I was born and raised in Staten Island, NY. I attended Curtis High School where I graduated in 2002 and earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Film at Emerson College in MA, 2006. As a child, I used to do the typical things that kids would do like play basketball, adventures in the neighborhood with friends, and playing lots of Nintendo and Sega games. Where I had my most fun, however, was coming home from school every day to play with my action figures. I would take them and reenact scenes from the movies and television shows that I would watch all the time like Star Wars, Ghostbusters, RoboCop, and Disney movies to name a few.
indieactivity: Why did you get into filmmaking and screenwriting?
André: Ever since I took a writer’s workshop class in 3rd grade, I had a passion for writing short stories that came from my imagination. Whenever I stayed with my cousins at my grandmother’s apartment in Brooklyn, we would start performing my stories or come up with their own ideas for movies they were inspired by. The only thing we needed was a camera which we were too young to own.
Big announcement tomorrow! #saxophonistmovie #jazz #shortfilm #drama #romance #indiefilm #brooklyn #newyork #NYCfilm pic.twitter.com/1JG8YJxZmY
— ajepyx (@ajepyx) March 13, 2018
Then a few years later on a summer vacation in Hilton Head, SC, my cousins and I talked my mother into borrowing her new compact VHS video camera to shoot a little cops and robbers movie with some friends we met in our hotel. That was the beginning of a ten year period where I would gather my friends and cousins on the weekends to make short films with me. It got to the point where I wanted to make a real career out of it.
indieactivity: How does an indie filmmaker distribute his/her film?
André: Networking! This is one of those areas of the process that I still find myself learning about all the time and it really depends on your ultimate goal. When you talk about making a profit on your film, the safest route is usually self-distribution models like CreateSpace or Vimeo on Demand where the filmmaker keeps the majority of the royalties from DVD and VOD sales. But you have to put in the time and dedication to build awareness to generate sales. Now in order to get the kind of distribution that potentially leads to theatrical and/or streaming platforms like Netflix, it is about having an impact with audiences at legitimate film festivals that captures the attention of distributors with a successful track record.
indieactivity: What period in the process, does an filmmaker start planning for distribution?
André: Based on my experiences, distribution as well as marketing should be seriously planned early on in pre-production. As much as we get caught up in the passion for our stories getting translated to the screen, filmmakers still need to treat this medium as a business for long-term success. The decisions you make about the tone of your film, the casting, the technical quality, and figuring out who your target audience is will be important factors for whether or not a distributor believes your film can sell.
indieactivity: How do I get my film in theatres with such a budget?
André: Sometimes it is not about the size of your budget, but how each penny is spent on what goes up on the screen. Shoestring to zero budgets can force you to be more creative with how you approach your project. When I made my previous feature, Vendetta Games, we had to take scenes in bars and casinos that were written to be crowded with patrons and frame the shots tight with more background activity from the few extras we had available to make the scenes look busier than they really were. It is about finding ways to make more out of less and come out with a quality film that attracts distributors. It is also key to have a reliable crew that puts their best efforts first over dollar signs at that point.
indieactivity: How can filmmakers finance their projects?
André: There are varying times in a career where the method of financing can change. I find it reasonable to fund out of your pocket when you start out on a short film, but not mortgage your house when you attempt an epic feature. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe are great when you have enough of a decent track record to get family, friends, co-workers, and the public at large to rally behind you on a bigger project.
Though there comes a point where you cannot rely on your circles to financially support you forever if your career remains stagnant without forward progress. That’s when you have to take that leap of faith in grant writing and networking to find the big money investors who should have some kind of personal connection to your project that makes the gamble worthwhile for them.
indieactivity: What films have you written?
André: Priceless (2008), Dishonorable Vendetta (2012), Night Stream (2013), Tempted (2014), Vendetta Games (2017), and The Saxophonist (2018)
indieactivity: What are the films that you have made?
André: My first feature film was a romantic drama called Priceless which was shot in 2007 and premiered at Tribeca Cinemas in 2008. My second feature, Dishonorable Vendetta, was an action thriller that was shot primarily in 2010 and took 2 years of post-production to complete. This film won “Best Fire Fight” at the Cinemax-sponsored Urban Action Showcase in 2015 and the film’s sequel, Vendetta Games, most recently won “Best Urban Action Film” at the same festival last November.
