sundance 2006 - Zoael

BY CHRISTINA KOTLAR
MADE IN BROOKLYN IS A
seamless anthology comprised of
four short films. The picture captures
the essence of Brooklyn, its people,
hangouts, smells, life, irony and the comedy
of a bunch of “wise guys.” connected by
serendipity and a familiar childhood summer
activity-the lemonade stand. The four
stories making up Made in Brooklyn are
entitled Happy Birthday Joe, Wood, Let
it Go! and Choose Life. What makes this
indie unique is that the filmmakers, actors
and extended family relations (Uncle
Louie as well as the neighbors) are often
transposed and interconnected within the
filmmaking process itself, effectively blurring
the lines that are so often rigidly
drawn and set in stone “protocols” normally
associated with Hollywood films.
The first blur is that it’s not made in
Hollywood but as the title insists, it’s
made in Brooklyn, and in New York City,
Staten Island and upstate New York, locations
that can’t be copied or staged
where the familiar sights and sounds take
us back to childhood reminiscences.
According to director Luca Palanca with
lead producers Justin Hogan and Jeff
Mazzola, stories started with,
“Remember when,” then became slightly
embellished yet remained based on true
events. “Once people read the script, the
word got out and everybody said, “I want
to do this!” Luca said.
Then there’s the atmosphere. It’s family-style
on the set in a traditional Italian
neighborhood. As former Sopranos actor
Michael Rispoli (his character was
bumped off a season ago) remarks,
“When you’re working on an independent
film it’s more the generosity of spirit.
Everybody kicks in to make it work.
You’re there for a reason, you like the
script and you want to be part of the project.”
Katherine Narducci, also of The
Sopranos and a native of East Harlem,
born and raised, agrees, “This is very
familiar. The characters are not far from
The Sopranos. We’re all the same and in
an independent film the actors are more
involved.” Finally, what usually happens
in an independent is that you work with
somebody who knew somebody who
worked with you before. Sound familiar?
But making it in a New York borough
brought about a different experience for
the film producers. Jeff asserted that the
greatest challenge was putting together a
INDIE PRODUCTION
Made Men of Sopranos Sing...
for Made in Brooklyn
“Home” movies draw local talent to their own backyard
Made in Brooklyn director Luca Palanca and director of photography Alicia Robbins.
crew, “because everyone is so busy in
New York that they had to make choices
on what projects they wanted to work on.”
“The Made in NY incentive program
made it an incredible year for production
in New York,” Katherine Oliver,
Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of
Film, Theatre and Broadcasting said.
“Not only has the City been successful in
retaining the films set in New York, but
we have also lured productions into the
city as well. The film production industry
employs 100,000 New Yorkers, contributes
$5 billion to our local economy
on an annual basis and brings our city to
audiences around the world.” Free permits,
tax incentives, police and film commission
assistance and the authentic
New York City atmosphere is hard to
beat. Additionally, film festivals have
become a financial boon to the city. The
Tribeca Film Festival brought millions to
the downtown area in its fourth year.
Independent films and film festivals are
perfect together. But that’s another
state.
State of mind here on the set of Made
in Brooklyn-director Luca Palanca’s
mother’s house-is upbeat, despite the
first cold, rainy day officially ending the
unseasonably mild autumn. Luca,
62
wrapped in a blanket, shivered a bit, but
that was being in cold. knee-deep, water
the day before during a scene out on
Staten Island. That’s the price of location
shooting in the woods, at the mercy of
the elements. But it reminds Luca of the
character he portrays in the semi-autobiographical
story. He reminisces about his
years hanging out with the guys and
doing dumb guy things like camping in
the woods when the only camping you
did was on the front porch of the girl you
were trying to ask out, or with the other
Brooklyn “wise guys.” Luca smiles knowingly,
“The secret to filmmaking is having
control and maintain a collaborative
effort.” And with the multiple directors
whose individual visual styles for separate
story segments put an additional
spin on the way it all turns out-just like
having the same story told by different
people-there will always be nuances
reflected in the storytellers point of view.
Alicia Robbins, the Director of
Photography who worked with a director
that worked with Justin, before was
up for the challenge to a sometimes
unconventional production schedule
that had her work with four different
directors in one day during pick-up
shots. “I forgot who I was listening to
because they all started talking to me at
the same time.”
“Attitude is what counts,” Luca said,
“When I told her she might be sleeping
on a couch,she said whatever it takes to
get the film done.” Luca notes,”Yeah, it’s
guerilla filmmaking without stealing
anything.”
Production credits for Made in
Brooklyn are Jon Sheinberg, Malek
Akkad, Luca Palanca, Jack Lipmann,
Justin Hogan, Jeff Mazzola, and Eric
Minutella, producers; Sharon Angela,
Joe Tabbanella, Jeff Mazzola and Luca
Palanca, directors; Bret McCartney,
executive with Trancas International
Films; Peter Dobson, co-producer; Luca
Palanca, writer.
The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre
and Broadcasting congratulates “Made
in NY” productions which have received
official selection at Sundance include A
Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,
directed by Dito Montiel and starring
Robert Downey Jr. and Rosario Dawson,
Flannel Pajamas, directed by Jeff
Lipsky, Half Nelson, directed by Ryan
Fleck and starring Ryan Gosling, Man
Push Cart, directed by Ramin Bahrani
and Maria Maggenti’s new film, Puccini
for Beginners.