinger: It is about the loss of human connection. It is also a commentary about how humanity is moving further away from its connection with nature and as we do so we are moving further away from ourselves and our destroying the natural world and in turn ourselves.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

My poem was inspired by The Washington Post article: The Lonliest Whale in the World, an article about reports from scientists about a male whale that has been swimming alone around the ocean for years singing at 52 hertz. I imagine the whale is a lonely by-stander witnessing the demise of its environment and crying out but no one is hearing his plea.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry since I was in high school however I have only begun writing poetry seriously since the beginning of 2017 after I was diagnosed with an illness.

However when I was 15 years old I summoned the courage to share several of my poems with my high school English teacher. Without me knowing he read them to his senior English class and suddenly all of these students I looked up to were complimenting me on my writing. It was overwhelming. That teacher told me all those years ago, you’re a natural writer. I should have listened to him back then. I am finally listening.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?

To be honest with you it would be Mahatma Gandhi because of his belief in non-violent solutions to create change in a society and his love of humanity, animals and nature.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

I did so because I would like my poetry to be spread to a wider audience in order to provoke, inspire and help the reader in some way to find a connection and bring about change.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

Yes, I write personal essays, short stories and articles.

7) What is your passion in life?

My 5 greatest passions are: writing, nature (the environment), drawing, walking and my husband.

Watch the Poetry Reading:

Performed by Val Cole

 

Interview with Screenwriter Tayler Carter (FLUIDITY)

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Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Tayler Carter: This screenplay is set in a society where children are free to explore their gender, but must choose one of the extreme binaries upon their 13th birthday, and live in that extreme binary for the rest of their lives. Our story follows Sam Conley, whose 13th birthday is only weeks away, and they have no idea which gender to choose. In fact, they increasingly wonder: ‘Why can I just be myself?’

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Science-fiction, Drama, Coming-of-Age

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

This is the type of story I needed going into my teenage years. With so little non-binary representation in media, I am attempting to aid in that growth, whether the screenplay is produced or unproduced.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?

non-conforming (Is this one word or two?)

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

Probably Stand By Me, with other 80s/90s coming-of-age films such as The Goonies and The Sandlot coming closely behind.

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

Fluidity’s story inception was around October 2017.

7. How many stories have you written?

I’ve been making up stories since I could talk, but I began my screenwriting education and career during my college years.

8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)

At the moment, it is Primavera by Ludovico Einaudi.

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

I initially wrote Fluidity as a short screenplay (20 pages) for school, but quickly realized that the story was much larger that 20 minutes could provide. So it was reimagined as a limited run television series. I am still working the story, and am unsure if it will stay as a 30-minute per episode series or a 60-minute per episode series.

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

I really love animation and graphic novels, particularly aimed at children, and am very passionate about LGBTQ+ representation in children’s media. I also enjoy drawing and illustration, but need to practice that more often.

11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?

Film Freeway has been a great platform for me to enter my screenplays into competitions. I had not known much about screenwriting competitions before a year ago, and Film Freeway has been very fluid introduction to the world of festivals.

12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?

I was searching for LGBTQ+ themed festivals to enter Fluidity in, given its content and themes. The LGBT Toronto Film Festival has been wonderful with their feedback and correspondence, and I am very grateful to be involved!

Watch the Screenplay Reading: 

Synopsis:

This high-concept speculative fiction piece takes place in a world where children are raised gender-neutral until they are 13, when they are required to choose their gender. While gender neutral behaviour (example playing with all kinds of toys, sports, etc) is acceptable in childhood, 13 represents a right of passage into proto-adulthood, and gender becomes clearly divided.

CAST LIST:

Allison – 4 – Vanessa Burns
Rita (40s) – 3 – Pip Dwyer
Narration – Russell Batcher
Sam (m)- 12 – Alex Clay
Jackson (f) – 12 – Sydney Addison-Rudat
Nathan – 2 – Luke Robinson

Submit exclusively via FilmFreeway:

Interview with Screenwriter Eileen Wilson (THE CLICHE)

matthewtoffolo interview, screenplays, Uncategorized, writing a screenplay , ,

Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Eileen Wilson: The old cliché of the lover hiding in the wardrobe. Dave and Sara are having marriage problems, he suspects her of infidelity while she is hurt and betrayed by him ignoring her

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Comedy.

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

It is currently optioned!

4. How would you describe this script in two words?

Short and sassy.

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

A fight to the death between ‘Calamity Jane’ and ‘Die Hard’

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

It was an afternoon.

7. How many stories have you written?

About eight features and ten shorts. I’m currently knee deep in sit-com.

8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the
most times in your life?)

Boys of Summer by Don Henley is one.

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

The cat attacking the laptop cable.

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

Equality.

11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your
experiences working with the submission platform site?

It’s been super and winning laurels from Berlin, to L.A and Tokyo is a real ego boost when as a writer, you always think you’re rubbish.

12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings
on the initial feedback you received?

I wanted to hear how my script read and it made me realize how important it is to run it through and cast it well.

 
Watch the Screenplay Reading: 

CAST LIST:

Denzel (40s) – 1 – ADRIAN CARLOS CARTER
Narration – KYANA TERESA
Sara (40s) – 5 – PAOLA SCATTOLON
Dave (40s) – 4 – PETER NELSON

Submit exclusively via Film Freeway:

Interview with Filmmaker Kaue Nunes Melo (MAXWELL’S DEMON)

matthewtoffolo directing a film, feedback film festival, film director, interview, short film, short film festival, toronto film festival, Uncategorized, wildsound film festival , , ,

MAXWELL’S DEMON was the winner BEST FILM at the December 2018 Female FEEDBACK Film Festival.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Kaue Nunes Melo: I read an article about a girl that suffered from hipersexuality that discovered that she was abused by her father when she was young, but suppressed that memory growing up. The article was about the long lasting effects of child molestation and was an interesting subject, as a lot of the people that was molested as child became sexual predators themselves. That was a spark for me. Tell a story about people making the same mistakes as their parents.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

about 6/7 months.

3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?

Shockiling depressing!

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Money! The whole movie was self financed. In order to get good actors and a good crew i had to have a second job for 6 months to pay the short film.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I was nervous that my original message could’t be transmitted properly. Turns out, a lot of people got it.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?

I answer that in the question 01

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Not one.. several. From the usual suspects: Tarantino, Spielberg, Scorcese, Coppola, Pta, Kubrick, Linch, Fincher, Coeh brothers, Wes Anderson, Nolan. etc

8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?

Is probably the best platform for submission. Is easy to use and very intuitive

9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?

Not sure, I listen several song, depending on the mood. I like film scores when Im writing my short films.

10. What is next for you? A new film?

Yes. Working in a couple projects that i would love to produce in the upcoming year.

maxwells_demon_movie_poster