My short dramatic film Night Stream was the winner for “Best Supporting Actor in a Short Film” for my co-star Reginald L. Barnes at the World Music and Independent Film Festival. My comedic short film Tempted had a special screening at Wesleyan University for the fraternity leaders on campus because the movie dealt with the darkside of college frat parties.
indieactivity: Talk to us about your concept on collaboration?
André: With actors, I like to really dissect the script with them whenever I do a table read. I can go real deep into their characterizations and often times make the collaboration more conversational with them. When the actors bring their own true life experience to a role or come up with ideas to make their dialogue sound more natural, I’m usually receptive to them.
The crew is usually a family affair for me. My long time friend from high school, Albert Albanese, started out as a co-producer on Priceless before I promoted him to assistant director on Dishonorable Vendetta and The Saxophonist. Also there’s Adam Chinoy who was a gaffer on Priceless before we grew close friends to help on each other’s projects. Lastly, there’s the fantastic J.R. Carter who played my character’s boss in Dishonorable Vendetta and later helped me produce the sequel.
indieactivity: How do you find the process of filmmaking as an indie filmmaker?
André: The process differs from project to project. A simple filmmaking approach on a short film does not always translate to features that require more moving parts. When you work with new crew members for the first time, it takes a while to get used to their methods, especially with producers and cinematographers.
Even when you’re acting and directing your own film as I’ve done many times, having an assistant director to watch over you and control the set helps tremendously. It is so important to not only do extensive planning in pre-production to solidify your vision but also to make sure you are fully financed before a single frame is shot to avoid major headaches down the road.
indieactivity: Describe your recent work, or film, take us through pre-production production and post production. Marketing too.
André: My latest short film, The Saxophonist, had been written as a student film before I re-wrote it to reflect my personal struggles as a working artist. I applied for fiscal sponsorship through the New York Foundation for the Arts to make all donations for the production tax deductible and I hired real life jazz musician Beavin Lawrence in the title role of a sax player caught between a career opportunity and his romance with a French ballet dancer. Beavin and I worked closely in rehearsals as well as the casting process.
Then I worked with another fiscally sponsored producer, Bill Mack, to hire the crew and to assist in fundraising. We shot for 6 days throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, and a part of Staten Island. My goal was to make the performances realistic and to capture the authenticity of jazz music which is why I had most of Beavin’s music recorded live on set instead of overdubs in post-production. Of course we had our challenges with audio in some busy NYC locations and setbacks over scheduling.
But the final cut turned out to be one of the best looking films I’ve ever made and I’m so proud of Beavin, Nadya, Michael, and the rest of the cast who dedicated themselves to their performances as well as their support for the project on social media. This project will not only make film festival rounds in 2018 but we also plan to build our audience through special screenings in churches, high schools, and college campuses across the country.
indieactivity: What are your future goals?
André: I have been holding on to this lifelong dream of winning a best director award one day whether it is at the Oscars or a prestigious film festival; however, I did not get into the business for accolades. My true goal is to make a real living as a storyteller in film, television, and web series formats. I’m also looking to tackle a western project in the near future in addition to more mature, relevant stories that reflect the times we currently live in. When I feel the time is right, I plan to write a book about my experiences as an independent filmmaker to inspire those kids picking up a video camera for the first time.
indieactivity: Tell us about what you think indie filmmaker need in today’s world of filmmaking
André: Any filmmaker who wants to take their career to a serious level needs to have a strong knowledge of the business end of the industry. Film school can only teach you so much about frame composition, lighting, and sound. To get your film released and making a profit is a tremendous amount of work.
We need to have strong entertainment industry business courses for filmmakers to learn how to navigate through the complex legalities of finding the right distribution deals where the artist can gain the most without being short changed by those in power positions. The same is absolutely true for learning about film marketing and promotion.
indieactivity: Briefly write about your career ?
André: To this point, I feel blessed for every accomplishment that I’ve made in my career. My feature films Priceless, Dishonorable Vendetta, and Vendetta Games were all learning lessons that helped me grow in my craft. My short films Night Stream and Tempted gave me the confidence to expand my audience reach through the film festivals.
The actors that I have worked with, specifically superstars like Tasha Perri, Mohamed Dione, Chris Corulla, J.R. Carter, Aesha Waks, Drew Henriksen, Konstantin Soukhovetski, Paul Wallace, Erin Sanderson, Reginald L. Barnes, and even the late A.J. Pero among many others trusted me to bring out the best of their talents and elevated each project to a true cinematic level.
And now The Saxophonist, which I consider my most personal work to date, will be the full realization of everything that I have been working hard for in my career as a professional filmmaker for the past 20 years.
