ILLUSION was the winner of BEST MUSIC & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at the January 2020 Drama Film Festival in Toronto.
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?
Uliana Burykina: It was my third year studying in University, so as everybody I had to create a film for my final exams. That was the strongest motivation haha 🙂 But after we started to transform the story into script all I was thinking about was how strongly I want to convey the main idea to young people – women and even men my age – who facing the problem of making choice what will they do: build the career or be a family-guy? In my opinion you always have to be honest to yourself no matter what others expect from you. If you want to make a family, so do it. If you want to be a professional – it’s ok. But don’t listen to anybody who tells you can’t get it both. Each is difficult, just remember what you really want and don’t lose yourself.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?
It took almost one year. We started in January 2018 and finished in September.
3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?
What a difficult question…”spellbinding” and “emotional”, I guess
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The only serious obstacle was to finish all CG in time. We were out of time, out of hands… our producer and me went more and more crazy every day. So we finished everything just around in a week before the premiere.
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking
about your film in the feedback video?
It was very pleasant to hear people from other continent just talking about our film! And after — a bit hard to understand everything they say, but we did it finally 🙂 It was a great experience, and we are proud we were awarded by such honest men and women.
Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:
6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?
I was inspired by Delpozo fashion short “Winter eclipse”, Andrew Thomas Huang’s “Interstice” and my own thoughts about human masks. In mystic ways they became a story about young woman who got lost in her personas – model and mother.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Ohhh… “High heels” and “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”, I think this two.
8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?
I like FilmFreeway platform. It was my first time I submitted a film so it’s cool that someone created such an easy and understandable way to do this.
9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?
Elvis Presley – Return to sender and Stevie Nicks – Rhiannon
I never can choose one, you know 🙂
10. What is next for you? A new film?
Yes, our crew is in the middle of creating a new short film. It’s going to be experimental, based on real stories and very provocative especially for our country.
AN ASPIRATIONAL SPACE was the winner of BEST PERFORMANCES at the Los Angeles FEEDBACK Film Festival in Janaury 2020.
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?
GG Hawkins: There were a few things that got the ball rolling on An Aspirational Space. First and foremost, I wanted to try my chops at writing and directing before leaving my job in the podcast world. I had been playing around filming with Andrea Raggio (who plays the lead in AAS), Hilary Seeley and Eva Victor on a project called Lili Podato, which we would film in my apartment at 8am on Sundays. I knew I loved working with these women, and wanted to see what we could do with a larger crew.
I had also gone through the Marie Kondo process myself, and mused on how easily one could spiral out of control with something like tidying. Especially if you live alone. That inspired the story of An Aspirational Space.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you
to make this short?
About a year.
3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?
Self help?
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Time. We had an ambitious shot list — 145 shots two locations in two days! In pre-production, Producer Kyle Scott and I would laugh late into the night over (often a few beers deep) about the sheer volume of work we had to do. But our Director of Photography, Adam Volerich, moved like a well-oiled machine, and our wonderful Assistant Director, Renata Soares, kept us on schedule. We did have to cut and consolidate, but that’s all part of the creative puzzle solving!
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I love when folks recognize the sound design and score. Working with Haley Shaw, who created all original music, was one of the highlights of the process. Coming from the podcast world, I’m a bit of a sound snob. I loved working with Haley and Hunter Berk, our post sound mixer, to create a film where every sound is designed to make you feel uncomfortable. Ari Aster’s Hereditary was a huge inspiration from a sound perspective.
Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:
6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?
I went through the Mari Kondo process myself the year before, and one day, I went to a 9am screening of Hereditary. When I came home to my apartment, I made a smoothie, and thought: Living alone is creepy. And then the idea came to me.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
28 Days Later.
8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings
of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?
This was my first time going through the submission process. FilmFreeway streamlined everything!
9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?
Let Me Alone by moow
10. What is next for you? A new film?
We finished shooting Break Cute, a dark wrote and director, over Thanksgiving. It stars Joanna Hausman (Bill Nye Saves the World) and Jimmy Wong (Mulan). I’m also developing a pilot.
PICTURES OF LEO was the winner of BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY and BEST PERFORMANCES at the January 2020 LGBT Film Festival in Toronto.
