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When his L.A. life and his second marriage fall apart, Frankie Razzini, a guy who likes to roam about, comes back to the Bronx to understand what he had done wrong in the past. In his wallet he carries a picture of his first love, and deep in his soul a bitter remorse, and perhaps a secret. He meets up with his best friend Eddie in the old pub they had once favored and strikes up a conversation with Brenda.
JWB. What was the inspiration behind your feature film Fairview St?
MM. Fairview St. is my first feature film as a writer/director. It took me years to write. Through that process I hit every possible stage of writer's block. I didn't write from any autobiographical place, but I did pull certain story ideas and situations from people that I knew. That combined with a vivid imagination and a love for classic films helped be gear the look, feel and tone to the film. I wanted it to to be a modern day noir story. Following the lines of a true noir: "wherever the protagonist goes, fate is tripping him up."
JWB. And what inspired you to become a film maker?
JWB: Where did the inspiration for such a tragically themed story come from?
DC: Well first of all, I wanted to do a character driven story about love, friendship and addiction. With flawed characters that you could still love, much like our real friends and family. My co-writer Jeff Wallace is a recovering alcoholic. A point that he made very clear to me about addiction is that addicts usually hurt the people that love them much more than they hurt themselves. That was the main message that we wanted to come from the movie. And also it could be a cautionary tale.
LZ: The film is a brilliant mind-teaser which will keep the audience guessing until the end - and then surprise them with an unexpected answer to all their questions. How did you get the idea of playing with an ecological disaster and the human mind going astray from this peculiar angle?
Casting a vote, is that a point you wanted to make in this film?
Casting a vote is important. We wanted to make young people feel that they have a role
in the democratic process. Whether they could physically vote or not. We wanted to
show that they were engaged in the process.
How long did it take you to make this film?
We started in November 2007 and finished in early 2009.
Elena Beloff, a graduate of the New School University where she had studied film production, wanted to make movies since she was a little girl in her hometown in Tatarstan, Russia. When she was in high school she came to the USA as an exchange student and returned later to pursue her dreams. While living in New York Elena came across the infamous phenomena of the Russian women stereotype as materialistic gold-diggers and mail-order brides so she decided to make a film to explore the alleged stereotypes.
LZ: What inspired the idea of the film?
GW: I had just moved from Melbourne to London and was working as a Producer on a show called "The Media Report" for European Business News (now CNBC). I was broke and discovering London, looking for a film project that wouldn't take me away from my day job. One Sunday my sister and I were walking through Hyde Park & saw Speakers' Corner for the first time. I was mesmerized, mostly by the sounds, the chaos and yet the order all around. As it was only held on Sundays, it was the perfect subject for a documentary!
Astoria/LIC International Film Festival is proud to present Polygamy, a clever, thought-provoking full-length feature film by Hungarian director/producer Dénes Orosz, in which he explores the ever-controversial subject of polygamy from the surprising angle of what would happen if someone's coveted wish was miraculously fulfilled.
