In the industry, we use the term “elevator pitch” to refer to a summary of an idea that should be delivered in the hypothetical time span of an elevator ride. The hope is to have your pitch coherent and concise while keeping the listener entertained. A successful conversation could lead to an all important meeting with an agent or a producer. Such is the basis for One-Year Filmmaking students and brothers Andrea and Matteo Cossi’s film The Pitch. The short film is a comedy about Ben, a 20-year-old guy who wants to make a living in the filmmaking business. As storekeeper of Broadway Studios and an aspiring screenwriter, he decides with the help of a friend to pitch his film to the famous producer Mr. Bethorn in the elevator of Broadway Studios. The project was the brothers’ thesis film made with the intention of serving as a promo for a web-series.
“Our goal with this short movie is to not only entertain the audience, but also express the idea that if you really want to realize your dreams, you have to create your own opportunities,” said Matteo Cossi. “The filmmaking industry is a very dynamic field — thus you always need to be proactive and you always have to consider the ups and downs that come with this career.”
The brothers, originally from Italy, have already had success with the film, as it will be screening at the Italian American Museum in New York City on December 20th, 2014 at 7:30pm along with their first semester film, Colors. The first semester short is a drama that explores the theme of blindness with a tacit referral to organ donation. It also focuses on the parental love of a grandfather for his blind grandson.
“The idea that led to the birth of Colors is right in the title. Colors are an interpretation of the reality that surrounds us by the response of our eye to the light. Light determines the colors, and colors create an image. What better choice to make a short film that represents us as filmmakers if not talking about colors? Cinema is light, after all. For those who live in the light, for those who can see, the color does not need much explanation. It is something that is there and always has been. But for those who live in the dark, for those who can not see, there is no color.”
The goal with the short film Colors is to sensitize the audience to the theme of organ donation and show how love has the power to connect worlds that may seem far apart.
The brothers are currently working on two new projects. The first one is a fantasy horror feature about love, family and forgiveness. The second is a fictional, historical drama that shows the vicissitudes of an Italian family who moves to an early twentieth century New York City. The brothers intend to underline the difficulties that Italian immigrants had to face when coming to America. The stories enable us to witness their sacrifice, their love for family and their ability to integrate with a different culture.
“We had a life-changing experience at NYFA. We perfected our filmmaking craft while getting to know people from all around the world. We’d like to thank our teachers, in particular: Paul Warner, our directing teacher; Arsenio Assin, our cinematography teacher; and Liz Foley, our producing teacher, who all taught us to work as a group, a real crew, instead of as ‘singular heads’ before, during and after any shoot.”