Interview with Filmmaker/Actor Hannah Bonecutter (MINSTREL VS PUPPET)

March 10, 2020 matthewtoffolo directing a film, feedback film festival, film director, short film, short film festival, toronto film festival, Uncategorized, wildsound film festival Experimental FEEDBACK Film Festival, feedback film festival, Hannah Bonecutter (MINSTRELL VS PUPPET), wildsound feedback film festival

MINSTRELL VS PUPPET was the winner of BEST FILM at the January 2020 Experimental FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Hannah Bonecutter: The trials, tribulations, and conflicts (internal and external) that I, as well as many others, endure as a woman of color today motivated me to make this film. Upon careful observance and personal experience of the various stigmatization, stereotypes, and limitations society places upon women of color, and with the current wave of women empowerment here in America, I was compelled to make a statement on these important issues; a statement that force people to face, discuss, and hopefully work to improve these issues facing women of color today. This film is that statement.

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

It took about 3 months from the idea to the finished product. I remember having the idea in December during holiday break, then immediately reaching out to people I wanted a part of it, including the Director Marcus Aubin for his thoughts on his abilities to make my vision come to fruition. We got the team together and it was shot in early February over two 8-hour long days. Final product was ready by March.

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

Paradigm Shifting

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

The biggest obstacle in completing this film was deciding on final dialogue between the two characters – a significant amount was cut from the initial script – and finalizing the last 20 seconds of film during the editing process in post-production. I always knew we would end the film with the split face image, but right leading up to that was carefully contemplated over and discussed between the Director and I for some time.

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

I was extremely excited and happy while listening to the audience feedback in film! I think many of them understood the duality in the film quite well, and the women’s responses were extremely satisfying to hear, especially the comments on how Minstrel vs. Puppet was “refreshing” and how it calls for us to “pull together.”

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

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

Reflecting on my own life and the roles I have to play at various times, in particular contexts in order to achieve specific goals was the foundation of this film vision. From this, I knew two characters would need to represent one person, and these characters needed to be quite opposing.

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

Training Day

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

I think FilmFreeway is a great, extremely efficient submission platform to use for any filmmaker, especially independent filmmakers.

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

Intentional by Travis Greene

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

Often referred to as a Renaissance woman, I keep my hands busy in a few things. My latest endeavor is obtaining a Masters of Public Health (MPH) with a division in Health Policy and Administration as well as a Global Health Concentration and Health Disparities Certificate at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). In addition to being a graduate student, which takes up much of my time and energy, I am also a licensed eductor, currently privately tutoring students. Further, I presently balance professional organizing for clients with my business BoneClutter. While I am not acting as much right now while pursing my MPH, I am still writing, performing spoken word poetry live, and public speaking at various events.

In terms of Minstrel vs. Puppet, it is still on the film festival circuit worldwide and may even be screened at a city near you soon! There is a lot of planning and organizing going behind Minstrel vs. Puppet right now, as it is far more than a film. It is an educational tool that must be used for exposure, awareness, and learning purposes. Indeed, it has begun its journey in this direction with its first private screening, presentation, and facilitated activity (given by me) held on February 21, 2020 at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). I plan to do many more similar events across the nation at universities, colleges, high schools, and various organizations in the near future. Further, I and other professional educator peers of mine are creating curriculum around Minstrel vs. Puppet to be used in courses at higher education institutions across America and beyond, so be on the lookout for that in the future too!

I will indeed make future films while serving in multiple roles on these films, such as actress, writer, executive producer, director, and more. I have several visions for these films and even scripts written already! However, I believe these films, as well as other related projects and endeavors, will be within a brand new industry that I aim to trailblaze in years to come. This industry will provide informative content to the mass public on important societal issues that they need to understand, but in a highly engaging, creative, and entertaining way that demands their attention. My goal is to utilize my knowledge, skills, and networks within my careers of education, professional organizing, public health, and film entertainment to create and grow this new industry.

