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The New York trip of the cupids at the SOHO International Film Festival – by Angelo Calarco

Good Day Cupids lovers,

I hope this finds you well.

I’m writing to you while still trying to get back to reality after a fantastic 10-days in the Big Apple to support the NY screening of our short film Cupids.


As you may know Cupids was selected to screen at the 8th SOHO International Film Festival (check #SOHO8 and #SIFFNYC) and I really want to share this fabulous experience with all of you!


So let me get started…


THE FESTIVAL


The 8th SOHO International Film Festival was a really powerful experience for me.

The festival ran from the 15th to the 22nd of June 2017 in NY City and hosted panels, networking events, parties and a rich program of short and feature films.


The festival took place in the fantastic venue of the Village East Cinema in Soho where the main room of the cinema features a lovely vintage look and a main room with a huuuuuge screen.



This is where Cupids was screened, but I will talk about that later.


The festival was expertly managed by the Executive Director and Head of Programming Sibyl Santiago, a super sweet and very energetic New York lady who managed to create a magical atmosphere throughout the course of all 8 days of the festival.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that she really made everybody feel at home! I can’t describe how comfortable and appreciated she made us feel being part of the festival.

From spending time with Sibyl and the whole team it was obvious why the festival has grown so much from year to year.


In fact, a special mention goes to Carlos Santiago who, other than being Director, Jury and Film Selection Committee, was also hosting the Q&A with the filmmakers after the screening of their films. You could feel his passion and love for the filmmaking community at all times.


And of course all of the volunteers who worked super hard to make everything run smoothly and create the most enjoyable experience:


Thank you all!!!


Kudos also to Jorge Ballos, President and Founder of the festival, who I had the pleasure to meet and have a few chat with. A true gentleman and film connoisseur!


No need to specify that the communication was excellent and the parties, and particularly the venues, were super awesome.

Here are some of them:


I realised just how many people I’d had the chance to speak with when I looked at the amount of business cards and marketing materials I had collected over the festival.

(and these are just a small part…)








The last mention goes to the two panels I attended at the festival:

Casting for Independent Films – Hosted by Donna McKenna and Liz Ortiz–Mackes

How to pitch like a pro – Hosted by Jacob Krueger Studio and Keatyn Lee

Super helpful and full of practical insights!


But let me get to the real stars of the festival:


THE FILMS


And, obviously, we start with the screening of Cupids!


The film screened as part of the “Mercer Street Series” on Saturday, June 17th at 11:00am. This was the first block of short film screenings and, to be totally honest, I thought the early hour would make it difficult to reach a good turnout.


Oh, how wrong I was!


To my surprise the room was packed full of filmmakers and film lovers, waiting to watch the hard work of all the filmmakers and programming team.

There were 9 short film screenings in this block, mostly dramas and a few comedies. Cupids was one of them.


So, how did the screening go?


Well, it couldn’t have gone better. The reaction of the audience was great with lots of laughs and “aaaawwww”s throughout, which put a huge smile on my face for the rest the day.


Arabella and Saraphel (Jenny Delisle and Tiernan Douieb), together with Paul and Claire (Michelle Fahrenheim and Daniel Knight) brought the audience into a world of feathers, clipboards and coffees - objects New Yorkers experience more often than you can imagine, but with the unique perspective of our film made all of these things as entertaining as possible.


Then, at the end of the screenings the Q&A was a moment to share some details about our film, where Nick had the chance to speak about how the idea came to him and why it was so important to him to write this story.


A question from the audience gave me a chance to describe the unusual double look of the film and again, the reasons behind it.

Here is a picture of the Q&A (that also show pretty well the dimensions of the cinema screen… credits for the pictures go to John Knipp) Can you spot Angelo and Nick?


It was a very fun and professional environment at the same time. All the films were great and I couldn’t have been more honoured to have our film part of this festival!


And, as a cherry on top of the cake, Cupids has been also nominated for BEST WORLD SHORT FILM!

And this was our sober reaction when we heard the nomination at the awards ceremony


Now before talking about the other films, let me remind you that if you haven’t, you can still watch our short film and help our festival run. Just click on the link below and, by watching our film, you will contribute to sending Cupids out there for the world to see.


And remember: the more people who watch it, the more festivals we can apply for!


So if you like it, invite your friends and families to do the same. But if you don’t, invite your most hated enemies. It’s win-win situation!


So then, what about the other films at the festival?


Well, I think part of a festival experience is to try to enjoy as many films as you can. And I promise, I did my best.

But the program was really generous in terms of the number of films, so I had to make some decisions.

First of all I decided I needed to watch all of the short films, or at least as many as I could and covered almost 90% of the short films. And I’m kind of satisfied with that.


Regarding feature films, I was only able to watch a couple as I found myself spending too much time in the filmmakers lounges after the short film screenings.


So here the list of the films I enjoyed most, in no particular order.

And yes, they’re all (except for one) comedies. You guys know my taste….


SHORT FILMS:

Unexpected Company: a beautifully written and acted story about two sisters who share a dark secret. Based on an award winning play by Wendy Mae Shelton and directed by Kerry Vaughn Miller


The Vampire Leland: If you think about a vampire would you ever picture a nerd or an overweight guy? Well, that’s the reason why people like Leland can turn into vampires only by mistake…

Written by Ken Ferrigni and directed by Tijuana Ricks


Going Public: Raising a kid is no joke. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop fooling around!

Probably one of my favorite short films of the festival. Super funny in its writing and particularly in its directing techniques. One of the most skillful uses of comedy timing I’ve seen in a while, highly recommended!

Written by Steve O’Reilly and directed by Steve O’Reilly and Andy Ferguson


Off Track Betty: A New York City story, shot on 16mm film, about love, memory, and what it means to move forward.

Written & Directed by Clayton Dean Smith


FEATURE FILMS:

Four Bottles: After finding out she didn't get her dream job, Stacy has to decide whether she is going to stay in the city and fight for her dream, or move back home.

Funny dialogue and great acting. That’s all you need!

Written and directed by John Painz



These are the films I loved most, but the festival was full of beautiful films that, for one reason or another, keep coming back to my mind. Maybe because of one particular aspect like photography, editing or story, or just because the filmmaker was a truly lovable person.


So it wouldn’t be fair not to share with you some of the other great titles I had the chance to see over the week.

And if you are a filmmaker and your film didn’t make into this list, remember this is just my personal favourite list, and has no connection whatsoever with the quality of your film.


So these are my recommended films with links to their trailer:


Other People’s Heads – Short Film– Comedy - By Stephen Winterhalter

Leslie – Short Film – Drama - By Alejandro Montoya Marin

Landing Up – Feature Film – Drama - By Dani Tenembaum and Stacey Maltin

Chocolates – Short Film– Comedy - By Patricia Selznick and Mike Cattelona

Prerequisite - Short Film– Comedy - By Geoffrey Guerrero

30 Days to Say Goodbye – LGBTQ Short Film – Drama - By Edward King III

Mai (Never) - Short Film– Drama - By Giulio Poidomani

Pick Up - Short Film– Drama - By Jeremiah Kipp


So here we are, at the end of this very long blog post.

If you’re still there and didn’t fall asleep, congratulations! You are now trained for more interesting readings like Apple Terms & Conditions or the NYC Grand Central Station weekly timetable.


But if you made it to this point, you might also want to go a little further by spreading the word through your social media (a link to this page would be sincerely appreciated) or by staying in touch with us through our newsletter.

So thank you again to the SOHO International Film Festival for selecting our film and thanks to you for reading this.


Until next blog!


With love,

Angelo and the Cupids team


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