The second annual Hartford Film Showcase is taking place on Saturday at Cinestudio. To be part of the showcase, a film has to have some direct connection to Greater Hartford, whether that means it was filmed in the area, created by someone from the area or something else.
The showcase, which takes place from noon to 8 p.m. at Cinestudio at 300 Summit St. in Hartford,. includes nine short films, two episodes of the star-studded locally filmed TV series “The Artist” and a sneak preview of a full-length indie film whose title can not be divulged. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended.
Last year’s inaugural event was held at Real Art Ways, which is still a co-sponsor of the festival. The Cinestudio’s cinema space is twice as large as the one at Real Art Ways. In any case, Real Art Ways is currently undergoing renovations as it expands into more areas of the building it occupies.
Not only has the showcase grown swiftly in size, it is already serving exactly the function that its founder T.J. Noel-Sullivan hoped it would — as a gathering space and networking opportunity for local filmmakers as well as a way to encourage them to make more films in the Hartford area. Noel-Sullivan said that of the nine short films being screened, four were made by filmmakers who had different films at the festival last year and of the five who are screening there for the first time, several were at the festival last year as audience members.
Hartford Film Showcase founder T.J. Noel-Sullivan at the first showcase last year at Real Art Ways. This year, the showcase will be held on Feb. 7 at Cinestudio at 300 Summit St. in Hartford. (Courtesy of Hartford Film Showcase)
A new 501c3 non-profit, Hartford Film Foundation, was formed last year to “further the work in education and community building that the showcase is already doing,” Noel-Sullivan said.
An actual collaboration grew out of the first festival and that project, now completed, is part of the second one. Last year, Enrique Lebrón won a prize the festival gives to the best screenplay for a short film that has not yet been made and is suitable to be filmed in the Hartford area. Vincent Wrenn, who has dozens of professional credits as a cinematographer, assistant director and camera operator, had recently moved to Connecticut and was checking out the local film community. Wrenn saw the film Lebrón had in the showcase, was intrigued by the script that won the prize and offered to work with him on the project. “Finding Pá,” which was written and directed by Lebrón with Wrenn as its director of photography, was completed in time to be part of this year’s festival on Saturday.
The schedule begins with a two-hour block of short films at noon, followed by panel discussion with the shorts filmmakers that shifts into a free lunch catered by Red Rock Tavern. The lunchtime event is “very accessible,” Noel-Sullivan said. “It’s an opportunity for filmmakers to meet and for film lovers, it’s an opportunity to chat with the people who make them.”
At 3:30 p.m., the festival screens the first two episodes of “The Artist,” followed by a talkback about the series, which began airing on the streaming channel The Network in November. “The Artist” was filmed at the Hill-Stead Museum and other locations in Connecticut. The show stars Mandy Patinkin, Janet McTeer, Danny Huston, Patti LuPone, Hank Azaria and Zachary Quinto. It is a murder mystery set in the lavish “Gilded Age” (a term coined by Connecticut author Mark Twain) of the late 19th century.
Enrique Lebrón, the writer and director of the father/son drama “Finding Pá,” (pictured), a highlight of the second Hartford Film Showcase, met the film’s director of photography, Vincent Wrenn, at the inaugural showcase a year ago. (Courtesy of Hartford Film Showcase)
There’s a brief break at 5:30 p.m. The final event of the showcase at 6 p.m. is a “surprise sneak peek screening” of a feature-length film that can’t be mentioned because it is committed to other screenings that will serve as its official premiere and festival screenings.
The short films included in the festival are:
“Finding Pá,” written and directed by Enrique Lebrón, about a Puerto Rican man who becomes the caregiver for his dying father.
“This Is For The Best,” written and directed by Derrick Christie, about a lonely man whose longterm romantic relationship has just ended.
“Weight of A Warrior,” written, directed and produced by Roodley Merilo in which the concept of emotional is taken literally.
“Seguimos Aquí,” written, directed, and produced by Jon Cruz and described simply as “a film that challenges us to confront false norms in society.”
“Flashing Lights,” written and directed by Madonna Lewis, about a man rebounding from a break-up by making a ill-advised wager.
“The Mask,” a psychological thriller written and directed by Octavius McGhee-Kelly.
“MAG 2 – Do Not Open,” directed and edited by Wally Sample, in the spirit of the ghost story podcast “The Magnus Archives” and concerning a man who must look after a mysterious casket.
“Reset,” directed and edited by Peter Stray, a thriller about an implanted microchip that can eliminate cravings.
“The Knock Knock Game,” written and directed by Mac Hendrickson. Naomi Honig stars in scary short about three friends playing the dangerous Knock Knock Game.
There is no one thing that distinguished a “Hartford film,” but Noel-Sullivan noted the number of shorts that fall into “the canon of New England lore and spooky stories. They reference the New England horror films that came before them.” He also pointed out the works set in Hartford’s Puerto Rican and Caribbean communities that speak to the city’s diversity.
“I’m very enthused by the people who made work that was shown last year and are back with new work this year, as well as by all the new people involved this year,” Noel-Sullivan said. “I’m excited to see how many filmmakers are coming just to connect with each other.”
More information about the Hartford Film Showcase is at hartfordfilm.org.
