Thursday, October 14, 2010

Reeling them in -- at the Buffalo International Film Festival


The Buffalo International Film Festival was a tremendous success. We'd like to thank the festival for the generosity and hospitality. We had a blast! We'd personally like to thank the festival's director and founder Edward Summer.

Friday, June 11, 2010

'Silent' Wins!!




We are pleased to announce that 'Silent' has won the prestigious NY Post.com Award for 'Best Feature Film Trailer' at last night's HIFF gala awards ceremony! Silent' received 545,672 votes out of a total of 936,835 votes.

Thanks to all who voted, especially Mr. Ken Stein.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

'Silent' takes Hoboken by storm!




'Silent' was awarded the honor of being the first film to kick off the Hoboken International Film Festival on Saturday June 5th. In attendance were actors Tony Dadika, Katie Ritz, John Caponigro, Ken Stein (who traveled all the way from Texas!), Laurence Gates, Bob Socci, AD Joe Fortunato, 2nd AD Jen Dadika, Writer/Director Michael Pleckaitis and Producer Andrea Pleckaitis.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Nice article about 'Silent' via The Bioscope

In a world of silence …


Silent is the name of an independently-financed feature film three years in the making which premiered in November 2008, and which is currently doing the rounds of festivals. Were it up to me, it would gain an award for its plot idea alone. Its subject is a world such as we understand in silent cinema, where everyone is silent. Into this world comes Abigaile Archibald, who discovers she can communicate in a completely different way to anyone else – she develops a speaking voice. She is delighted at being able to talk and sing, but the suspicious townspeople are horrified by this freak of nature and launch a witch hunt…



This ingenious concept you can see in action through the trailer, in which everyone inhabits a silent film world except for the vocal Abigaile, who sings of her woes in the mournful “Will I ever be heard?”. The look of the film (shot in black-and-white), which the director describes as a ‘gothic comedy’, takes its cue from Nosferatu but also the Universal horror films of the 1930s. It was shot in New Jersey, which has a noteworthy history of filmmaking itself, starting from Thomas Edison’s Black Maria studio at West Orange way back in 1893. Fort Lee was a popular area for outdoor filmmaking in the 1910s, and companies such as World, Eclair and Solax had studios there. The filmmakers are keen to reference this history, even if their own efforts take their inspiration from later, and elsewhere.

The film is written and directed by Michael Pleckaitis for Revscope Pictures, and stars Katie Ritz (as Abigaile), Dan Bailey and Sam Sebastian. Silent has a website with background information on the film, photographs, production news and a blog. They have also produced a serial of sorts, documenting the film’s production, all episodes of which you can follow on the website or via the film’s website – or you can just follow the links here (Chapter 1 seems only to be available on the film’s website):

Chapter 2 – Deconstructing a villain
Chapter 3 – Making a silent film
Chapter 4 – Red carpet premiere
Chapter 5 – Katie Ritz
Chapter 6 – Dan Bailey
And for your special delight, here’s the music video for “Will I ever be heard?” (which bears more than a passing ambition towards the work of Andrew Lloyd-Webber):



The film has been around for a year now, but despite the filmmakers’ online efforts, it doesn’t seem to have gathered all that much attention. It is hard to see why, given the quality of the trailer (though some of the supporting information in the production serial is a tad underwhelming). For ingenuity of concept alone it deserves a wider audience, and let’s hope that the Bioscope’s noble readership can do its bit to spread the word. A DVD release is promised in due course – I’m looking forward to it.

Link to original article: http://bioscopic.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/in-a-world-of-silence

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

NY POST CONTEST


Hi Everyone,

As many of you already know 'SIlent' has been selected to participate in an online voting contest courtesy of the NY Post. We appreciate your dedication to voting for 'Silent'. Below is the link to the contest:

http://www.nypost.com/promotions/hoboken/

Saturday, May 1, 2010

'SILENT' to screen at one of the world's top ten film festivals!


The Hoboken International Film Festival ("HIFF") received over 1,000 film submissions this year; the selection process was rigorous and difficult given the numerous talented filmmakers who submitted their works. After a final review, HIFF has selected fewer than 5% of the projects submitted.

'SILENT' IS ONE OF THE OFFICAL SELECTIONS!

Named one of the world's "top 10 film festivals" by major media and backed by powerhouse partners that include The New York Post, RXP 101.9, Stella Artois, Lightyear Entertainment, The Marriott, Blue Streak Limousine, Cedar Lane Cinemas, Project Sandwich and many more, HIFF’s fifth annual film festival, running from June 4 through June 10, promises to be its most successful thus far. Supported by a celebrity jury comprised of Academy Award and Emmy winners, HIFF is dedicated to showcasing the edgiest domestic and international movies and their filmmakers. A Gold Coast/Hudson River extravaganza, HIFF's primary screening location is Cedar Lane Cinemas in Teaneck, NJ… Now hosted by Jackie Martling (Sirius Radio personality; formerly of “The Howard Stern Show”), this year HIFF will feature many celebrity, red carpet and other exciting events!