Interview with Filmmaker John J.A. Jannone (SOLDIER ONLINE)

February 28, 2020 matthewtoffolo directing a film, feedback film festival, short film, short film festival, toronto film festival, Uncategorized, wildsound film festival Experimental FEEDBACK Film Festival, feedback film festival, John J.A. Jannone (SOLDIER ONLINE), short film

SOLDIER ONLINE was voted BEST ANIMATION FILM at the January 2020 DANCE & MUSIC Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

John J.A. Jannone: Daniel Munkus, one of the three musicians in the band Old Robes, was my student in the M.F.A. program in Performance and Interactive Media Arts (PIMA) at Brooklyn College. We became friends and collaborated for several years. When Old Robes’ new album The Spider and the Spectator was coming out, Daniel commissioned a bunch of artists to make music videos, and I created this video. The mystery and energy of this song struck me in particular, and I was interested in who the “Soldier Online,” the character in the song, was.

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

I worked on this animation for about a month. Since it is a sound-responsive, generative animation, it is both an animation and a piece of software, so much of the work of creating this piece was coding.

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

Inner War

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

There were many technical challenges. The language I was working in is very good at creating real-time, sound-responsive animation, but much less well suited to “editing” a structured film. So the biggest challenge was to leverage the strength of the language while “bending” it to function more like conventional editing software.

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

I was very pleased that people responded so positively to the animation. I was not surprised to hear that reactions to the music were not as positive – I’ve heard a lot of negative contents about the music – but I find it very interesting and challenging music.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

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

I found the animated soldier figure, and he guided the whole process – I worked through various permutations – breaking him into polygons, slicing him into ribbons, distorting his form and re-constructing it. I was also interested in creating a hand-drawn feeling from a totally software-based animation, which lead to a lot of work with applying structured randomness to the lines and forms.

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

Probably La Dolce Vita and Persona, as I teach an audiovisual aesthetics class, and we watch both films in the class.

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

I love it – I reach many more festivals than I would without it, and it keeps track of submissions for me!

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

Ha – possibly this one – when making an animation, one listens to the song many, many times. But, other than this, I think I’ve probably listened to Mahavishnu Orchestra’s album Inner Mounting Flame, and John Scofield’s Still Warm, pretty darn extensively. Also, everything by Foals and LCD Soundsystem, always on repeat.

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

Just finished it! A feature I produced and composed the music for, four years in the making, premiering at CINEQUEST next month: http://smallTimeFilm.com/

Interview with Composer Michael Roth (THE WEB OPERA)

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020 matthewtoffolo composer, Uncategorized composer, Experimental FEEDBACK Film Festival, interview, Michael Roth (THE WEB OPERA), music in film

THE WEB OPERA played to rave reviews at the February 2020 Music & Dance Festival in Los Angeles.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Michael Roth: Two things, really. First, aesthetic and somewhat practical: whenever I’ve met a writer over the past 10 years or so who’s wanted to collaborate on an opera or music theatre piece — anything like that, even if the idea is a good one — I’ve always felt obliged to state what’s almost obvious: it’s hard, once you get going, to know if it will ever really exist as a fully produced thing. It’s a lot of work and takes a lot of money, and you don’t know where you might be heading and if you will ever have it onstage fully realised and — sometimes just as important — get more than one performance.That’s not a reason to not do something, just an assessment. But I’ve suggested as an alternative that making a film, especially nowadays, is very much possible. The means of production, so to speak, are well within reach; the amount of musical creation you can do digitally is pretty great; and an enormous new music/opera house does exist that’s accessible to all: the internet.No matter what happens, the result can be posted online, sounding as one wishes it to sound, looking like what you might want it to be — to exist as we wish it to exist. And it’s not a show that closes on Sunday afternoon. There might not be any ‘box office’ to speak of, but the work will be posted as long as one cares to have it there.If creating the work is paramount, you can create it — as I tried with The Web Opera — and have it exist for all to see. And that is something. Second, and more important, as it clearly did powerfully move me to compose and produce it, was [the real musician’s] story and the tragic circumstances of his death — and accordingly, to make all more aware of cyber abuse and cyberbullying, and to fight it however possible.

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

We started working on the script sometime before 2014, I started composing the score in mid-2014, and we launched in January 2019 – so including the writing, about 5 years so far.

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

WEB OPERA – !

