I am writing these lines to express my sincere and immense happiness because the short film I was part of as an Actor last June of 2011 won on August 4th of 2011 at Concord, NH; the BEST SHORT FILM Award for the State of New Hampshire 2011 at 'The 48 Hour Film Project'http://www.48hourfilm.com
I am very proud not necessarily of myself, but of the team I had the chance to be part of. Those who truly know me, know that I very much dislike brown nosing. Keeping that in mind, I am going to express how I truly feel from the bottom of my heart.
It was an honor and pleasure to work with this amazing pool of talented people. I need to name everybody for be fair because they all very well deserve it. But I have to mention the leadership of Scott Orlosk. He really commanded us with passion and clear vision. It is amazing, but as soon as I walked into IndieFair; Scott was saying to everybody that we were doing this to win. And we DID!! Can you believe that?!?! That IS a vision of success. Someone might think it is a coincidence, but due of the talent of everybody involved, I have to disagree with that hypothetical view. Almost 2 months from the beginning to the awards night, and you have to admire a guy with such drive. He was right from the get go... just unreal, but real and amazing at the same time. No wonder why he won the BEST DIRECTOR Award as well, and yes; VERY well deserves it.
The film have won a total of 5 Awards:
BEST FILM
Best Directing
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best use of Character
Also the importance of a cool, open minded, extra mile producer is VERY important as well. They are KEY for a successful production. And we were lucky to have a great producer holding the fort. Yes, Art Murphyis THAT guy. Always with a smile and without being fake. Truly interested on the wellbeing of the crew. He made me feel welcomed, well cared and free to ad my bit of creativity. The kind of guy you meet and instantly makes you feel 'Gee, the is a guy I would like to be friends with; or this is a guy I was going to be friends with in High School'. That kinda guy.
I have to make a few more mentions just because I worked with these people a bit closer than the rest of the crew. Although, all equally important but these people worked with me much closer just because of the circumstance and the one scene I was involved with:
Walter J. Estrada (Production Manager): He was the EVERYWHERE guy. Walter was literally everywhere. You looked behind you, Walter was there smiling at you; you grabbed a an empty cup of coffee, Walter was there pressing the 'brew' button; you inhaled air to say 'I need...' and Walter flying by saying 'Sure no problem'. I really loved working with him. Another 'wanna be friends with' kinda guy.
Alex Knuuttunen (Director of Photography): A guy who absolutely love what he does. That's the vibe I've got from him all the time. 200% passionate about the quality of the image. He was so excited everytime the camera captured something in tune with his heart. It was contagious to everyone around him. No wonder why we won best cinematography. If I've ever hear somebody looking for the best cinematographer, I will say 'Hire that guy!... Now!'. Big Kudos to Danna Rogers to have everything (lenses, memory cards, etc) ready for Alex when he needed it.
Dan Hourihan (Gaffer): Yes, he is another 'Hire that guy'. You gotta light the scene properly for the camera to see. Dan was on top of the gels and Kinos and in total control of the situation. Very professional and really focused on what he wanted. Again, watch the movie to see what an amazing job he did. With the help of the multi talented Erin Sandler of course.
Matt Cooney & Joel Yeaton (Editors): Another award right there. Editors are the Actors' guardian angels. They are. They pick your very best shots. And Matt and Joel spent several hours with film bits and made us all look fantastic. I briefly met them both, but they spent hours with our faces on digital form. And their award is another proof of what a great job they did. Thank you guys!!
Gustavo M. Esquivel (Production Coordinator) and Javier made the music for the movie. As a silent film, the music becomes a leading role by itself. Our movie speaks for itself if you watch it a second time and just pay close attention to the music. It drives the mood of the movie (in conjunction with the Acting). Excellent job Gustavo and Javier!!
And speaking of Acting... to my fellow Actors. I was in real contact with only 6 of them. Wonderful job everybody. Nik Smith was great to work with when we played poker. He was so into it and my reactions came because of his generosity to play over and over his same reaction even when the camera was not on him. How important is to listen on Acting, like De Niro frequently remarks. It is even more important than being listened to most times. Jason Hubbard has this amazing look on the screen. Very handsome and so much in the politician role. Best use of Character also goes to his very believable performance for sure. Heidi Sturrock was very charming on and off the screen. Very cool to talk about our Italian ancestry. Owen Emberley was not only an Actor, but one of the writers and the Script Supervisor. On top of that, he is such a nice good. Another guys I wish I can be friends with. I hope to work with Owen again someday. What can I say about my two beautiful girls played by Krista Rose and Ariel Schloner... that they are not only beautiful but very talented as well. Very professional and super nice off the screen.
And last but not least... the writers (Peter Beck, Warren Mann, Judy Mann, Scott Orlosk, Owen Emberley and Andrea Murphy). Well, they wrote the story of the Best Short Film of 2011 for the State of NH. What else can I say?
Everybody, excellent job! I am very proud of the movie we all did. It was an enormous pleasure to have worked with all of you. I wish you all plenty of personal and professional success. Your success is my success because if you guys succeed, I can say that I worked with you!!
God bless you all!!
Kind Regards friends,
Ben Tolosa
