Open CallOpen Call: Pitch Reels
Gino's Market (3:39)
Gino Fortebuono - Philadelphia, PA
Along the Delaware River, on the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in the town of Phillipsburg, there is a small grocery store: Gino's Market. Every morning a group of about seven or eight, sixty to seventy year old men gather to discuss local gossip, children and grandchildren, gas prices, retired life and most of all politics. Over Styrofoam cups of coffee, these discussions tend to get very heated, especially with the 2008 Presidential election of everyone's minds.
These men have seen it all: from World War Two to the War in Iraq, from the '57 Chevy to modern plastic hybrids and they express their opinions in the myriad ways that we as Americans do. Some participate in the forum with the zeal of statesmen, while others simply want to enjoy their morning coffee and listen.
We as filmmakers plan to engage them in a discussion about our upcoming presidential election and to capture each individual's perspective with our cameras: compelling individual accounts of elections past, reflections on their favorite presidents, and hopes for 2008. We see this tiny grocery store and its patrons as a microcosm of our nation, its citizens and their perspectives and we believe that our short documentary will provide a forum for the unique voices of these men.
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Comments
Thank you so much for
Thank you so much for checking out our teaser video and pitch idea. Any and all comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated and taken into serious consideration. If our film is funded we will be sure to keep an open mind for the good of our piece. Big thanks to Janice. Insightful critique.
Microcosm
I like the idea of capturing a small community discussing the issues that matter to them, but I do worry that Janice is right -- I'm not sure if they truly are a microcosm of the nation. If there isn't enough contention and feeling of representation it may not be enough to carry the piece.
election
I like the "down home" quality of your piece.
However, I don't see Gino's as a "microcosm" of this nation. Perhaps Gino's could be one chapter in a series of places you would go to tape conversations in small grocery stores in different parts of the country, representing the diverstiy that exists here. Or, don't claim that the piece represents a "microcosm" of the country, but that it represents the views of the guys that gather at Gino's, in a small town in PA - white, WWII veterans, whatever they are
If you can improve the sound and video quality, it would make your piece better.
more white men.....
more white men talking at us...mmmm....well, I'm sure that they have some interesting views. Audio quality of this piece is pretty low, so I'm sure the money could help there. Good luck.