December 2004

Just as much of William Faulkner’s work can be seen as a metaphor for the struggles and tragedies of the South, Philip Frabetti’s film "Dona Ana" can be read as a metaphor for the Puerto Rican experience.

Guy Magar’s Action/Cut Filmmaking Seminar is truly a boot camp for filmmakers of all levels. While you don’t actually get your hands on equipment and shoot film, you are equipped with the knowledge to do just that after completing the seminar. Magar addressed everything from lenses, to working with actors and crew, to drafting an investment package for an independent film. He led the class through two intense days with animated passion; sometimes taking questions, sometimes not, and covering enough information to fill a week-long read more...

New York City studios may have a new rival with the opening of Tripeg Studios, located an hour and a half north in Hamden, Connecticut. Tripeg Studios opened in October of this year, and is a mid-size studio with all the facilities of a major studio for about one third of the price.

"Finally, there is a studio that can arguably compete with New York City's congested and over-priced rates and still provide any client with everything they could possibly need," says on-site production company Synthetic Cinema International’s Chuck Gramling.

Anya is the youngest daughter -- the first to grow up in the US -- of Polish filmmaker Marian Marzynski, and the former TV host and political refugee took every opportunity to capture his daughter on film and video as she grew up. From her early birthday parties, what he described in his voiceover as her first exposure to American consumerism, through the birth of her first child, 20-something years later, Marzynski hardly missed a moment.

"People get into business because they love doing it, they’re passionate about the act of filmmaking... but they don’t have the business background and I think if you’re not putting equal attention on becoming business savvy you’re crippling your opportunity to succeed in what you really love." (Kate Arno; the Director of Training and Communication at the Maine Small Business Development Center)

Email news to news@newenglandfilm.com. 

Cappa Productions and Miramax Films are in pre-production on "The Departed," scheduled for a May/June 2005 shoot in Boston.  The film stars Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio and is based on a trilogy of Chinese-language gangster movies.

Two years ago Lorna Lowe Streeter premiered "Shelter," a raw, personal exploration of her family and its relationships. Shot between 1998 and 2002, "Shelter" follows Streeter as she searches for her biological mother, confronts conflicts within her adoptive family, especially her adoptive mother, and ultimately, asks and answers her own questions of identity and adulthood. "Shelter" garnered several festival runs and other notes of distinction, including "Best New Discovery" by the Boston Society of read more...

It seems everyone wants to be a filmmaker these days. Perhaps it was the 1990s and the advent of Miramax and Matt and Ben. It probably wasn’t Dawson and his Creek. Maybe it was Kevin Smith and his meteoric rise from chubby slacker to great white hope of the independent film (uh, before "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back"). In any case, film school is expensive, and people are competitive wankers -- but that shouldn’t stop anyone from achieving the glorious dream of film. Ah, if only there was a utopia of happy, shiny read more...

Most people associate organized crime with what they see on television or in the movies; greasy mob bosses stuffed into Italian suits, rats getting whacked, Marlon Brando making offers no one can refuse. But the reality of the Mafia is a far cry from the worlds created by Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.

In 1993, after two children (Braxton now age 14 and Teagan 11) Elizabeth Rose returned to law school to "stimulate her mind a little." If this doesn’t sound like an average person to you, you’re absolutely right. Now representing colleagues in entertainment/contract law, Rose is mother of three (Erin age 9 was born in her second of 5 ½ years of law school), actor, model, dancer, producer, lawyer, wife, and screenwriter. "It’s actually very funny how many actors and directors I know are non-practicing attorneys," Rose said read more...