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

– Time, money, scheduling, etc- just getting together bit by bit, a lot of perseverance –

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

Frankly, very pleased – that the first reaction to the film after the screening was “I think THE WEB OPERA is pretty brilliant … ” well that’s an awfully nice thing to hear, and i did appreciate that and the other very kind responses.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

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

– I think this might be covered to some extent in the first answer…

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

– Maybe GODFATHER – thought perhaps THE GREAT ESCAPE or A HARD DAY’S NIGHT —

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

– Honestly, I’ve never been a part of the film festival world until now, so have learned a lot this past year – so I think FilmFreeway works fine and makes it all clear and relatively easy – after all, it’s led to being a part of your festival – and being an official selection at 14 festivals total.

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

– Probably “Strawberry Fields Forever” – followed by Rite of Spring and the Eroica –

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

– Next is Episode 4 of THE WEB OPERA, hopefully will be done composing it by early fall, and hopefully filmed just after the turn of the year — that and several theatre projects, including new music/theatre to be premiered at the Guthrie Theatre – and music directing/orchestrating a new concert version of RANDY NEWMAN’S FAUST .

Interview with Filmmaker Vasco Diogo (WALKSCAPE)

February 9, 2020 matthewtoffolo directing a film, feedback film festival, film director, short film, short film festival, toronto film festival, Uncategorized, wildsound film festival Experimental FEEDBACK Film Festival, feedback film festival, short film festival, Vasco Diogo (WALKSCAPE), wildsound film festival

WALKSCAPE played to rave reviews at the January 2020 Experimental FEEDBACK Film Festival in January 2020.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

What motivated me the most to make this film was getting to know the music of WELCOME TO SILKEBORG, by Tiago Varela (electric piano) and Monsieur Trinité (several objects), which are both good friends. The track which I use for the film was the inspiration to make something in-between a music video, a documentary and an experimental film, always thinking about the relations between the music (which is improvised) and the image.

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

It took me about one month to make this short. But I must say that the shooting process was a bit hard, as I filmed always in movement and walking in the city of Lisbon with time-lapse techniques. So a continuous walk of more or less 40 minutes would result in 20 seconds of non-edited film.

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

Musical and Pictorial.

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

Physical focus and accuracy while filming very long takes, always walking.

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

As I usually don´t get so much feedback from the audience it was great, specially when the people talking were getting really close to the conceptual main ideas of the film and getting to identify with the experience of walking in the city of Lisbon as a kind of poetic canvas in permanent transformation.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

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

By listening to the music first and experimenting manipulating time-lapse techniques in a non-conventional way. Also by reading about the concept of “walkscape” (walking as an artistic experience) that gives the title to the film.

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

“Smoking” by Alain Resnais, because I’ve shown it many times to my cinema students at University of Beira Interior.

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

FilmFreeway is for me the best ever cinema submission platform and it has helped me a lot in my cinema career. I used to send VHS tapes to film festivals, now everything is much easier, simple and faster.

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

“Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen (yes, I also like to sing!).

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

I’ve several projects in my mind, one of them will be about some literary texts (never published before) that my brother wrote.

Interview with Filmmaker Christian Frosio (OPEN THE WINDOW)

January 7, 2020 matthewtoffolo directing a film, feedback film festival, film director, short film festival, sound in film, toronto film festival, Uncategorized, wildsound film festival Christian Frosio (OPEN THE WINDOW), Experimental FEEDBACK Film Festival, feedback film festival

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Christian Frosio: The theme of the song is a subject dear to me. During the recording music session, I started to write the storyboard of the video clip and to imagine the related scenes. It was a natural process. The idea was to reinforce the message of the song through a visual dimension that would have been strongly reflective and impactful.

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

It took a month of work, with me and Michele Bernardi working on the realization of the idea. It was a two-man job involving exchange of opinions on daily basis. We established a very good artistic collaboration. Many of the scenes were filmed by me with my smartphone, with him turning them into animation.

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

Briefly: dreamlike, hopeful.

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

We did not want to deliver the main message of the song (the end of life) to the audience in a tough and straight manner. We all lose someone dear to us sooner or later, and the song is trying to put the overall context with a message of hope.

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

I was very grateful by seeing people listening carefully to the music video, being open and honest when sharing their interpretation and understanding of the music and video clip. Seeing people interested at your work, that is one of the best thing for an artist and I am very happy about this experience.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

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

The song are based on a true experience I faced for a person dear to me. The creation of the video clip came together as a consequence. The initial idea was to make the video with real images of an hospital, but I thought that was not what I wanted to bring to the audience, because I wanted to keep to some extent the imagination and dreamlike atmosphere of the music.

