Year: 2020

Interview with Winning Screenwriter Joe Kourieh (Voosch And Helina)

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matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

“Voosch And Helina” was the March 2020 SCI-FI/FANTASY SHORT Screenplay Winner.

Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Joe Kourieh: This Sci-Fi short is about something all too familiar – a World War – but in an unfamiliar place (under the sea). Humans’ dominance over the planet has been lost and they are now at the mercy of warring animal alliances. The characters in this scene represent a drastic hierarchy, and are trapped within it (for some, literally). The moral truth of the situation is different from everyone’s perspective. The Octopoids blame the humans for some grave developments on Earth – but does that justify a genocide?

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

It is a Sci-Fi and also a drama piece. I would imagine that if produced it would likely be animation.

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

I believe it does the ideal…

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Interview with Filmmaker Marc SAEZ (FOLLOW THE ARROW)

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matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

FOLLOW THE ARROW played to rave reviews at the February 2020 ROMANCE Film Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Marc SAEZ: I wanted to talk about desire, sensuality, love but also talk about appearances that can be deceiving and dive people into the cinematographic universe that I love by surprising them. I like films that open up different paths and can give way to different debates and visions at the end.

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

The film was shot in only 3 and a half days. It was a real challenge. The scenes from the beginning in the studio, when she falls in the painting and the love scenes were shot in a studio on the same day, it was a real marathon. I cannot quantify the overall completion…

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Interview with Filmmaker Alex Sangha (MY NAME WAS JANUARY)

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MY NAME WAS JANUARY played to rave reviews at the February 2020 FEMALE Feedback Film Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Alex Sangha: The social coordinator of the non-profit that I founded for LGBTQ South Asians and their friends was brutally stabbed 18 times in her own home. She was a transgender Filipina woman. She was a much loved member of our organization and we wanted to create a tribute for her to showcase her light, legacy, and love in the minds of people she left behind. We wanted to share her story as we knew her and what she meant to us and to provide a platform for other transgender woman of colour.

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

Three years. We hired two journalism students from Kwantlen Polytechnic University…

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Interview with Filmmaker Brian Ernst (WELL DONE)

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matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

WELL DONE was the winner of BEST PERFORMANCES at the Chicago FEEDBACK Film Festival in February 2020.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Brian Ernst: We initially set out to make this film for a short film contest and the idea sprang from a conversation I had with producer and star of Well Done, Mitchell Brinkman. In a brainstorming session he came up with the idea of a burger on a grill being used as a ticking clock and we ran with it from there.

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

The first draft of the script was completed on May 9, 2019, we shot on August 17 and the 24th and the film was finished on August 28, so post was quite the quick turn around!

3. How would you describe your short…

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Interview with Filmmaker Yijun Pan (RED THREAD)

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matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

RED THREAD was the winner of BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at the February 2020 Chicago FEEDBACK Film Festival.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Yijun Pan: Red Thread of Fate is a belief in Asian culture that, according to the ancient myth, the god ties an invisible red cord around the finger of those that destine to meet one another in a specific situation as they are “their true love.”
Involving Asian culture with the American film making technique is always my dream and goal of me for a long time.

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

I think it is about two months. Pre-production and production took us about two weeks to come up with ideas and themes, looking for actresses and production design and around two weeks for post-production. And we spend a lot…

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

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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…

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Interview with Filmmaker Gretl Claggett (STORMCHASER)

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 STORMCHASER swept the awards at the February 2020 FEMALE Feedback Film Festival in Toronto. Winner of BEST FILM. BEST PERFORMANCES. BEST CINEMATROGRAPHY

 Matthew Toffolo: How did you come up with the idea for this short film? And… What motivated you to make the film?

“He’s a door-to-door ‘door’ salesman,” my friend said.

“A what…?” I thought I’d misheard what her new boyfriend did for a living.

“He lost his job. Now, he sells storm doors, door-to-door.

Our exchange conjured black-and-white images from the Maysles’ documentary, Salesman, about door-to-door bible peddlers in the ‘60s. Surely, this daily grind was a thing of the past. But as I did some digging, I discovered it still exists; and that many contractors targeting weather-torn areas this way are called “storm chasers” — instead of “ambulance chasers” — because of their predatory practices.

This triggered a deep compulsion in me to express my own sardonic…

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Interview with Screenwriter Phillip Hollins (BLACKBALLED)

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Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Phillip Hollins: ‘Blackballed,’ centers on an awkward relationship between a black FBI agent and the newly elected white supremacist leader whose daughter, by some twist of fate, gets a heart transplant from the FBI agent’s son, causing them to flee together from hate group leaders who wish them harm.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Psychological thriller/drama

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

“Blackballed” tackles social issues in an entertaining way, yet is far from anything on TV today. You can say, made in the mold of “Breaking Bad” & “No Country for Old Men” but on steroids.

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

Intense and Explosive

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

Untouchables, Hacksaw Ridge & Mad Max: Fury Road

6. How long have you been…

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Interview with Screenwriter Whitney Stewart (STEAL THE LIGHT)

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Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Whitney Stewart: My screenplay, Steal the Light, is about the resilience of humans through war and disaster, and about family bonds that endure. The story takes place in post-Katrina New Orleans and in World War Two era Europe. A young journalist loses her home and career after Hurricane Katrina, then abandons everything to fulfill her German grandmother’s dying wish to find her brother who went missing on the Russian Front of WWII. The search tests the journalist’s courage and tenacity, but she survives to bring truth home.

Steal the Light was inspired by my own experiences of helicopter-evacuating after Hurricane Katrina, and later discovering a box of war letters that prompted me to search for my husband’s German uncle who went missing on the Russian Front of World War Two.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Drama, historical.

3. Why should…

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Interview with Screenwriter Jeremy Kruse (MASTER OF NONE)

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Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Jeremy Kruse: My script, Master of None – Social Media, is about social media and how it can be toxic.

2. How does this script fit into the context of the MASTER OF NONE TV
show?

The script further explores Dev’s experience with racism.

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

Quit Sharing!

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

And Now For Something Completely Different – Monty Python

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

At least one day.

6. How many stories have you written?

Dozens and dozens.

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

Mr. Tambourine Man – Bob Dylan

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

The biggest obstacle was figuring out how…

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