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?
Eric Rusch : I had had this idea for a feature length film for many years. I’m not really a filmmaker, so I never thought it would actually get made.
Then in 2017 I studied film acting at the Stockholm University of Dramatic Arts. As a part of the course we were encouraged to make our own short films, just to better understand the whole process of film making. So I dusted off this old idea, started to write the script and worked with preproduction at the same time. It was supposed to be a small and simple project but it kept growing and I had a lot of fun making it.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?
I started writing in August 2018. We shot the whole film for six days in the end of November. I did all the editing and sound mixing during the holidays. Did some pickups and had a first screening in mid January. The film premiered at Wicked Queer: The Boston LGBT Film Festival on March 31st 2019. At that time I knew nothing about color correction, so the first color corrected version was actually screened in Toronto on January 13th 2020.
3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?
Warm, contemplative.
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
It had to be a zero budget film. So I really depended on the kindness of strangers, as well as of friends and colleagues. Everyone was so helpful and I’m so grateful for that.
While writing the script I realized I needed someone to play the young Nicholas. So I had to find an 18-year-old, who looked like a young version of myself, who could act and who would be willing to kiss another guy on screen. Without pay. I was so happy when I found Oscar through a casting company. If he hadn’t turned up I would have rewritten those scenes completely.
I wanted to shoot a scene in a hospital. I looked everywhere, and a week before shooting it was the only location I still hadn’t found. Then suddenly the manager of a psychiatric ward called and told me they were temporarily closing one whole floor off to paint the walls. It would be empty for a few weeks. We only needed an afternoon. They let us use it for free!
I was determined to do as much work as I could myself. I wrote the script, played the lead, directed and produced the film. I did the casting, location scouting and planning. I also did the cinematography, editing and sound mixing. I watched hundreds of tutorials on YouTube. Not kidding. I had a lot of fun. I certainly learned that good planning is essential. But I will never make a film this way again.
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
This is my first short film so I’m still blown away by the fact that people I don’t even know have seen my film.
I was very happy to see that the film raised some interesting questions, like “who lived the true life and who didn’t” and how Leo’s choices are no less valid given his situation. And “even a country as progressive as Sweden still has those stories” was also something I really wanted to tell.
And who wouldn’t be ridiculously happy when someone likes your film?
Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:
6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?
Pictures of Leo is very loosely based on actual events which at the time raised a lot of questions about making life changing choices. To me the film is a love story first of all. And the story about a man rejecting love out of fear for what other people might think has always stayed with me. Also I wanted to try to tell a story where one of the main characters (Leo) is not really in the film.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Probably The Big Lebowski (1998). Or Victor/Victoria (1982).
8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?
Seeing that this is my first film, I was very happy to find FilmFreeway. I thought I would be googling myself to death. But FilmFreeway made it so much easier to find and choose festivals and submit my film. Quick and simple.
9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?
Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode. Without a doubt.
10. What is next for you? A new film?
I work as an actor, mostly with children theatre. I am on tour right now with a stage musical for really small kids. This summer I will be in a production of Ronia, The Robber’s Daughter at Astrid Lindgren’s World in Vimmerby, Sweden.
My husband Christian Arnold is also an actor and a filmmaker. We love working together. He has written a script that we are planning to make into a short film in the near future.
LOVE IN SEASONS was the winner of BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at the January 2020 Romance Festival in Los Angeles.
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?
Eleni Rivera: After years of being an assistant to some amazing director’s and producer’s, I was ready to do my own thing. To have my own project. One day I woke up and said, I’m finally doing this. Two weeks later, we were on set shooting!
That’s what I wanted the project to be, and I really felt like it was a story many people have gone through, and I wanted to tell it.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?
I wrote the script in January 2018. It took a while for me to get the courage to actually shoot the film so I finally ended up deciding to shoot it in March 2019.
3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?
Tragically Romantic
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
I was planning on having two days to shoot the short, but my Director of Photography had a family emergency which only gave us one day to shoot the entire thing. We had to take out a few scenes that we had planned on shooting and really make it happen!
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
My initial reaction was endearment and excitement. The feedback was incredibly positive and it makes me excited for my future projects.
Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:
6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?
