Film Festival Directors in Their Own Words: Mike DeMasi

I came to independent filmmaking a little late in life. If you'd told me in my twenties that I would make independent short films in my forties, I would have said, "No I won't. I have no interest in that." We are so sure of the world in our twenties. We think we know who we are and who we will always be. Most of us don't know yet at that time that life is about evolution and reinvention. It's what makes life rich... embracing new interests!

And so I ended up making short films.

You can find a film festival that deals with just about any theme. Imagine my surprise, though, when I discovered the Over Forty Film Festival! Yes, they focus on filmmakers that are forty years old or older. I was even more excited when they selected my short film HEALTHIER CHOICES for the festival.

It was the festival's inaugural run. I was going to have a film in it. Everything was going great, and then...

Covid-19

I have watched through emails as Mike DeMasi - instead of canceling the festival like many have - decided to reinvent the festival for these times. He collaborated with the filmmakers he accepted and...

Oh, I'll just let him tell you about it.

"Ever since I can remember I always wanted to be a filmmaker. As a kid I didn’t really know what that meant, and had no more insight as a young adult. All I knew was filmmakers put those wonderful stories up on the big screen and I forget about me for a couple hours.

I grew up….and didn’t pursue filmmaking but always thought about it. But wonderful luck came when financial devastation upended the world in 2008.

I was laid off.

In Fall 2009, at the ripe age of thirty-three, I was in a Master of Fine Arts program and I started making films; very amateurish films filled with flaws and a cheese factor beyond Velveeta on steroids, but I felt like a wizard. I finished a thesis film for the degree and I expanded it into a feature length production.  To say that OF STARLIGHT is “low budget” greatly overestimates the production values, but many told me that just having a project in the can was a great accomplishment.

Film number two, BOSTONIAN was made little by little over the course of a year from 2013-2014, Production values slightly better, slightly. I was able to find a sales agent and both BOSTONIAN and Of STARLIGHT were picked up by L.A. based companies and are currently in wide digital distribution.

On these filmmaking journeys I found that resources and grants were very much geared to young filmmakers, meaning filmmakers that are chronologically not that familiar with existence itself. It didn’t matter if one was young at filmmaking (and of any age).  I thought what if someone discovered their love and or talent of filmmaking at the age of forty, fifty, sixty-seven…?  Surely having lived a full life must impart a certain perspective, no doubt many interesting stories heard and told. There are few if any resources and venues for experienced voices.  I coupled that thought with the growing desire to start a new festival, but I knew a festival must have a niche. And the light bulb brightened.

The inaugural fest had a decent response in terms of submissions, and a humbling talent those submissions displayed, especially in the shorts categories, they have provided me with great education and inspiration.

I found the perfect venue, an old refurbished 1920s cinema house with old thyme concessions but juiced up with digital projection.  Starting late summer 2019 word of the fest grew and submissions came in. But once again the world had other plans.

PANDEMIC

Another opportunity in dark times (?)

As the time for the festival drew near COVID-19 began raking it’s way across the planet. The venue cancelled or postponed April events and was told May (the festival was schedule for May 31) was “not looking good”.  As I told the filmmakers I was definitely cancelling the date but was worried about the “fall resurgence” the science community is talking about. I didn’t want to put anyone in danger so the thought of rescheduling didn’t sit well. I scrambled to somehow save the festival, the first festival. Online was certainly an option, but due to a myriad of reasons just putting things out is a danger to the filmmakers and the plans for their work, as well as anticlimactic. After some research I found another festival with an on demand style process that was a wonderful substitution to tickets to a live event. With the overhead cost of a venue a moot point our expenses became near zero. The Over Forty Film Festival morphed from a one-day live event to a collaborative limited time distribution deal for all the filmmakers in which they would share in the proceeds. Viewers can see the festival selection online for less than the price of a live ticket, and the number of views is essentially unlimited (as opposed to the 300 seat capacity at the cinema). And best of all nobody needs to wear pants.

At the end of the day this may be a BETTER festival because of the pandemic. Going forward, assuming it is safe to go out next spring, we will have both the online on demand festival as well as live screenings; more exposure, more opportunity."

Please take some time and check out the festival at the link below.

www.vimeo.com/ondemand/offf