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

“Legends of the Fall”. But also ” Das cabinet des Dr. Caligari”. You can see a reference to the second one, in my video clip “La Nostra Casa “. You can find it on my Youtube Channel.

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

It is a nice platforms, easy to use in the submission of your work, finding festivals, uploading your projects.

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

“Let it down” Radiohead, but also the songs of the Lucio Battisti’s LP “Anima Latina”.

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

I have an outgoing album entitled “Mille Direzioni” and a new music video “Anime Leggere”. Now I am working on a new video clip.

I am a songwriter and the director of my music videos. I am very attached to the video aspect, because I can express the meanings of music through the visual language, trying to create a very strong connection between the two aspects.

Interview with Filmmaker Jenny Ni (ECLOSION)

November 8, 2019 matthewtoffolo directing a film, feedback film festival, film director, short film, short film festival, toronto film festival, Uncategorized, wildsound film festival Experimental FEEDBACK Film Festival, feedback film festival, interview, Jenny Ni (ECLOSION)

ECLOSION played to rave reviews at the October 2019 Experimental/Dance/Music Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Jenny Ni: Coming from an Asian culture background, light skin, skinny body and big eyes are considered as the classic standard of beauty. Although I wasn’t overweight, I grew up receiving negative comments about my appearance and body shape. I was obsessed over the idea that being skinnier will make me more popular among others. Funny enough, just like most teenagers, I’ve tried several medicine secretly to lose weight. It’s not until I come to Canada, my perspective towards beauty was changed. Oversized girls walk confidently on the street and they seem to be proud in their own skins. The openness to diversities makes me realized beauty isn’t always about outside and even though your appearance changed, it does’t necessarily mean the society is going to accept you any better. I wanted to send a message to all the insecure people out there, especially women, to stay true to yourself no matter what you’re going through.
Meanwhile, I wanted to be critical about the bubble world we’re living in. The difficulty to reveal your true self in front of others for the fear of losing them because once they know who you truly are, there’s a higher possibility that they will see you differently.

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

It took us 4 months in total to finish Eclosion from pre-production to post-production.

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

Emotional and Inspirational

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

My biggest obstacle throughout the process of creating Eclosion is the reveal of the main character, Ann transforming into a cocoon. My production designer and I had brainstormed a various way to create the cocoon look but we weren’t sure about its practicality. It’s not until I came across a picture of sock dance on Pinterest that we decided it would be wise to incorporate sock dance as our inspiration and apply the same idea to Eclosion. Our concept is to use a light, breathe through material and stitched it into a pouch attached our actress’ costume at the back. The pouch was designed with an zip opening. At a certain point of the dance, she will sit down and grab the pouch from her back , step in to cover her entire body with it. We want to make sure the weight of the fabric won’t influence her dance move and when she’s in the cocoon, she has enough space to breathe through. Therefore, my production designer and I spent a lot of time picking the most suitable fabric for this specific shot. The result came out better than I expected. On camera, this shot is breathtaking.

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

Although I’m used to receiving comments from my friends about the work I’ve done so far. Seeing them on screen is a whole another experience. Especially knowing the viewers are watching my film from another city, it made me excited but also nervous. Excited in a way that I’m glad I’m able to deliver my message to a boarder audience group. Nervous because this is the first time that my film is being screened in a downtown theatre.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

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

To be fully honest with you. I was going through a really hard time with myself at a certain point last year. Before I created Eclosion, I was stressed over the idea that there will be no path for an international filmmaker here after I graduated from school. There are times that I skipped class just to slept in. I don’t want to engage much with my friends and I purposely distanced myself from them because I see myself as a bad influence on them. One day in our acting class, my friend commented on how people are hiding behind a shield, afraid to be see through, or accepted for who they are. I burst down crying after hearing that. I’ve had enough of hiding my emotions within, it’s time to let them all out. My friends were shocked seeing me cry in front of the whole class. They came up to me and asked how I was doing. I could genuinely feel the love that I got from my class and how unnecessary for me to put on a mask in front of them.
Soon after, I came up with the idea of a caterpillar evolve into a butterfly. My experience has enrich my mindset towards being vulnerable and show off your true self.

