Orange Thief, The Directed
by
Boogie Dean, Vinnie Angel and Artie Wilinski Italy, USA / 2006 / 84minutes In Italian with English subtitles
Competition Finalist
East Coast Premiere
Screening
Times and Venues:
Woodstock Town Hall
10/13/2006, 7:15PM
$8
Upstate Films II
10/14/2006, 12:30PM
$8
SYNOPSIS:
Indelible characters populate the world of "The Orange Thief" a cocky, irrepressible and penniless young man who dreams only of owning a piece of his beloved Sicilian land. And it is here, in Sicily, where we meet the fiery and sensual Rosalba whose songs melt the the heart of the murderous "Turrido, the Smooth Blade" philosopher and brute, imprisoned
for life. Here characters carry with them their dreams, be it the salesman who wanders the countryside selling socks and dispensing wisdom, the tourist whose shirt holds strange secrets, or the gentle prison guard singing sweetly to himself.
This is a world infused with magic realism. Utterly delightful, imaginative and bold, this gem of a film features live music and singing integral to the narrative and impossible to forget. The making of the film is nearly as remarkable as the film itself. A seamless collaboration between three filmmakers using untrained but abundantly talented actors, this is a wildly original and truly independent endeavor.
(Barbara Pokras, A.C.E)
BIO:
Boogie Dean is a music producer who formed the hip-hop groups The Goats (Ruffhouse/Columbia) and Jimmy Luxury (SONY Music). Deanís songs are on the soundtracks of the films "Oceans 11," "Me, Myself And Irene," and "Go!" Currently a high school biology and physics teacher in New York City, he lives in Brooklyn, NY with his brother Vinnie.
Arthur Wilinski is an international production designer whose campaigns include: Post Cereal, Ford, Toyota, Motorola, Nike, Ikea, etc. Along with Boogie Dean, Wilinksi co-founded Shotwell Films, the indie production hub formerly in San Francisco, now in Milwaukee, WI. Lives in Milwaukee, WI.
Vinnie Angel is an artist and product designer whose work has appeared in galleries in New York City, in the Andy Warhol Museum, and in retail stores such as Bendel's, Fred Segal, and Urban Outfitters. Vinnie is the creator of the renowned Vinnie's Tampon Case. He wrote and designed Vinnie's Giant Roller Coaster Period Chart & Sticker Book as well as Vinnie's Cramp Kicking Remedy Book (both Chronicle Books). Angel lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and his brother Boogie.
Director's Statement:
The Orange Thief is a uniquely independent film, having been created from
scratch in one month--in Italian and Sicilian language, with Italian and
Sicilian non-actors, by 3 first time American directors, and shot in HDV.
Our goal was to combine 11 dynamic individuals in a remote location (the
mountains of Sicily) for two months--none with acting or directing
experience, and create a complete feature film--story concept to final take.
We set out for Sicily with the expectation that everyone who showed up would
have an equal opportunity to be a director or an actor. Our group was half
Italian and half American with one Frenchman. All 11 slept in two adjacent
rooms, took turns cooking, and in the first month, we took turns directing
and acting as we taught ourselves how to use the cameras and how to shoot
scenes. In the second month, we created our story concept and divided up
into actors and directors, based on what each person felt their strength was
in our first month of test shooting.
"The Orange Thief" did not begin with a script, only plot concepts and
character sketches that the directors divided up, scripted and shot
separately-- an "exquisite corpse" method of filmmaking. Each director had a
SONY HDV camera and shot his scenes completely independent of the other
directors. Only after a scene was scripted, cast, shot and roughly edited
was it presented to the other directors for comment and criticism. If it was
agreed that the scene was successful the other two directors would
incorporate the new character developments, new props, new locations, or new
secondary characters into their follow-up shoots.
"The Orange Thief" was filmed entirely in Lucca-Sicula, the mountain town that
is also the hometown of Boogie and Vinnie's paternal grandparents;the same
town that their grandfather fled as a teen to come to NYC to attempt to
become a movie star.
The entire production cost less than $15,000.
MAIN CREDITS:
Cast/Featuring:
Andrea Calabrese, Alessio 'Wild Boar' Giottoli, Micaela Helvetica Saxer, Jean Marc Burger, Cesare Riatti, Maria Cecil Genovesse, Innocenzo 'Nuncio' Di Lisi, Salvatore Dazzo
Executive Producer(s): Boogie Dean, Vinnie Angel, Arthur Wilinski
Producer(s): Boogie Dean, Vinnie Angel, Arthur Wilinski
Director(s): Boogie Dean, Vinnie Angel and Artie Wilinski
Screenwriter(s): Boogie Dean, Vinnie Angel
Cinematographer(s): Boogie Dean, Vinnie Angel, Arthur Wilinski, Jim Reed
Editor(s): Boogie Dean, Vinnie Angel, Arthur Wilinski
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