RSS 2.0 FeedJuly 22, 2010, Bellmore Life
Locals win big at film expo
Check out the locals who got film expo awards.
LOCAL FILMMAKERS SMILE BIG AFTER WINNING AWARDS: From left, John Lazzaro, of Wantagh won for Best Humanitarian Film “Hindsight”; North Bellmore's Jill Schissel won for Best Short Student Film “Mildred Richards,” Kat Wisener won for Best Actress in Ms. Schissel's “Mildred Richards”; and Brian Biegel was director for Bellmore producer Sal Del Guidice’s Best Documentary film “Miracle Ball.”
Jill Schissel of North Bellmore garnered two awards for her short film “Mildred Richards,” Sal Del Guidice of Bellmore’s film “Miracle Ball” won an award and John Lazzaro of Wantagh won an award for “Hindsight” during the 13th annual Long Island International Film Expo’s awards ceremony at the Bellmore Movies last Sunday.
The newest winners mingled with a star-studded guest list that included Cathy Moriarty (“Raging Bull,” “Analyze That” and “Cop Land”), Lou Martini Jr. (“Sopranos,” off-Broadway’s “On The Waterfront”), Robert Clohessy (Broadway’s “Pal Joey”), Lenny Venito (“Knights of Prosperity,” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Anthony Mangano (“NYPD Blue”), Peter Greene (“The Mask,” “Under the Influence” and “War of the Worlds”), Brandon Hannan (“Sopranos”) and Brian O’Halloran (“Clerks”).
Ms. Schissel, who graduated from Calhoun High School, told Bellmore Life after her short film “Mildred Richards” won the Triple Play Tech Award and Best Student Short Film and actress Kat Wisener won for Best Actress in a short film, that the film expo “was a great opportunity to get my film seen, and I feel very fortunate to be here.” Said Ms. Wisener of her win: “This is the best film I have ever had the privilege to be associated with.”
$5,000 winner
In addition to winning the Gold academy-style trophy, Ms. Schissel was also awarded the top prize – a $5,000 Post Production Service Voucher from Redlab Digital.
Jim Cook, chairman of the Nassau County Film Commission, presented the prize to Ms. Schissel, saying, “The quality of Jill’s work along with the proposal for her next film made this prize the best fit for her.”
Ms. Schissel will use the prize to help offset post-production costs for her next film, “Fall Girl.”
“Mildred Richards” was a challenge for the actors because the story is an actual remake of an old radio program, and the actors had to lip-synch their words the entire time – a radio recording over a modern film.
Bellmore resident Sal Del Guidice’s production company Tangerine Films also garnered an award for Best Documentary Film for “Miracle Ball.” “This is a fantastic festival, it is run very well,” said the film’s director, Mr. Beigel, who accepted the award.
Mr. Del Guidice told Bellmore Life “I’m thrilled and honored to win this award against such great international competition. This film expo offers a fantastic showcase of all manner of film from all over the world. “To win it in my own backyard of Bellmore, there is nothing better.”
“Miracle Ball,” or “The Hunt for the Shot Heard Around the World,” traces the filmmaker’s steps as he searches for the “Maltese Falcon” of sports memorabilia: who caught the famous home-run ball that New York Giant Bobby Thomson hit against the Brooklyn Dodgers on October 8, 1951, in the Polo Grounds, to put the Giants into the World Series against the New York Yankees.
John Lazzaro, of Wantagh, won for Best Humanitarian Award for his documentary “Hindsight.” “It’s my first award and it feels good to be up here and recognized.”
“Hindsight” looks at the heroin epidemic plaguing Long Island, which took the life of Seaford’s 17-year-old Natalie Ciappa, and offers hope through those fighting against the epidemic.
Who’s who of actors
The first three rows of the theater were filled with a who’s who of actors and actresses, including Cathy Moriarty, Anthony Mangano, Peter Greene, Lenny Venito, Robert Clohessy, Brandon Hannan, Brian O’Halloran, Sharon Angela and Lou Martini Jr.
After opening songs from the music group Gathering Time, featuring former Bellmore Life assistant editor Stu Markus, got the crowd calling for more, Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling got the crowd laughing with bawdy jokes that livened spirits before the presentations of awards began.
During presentations, Ms. Moriarty, playing opposite such actors as Robert DeNiro in “Raging Bull” and “Analyze That,” Sylvester Stallone in “Cop Land,” Robert Downey Jr. in “Soap Dish,” Harvey Keitel in “Prince of Central Park” Armand Assante and Antonio Balderas in “The Mambo Kings” and Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Kindergarten Cop,” received the prestigious Long Island Creative Achievement Award for her life’s work.
Introduced with great reverence as a truly beautiful woman and wonderful friend by Mr. Greene, Ms. Moriarty said: “Yes, I call myself a Long Islander.”
She talked of raising her children, and also threw praise to Mr. Mangano for the great respect he shows his father (who was at the awards ceremony as well).
She told Bellmore Life after the ceremony that the award she received “was a wonderful thing. This film expo is a wonderful thing, and this award left me completely impressed and amazed. I didn’t expect it. I feel like I’m in my own backyard at a barbeque.”
Mr. Mangano said later that Ms. Moriarty paying tribute to his father “made my father feel very good tonight. That is better than any trophy or statue I could think of getting or giving,” he said. “Thank you, Cathy.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Mangano has just finished shooting “Old Made Men” with Vinny Pastore of “Sopranos” fame, and is waiting for a distributor to pick up the film. “It’s a funny film,” he said.
Mr. Martini Jr. was also involved in the “Old Made Men” pilot with Mr. Mangano. He said of the film expo: “This is my first time here, and I couldn’t have had a better time. It was a loose, casual and lively event.”
Mr. Clohessy recently finished filming 13 episodes of “The Boardwalk Empire,” directed by Martin Scorcese, that will be released on cable TV in the fall.
Mr. Venito, who is in post-production of director James Brooks’s “Everything You’ve Got” starring Reese Witherspoon, Jack Nicholson and Owen Wilson – and is also wrapping up work for Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” – told Bellmore Life of the film festival:
“It all starts right here. These people showing their films are our future. We need film festivals like these to rely on the talent for tomorrow. Thank God for this place.”
Armand Assante, on location in the Far East, was awarded a Creative Achievement Award by Debra Markowitz, director of the Nassau County Film Office, which sponsors the international film expo. On film to receive the award, Mr. Assante, who has starred in “Gotti,” “Unfaithfully Yours,” “Hoffa,” “Mambo Kings,” “Private Benjamin,” “American Gangster,” “Judge Dredd” and “Two for the Money,” said it is important for actors to “obey the writer and what comes will come organically.” He described John Gotti as a great romantic figure fighting a war that was already lost.
“This [achievement] award is a great honor, for it validates the many people who have supported me and stood behind me, and sometimes had to evoke in me” the passion necessary for the work I do,” he concluded.
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