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

I adore all David Fincher’s films, especially the one that got me into psychological thriller—Gone Girl. This film is a great example where director mindfully place the clues and let the viewer figure out themselves. He’s also playing around with the timeline of the film which leads to the plot twist in the end. It’s also the very first time that I saw such a strong female lead playing a cold hearted “killer”. Therefore, these unique elements combined made up my favourite film of all time.

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

The website for FilmFreeway has a really clear design and it makes my submission super easy. Although I would like to ask to improve on the security for managing linked bank accounts on site. One time my producer mistakenly used my credit card for the payment and I had no idea where my money went until he told me.

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

I love a classic duet between female and male artists. Best Part by Daniel Caesar and H.E.R is my go to Karaoke song and on a side note, I started singing since I was in middle school. The jazzy, R&B vibe warms my heart with their lovely harmony. This is one of those songs that made me want to find a lover an run away with him to the sea.

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

I’m currently in school finishing my diploma in Arts at Capilano University but I’d love to get back to film as soon as I can. There’s a few scripts I’ve been working on for a long time and it would be fascinating to see them on screen. Apart from that, I’m also working on creating a new YouTube channel focusing on styling and music since those are two of my other passions. I’ve been also thinking of directing music videos for local artists just to connect with more talents and get to know the music industry as well.

Interview with Filmmaker Nathalie Kraemer (SUCKR FOR LOVE)

SUCKR FOR LOVE was the winner of BEST FILM at the October 2019 Experimental/Dance/Music Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Nathalie Kraemer: Originally I needed a music video for my next song release that wouldn’t cost a fortune and include many cast and crew. So I decided to make an animation in a very specific style that I wanted to do a long time ago and which also served as an homage to German film maker Lotte Reiniger from the 1920’s. It was important to me to create something meaningful and socio-critical as well.

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

From research at the Film museum in Duesseldorf to concept, storyboarding, production and completion it took me about 4 months.

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

Missing love

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

The biggest obstacle was time. Based on my production schedule I planned a deadline and booked the venue for my single release. Everything had to be ready for that date because a lot of people were involved, a night full of concerts, prizes to win and collaborations with small indie businesses so there was no way to move the date. What I didn’t factor in was the many retakes some scenes needed because of unforeseen small technical issues or the character animation just didn’t look great and I had to redo it. Closer to the deadline I had to work longer hours and faster and luckily my back was holding up from being bent over in a dark room all day. I literally rendered the movie up until the night before and I’d say the last 2-3 days were panic mode haha but I finished it on time.

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

My initial reaction? I’d rather not say. 😉 I was present during the live screening and when the audience gave their feedback I felt myself tense up inside, sink into my chair, get into defense mode (I know it’s silly) and listen to the feedback. And the audience feedback was very positive and great!

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

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

The content of the film had to make sense to the lyric of the song since it was intended to be a music video for that specific song Suckr for Love. Since the song is about unrequited love I focused on the story of a girl trying to find true love in a time where people don’t have patience to get to know someone and instead just run off to the next person they see. Worked into the background paintings drawn by my artist friend Hannes Berg are environmental issues we are facing currently such as the plastic pollution in our oceans, the dying of the bees, carbon emission, etc.

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

Probably Disney movies as a child. I typically don’t watch movies twice.

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

I like FilmFreeway, they have almost all International festivals listed there and filtered search options to find whatever suits your film. Very easy to navigate the site and user-friendly.

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

Hard to say. I listen to a lot of music on repeat. Maybe Pink Floyd the division bell.

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

Yes. I am currently applying for funding for my next silhouette short about humans lost touch of nature and focus on indigenous stories.

Matthew Toffolo's Summary

Daily summary of the life/movie world.

Experimental FEEDBACK Film Festival

Interview with Filmmaker/Actor Hannah Bonecutter (MINSTREL VS PUPPET)

Interview with Filmmaker John J.A. Jannone (SOLDIER ONLINE)

Interview with Composer Michael Roth (THE WEB OPERA)

Interview with Filmmaker Vasco Diogo (WALKSCAPE)

Interview with Filmmaker Christian Frosio (OPEN THE WINDOW)

Interview with Filmmaker Jenny Ni (ECLOSION)

Interview with Filmmaker Nathalie Kraemer (SUCKR FOR LOVE)

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