This student-run independent production company aims to create films promoting change.
Last fall, sophomore Grant Schmidt, producer of Flim Films, met Nathan Vitale and Stephen Recchia at freshman orientation. Being film and media arts majors, they all started meeting regularly and realized they shared similar expectations, visions and goals for their years at Temple and post-graduation.
“We talked and were like, ‘How do we make it so that instead of us going after these jobs [post-graduation], these jobs are coming after us?’” Schmidt said.
Amid a rebounding economy and difficult job market, they wanted to ensure education and experience from their time at Temple, even if the work load isn’t always bearable.
“Managing classes and Flim Films is challenging for sure,” said Kelly Croke, a sophomore film and media arts major and Flim Film’s self-proclaimed jack of all trades. “We are always trying to be actively working on a project outside of our scheduled projects, and oftentimes, our weekly meetings are inconvenient because everyone’s schedules are so different.”
“It can be difficult,” added Tom Paolantonio, a senior broadcasting, telecommunications and mass media major and Flim Film’s sound producer. “But to get ahead of the game and be a real player in it, you have to make sacrifices and work hard.”
Flim Films, comprised of Schmidt, Rachel Stewart, Vitale, Recchia, Croke, Paolantonio, Sam Srolis, and Greg Griffith is an independent production company. It is a private organization, unaffiliated with Temple, that hopes to produce thought-provoking films that prompt discussion and change.
Flim Films has been working on various projects to prove they can spin a reel. The weekend before Halloween, Flim Films teamed up with Insomnia, a Temple theater group that prides itself in producing and performing a play in only 24 hours, to do a 48-hour film festival. “The Ghost of Mine,” written by Schmidt and shot near the train station at Cecil B. Moore Avenue, was completely filmed and edited in 48 hours.
“We went with the ‘sleep as little as possible’ approach and worked through the night, scripting and getting the shot lists ready,” Croke said. “In the end, it didn’t win, but I believe we all took away from it such a positive learning experience. Every shoot, especially a stressful and quick paced 48-hour one, poses new opportunities to learn and grow and really work as a team, and we did just that.”
Greg Griffith, a junior film media arts major and Flim Film’s technical consultant, agreed with the importance of teamwork.
“As a team, you really have to look at what equipment or locations you might to need to have on hand and work around that [because of the time constraints],” Griffith said.
This Friday, Flim Films will host its first screening at 7 p.m. in Room 3 of Annenberg Hall. Admission is free and open to everyone. The members of Flim Films will be presenting “I’m Here” – 75 minutes of various short films from a myriad of genres.
“We came up with the idea for this screening months ago,” said Srolis, a sophomore public relations major and Flim Film’s public relations manager. “I think it will be fantastic for the group to get their work out there and seen by the public. They have so much talent and when they come together to work on projects, it is really amazing to see and be a part of.”
“The screening is going to be a fantastic way to show off some of our work, meet others who are excited about film, get our name out there and hopefully raise some funds for Flim,” Paolantonio said. “As long as one person comes out that isn’t a part of Flim Films, I’ll definitely see the event as a success.”
“I would love to see Flim Films succeed and grow in number,” Croke added. “It’s a great opportunity for students to network both with each other and outside sources and grow in experience together.”
Kelsey Cruz can be reached at kelsey.cruz@temple.edu.
[Full disclosure: Sam Srolis has takenphotos for The Temple News.]
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