When I wrote this film, I was going through a decently heavy break up and overall hard time in my life. The relationship started in the fall and by the time it ended it snowfall in December. At that time, I was writing poetry, (I even self published a book of poems) and I wanted to create a poetic visual. Something that was soft and lyrical, but powerful. In the spring time, I finally finished the ending realizing that it was the most cliche of things. Time had healed my heart, and it was myself that did the healing.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
My most watched film has to be… The Shining by Stanley Kubrick.
8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are your feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?
It was such a user friendly platform and I feel like there was so much support.
9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?
Married Life by Michael Giacchino (From “UP” the movie)
10. What is next for you? A new film?
Yes! I am co-directing a short film in April 2020. It is a grounded sci-fi with a lot of hope and heart.
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?
Well, each student in my class had to come up with a concept, which followed with the class voting on which idea would be the film that gets made. Once mine was voted for, I wrote the script. My main motivation was just to finally make a short film before I left college. This was the first script and film I ever made.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?
About a month.
3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?
First attempt.
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Essentially the 6 classmates assigned to be involved with the film completely bailed and I was left to do all the prep, scheduling, production design, etc. I am not an organized person so having to handle pretty much every aspect of the film other than the script and directing was very anxiety-inducing and there were quite a few moments I did not think he film would even get shot.
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
Thankfully, my DP came through and did a phenomenal job. There is no way the film would have been a success or even been completed if it wasn’t for his help.
It was very exciting to see people had seen my film! As well as it being nice that the criticisms were nothing new to my own thoughts about the film since its completion. It is always a thrill to see my attempts at screen language successfully come across to an audience.
Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:
6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?
My mother did an unnecessary amount of preparation for the unlikely scenario when I was a child so this fear of being abducted always stuck with me. I figured the simplicity of the location and amount of characters would be an attractive attribute to the class and of course the shock value was sure to help.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
This is hard, probably Boyhood by Richard Linklater or Faces by John Cassavetes. Those are my favorites anyways. Although I did recently just see Uncut Gems in theaters four times!
8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?
This is all a new world to me, but my experience with the platform has been great thus far! It is very intuitive and easy to navigate and has led to my film getting played for quite a few audiences.
9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?
This is even harder than the film question. My guess would be West Savannah by Isaiah Rashad.
10. What is next for you? A new film?
I had toyed around with some ideas for my next short. Once I finally committed to one, I soon realized it would not work as a short and I was too attached to the idea to abandon it. So, to my own delusion, I am going for a feature for my second project. Wish me luck, I will need it. The tagline will go something like this: An aspiring movie director attempts to make a film about a filmmaker making a film about himself making a film.
PATRIK played to rave reviews at the November 2019 Female Film Festival in Toronto.
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?
What motivates me to write “Patrik” is an anonymous elderly man who caught my attention years ago. I was 18, aspiring actress, student at that time at the Film and Theater Academy in Bulgaria and while on a lunch break, I suddenly found myself starring at this man struggling to cross over a busy road. He moved very slowly, with a persistence and patience, but obviously intimidated by the fast world around him, failing in every attempt he does to cross the street. He kept on going back to the starting point, facing the semaphore and waiting for a green light. He would barely make a few steps when the light would turn red again forcing him to go back and start over. Eventually, he gave up and walked down the street.
That story became one of these seemingly unimportant memories, we are not sure why we keep, until it finally made sense, and I felt the urge to share it the moment I met Patrik Baldauff. We both performed in a production of The Cherry Orchard at The Actors Studio, alongside Ellen Burstyn, as lifelong members in the actor’s unit.
I found the perfect actor for my story and “Patrik” was born! His exceptional persona and our work together inspired me to develop a lot more the narrative and established the main topics of the movie.
The beauty and maybe just a bit of sadness aging brings, when striped from expectations and ambitions, we find joy in the little pleasure the morning sunshine brings, a memory hanging on the wall, the calming sound of ticking clock and the freedom of not putting your socks on if you don’t want to. Yet the world is changing and it’s harder and harder to keep up, but maybe the need of slowing down is a call from the universe to take a breath and let the things that matter happen to us. Often something small we would barely notice it’s what we really need at that very moment and gives a new meaning to what is important.
It is when we find a Greater sense of acceptance of and tolerance for those normally disregarded in our community that we can begin to work towards change.
“Patrik” is a story about a man of the theater, a giant of the stage and a charmer of the screen. I am honoring the long carrier Patrik Baldauff has had, and we follow the happiest day of his life when he is being honored with a life time achievement award. He needs to make one last effort and proudly walk alone all the way to the theater to receive his award. This is his Golgotha.
But the world out there is too busy and won’t stop for the old man. He misses his ceremony, but unexpectedly, he’s been given a different reward, which turns out to be even more significant – the gift of opening one’s heart. My little hope is that the young man offering a hand on the street, is you and I.
I’ve been compelled to make art that is deeply personal and accessible to a larger audience and my intend is to fill my films with the purest and honest form of storytelling to life.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?
This film took two years to make. It was my first film and I did every single possible mistake known to man. It took me a very long time to try to understand these mistakes, learn how to fix them and then fix them. But I wouldn’t change it for nothing because I have learned so much in the process!
Also, the editing took me a whole while as I was connected to every single moment. My first rough cut was 30 minutes, needless to say was incredibly long…… and after month of working on it and then letting it go for a bit I realized what is next, what needs to be cut and what I need to do.
3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?
Help one another!
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The biggest obstacle was the editing! We shot gorilla style on Times Square all day long. We had Patrik Baldauff cross the street at least a 100 times.
We had prepared background actors and situations but honestly we didn’t end up using any of them. What we got to use was the real situations that happened around us. However, every time Patrik crossed the street there were different people in the frame so it was a complete mess in the editing room trying to connect the dots. But after a long battle, I think we have managed to make sense of it all! And I am so grateful for these situations that happened without much planning! They were absolutely magical and elevated the film to another level!
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
Firstly, I would like to say Thank you so much for this opportunity! I liked the idea of the Feedback video and I loved the actual video. It made me very emotional to hear other people talk about my film. What they liked, what they didn’t, what worked and what not. Even just the fact that people took the time and interest to talk about my film is all I could have ever asked for. And the critique was very helpful for my future work!
Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video :
6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?
As I mentioned above the inspirations were two- 1. The anonymous man I observed on the street and meeting the Broadway actor Mr. Patrik Baldauff.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Green Mile
Dumb & Dummer
8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?
I find this platform an incredible way to share/help Independent filmmakers work and it is very easy to use!
9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?
Probably something by Michael Jackson or Sail by Awolnation
10. What is next for you? A new film?
My big upcoming projects are 2.
My second short film I have written, produced and directors called “El Cavil”,
which is about o start it’s festival year run – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8277832/
“El Cavil” is about a man who loves his work as a shoe shiner, more than anything in this world. He believes in the old tradition, that if you have a shine on your shoes there is a melody in your heart. Unfortunately for El Cavil, people are just too busy to acknowledge him or their shoes. With this very special story we wanted to raise awareness of the struggle that homeless people go through every day and we wanted to show that may of them could be a valuable contributor to society if they only got the opportunity.
And last but not least, I am so happy to introduce to you the biggest project of my life so far, I am co-producing and staring in the film cosplay Narrative Series called “Lost Cos”.
I am proud to say that 140 people cast and crew Ce together to make this wild idea become a reality. We are already in post production and can’t wait to share this project with you soon.
Lost Cos is a crime drama/dark comedy narrative based in New York City that follows the female protagonist, “Eni” (character performed by Evgeniya Radilova), who’s faced with an abusive past that consists of traumatic events she must confront. Her rage has now come to the surface and her lover, Zoey, worries if Eni can remain in control of her life.
Central to her journey is the underground cosplay club “Lost Cos”. A place for costume culture bohemians to “lose themselves, or perhaps find themselves, behind a mask”. A sexy blend of costume artistry, thunderous jams, and burlesque style curiosities await all who can gain entry to the hidden club.
It is at Lost Cos that Eni discovers her love for performing as her cosplay character “Vampireniya”. A popular fictional comic book based vampire succubus (at least in our world). A heroine whose objective is to hunt and eliminate abusers of women. Can Eni face the internal demons inside her or will her obsession with the fictional heroine “Vampireniya” blur the line between fantasy and reality to the point of no return…?
