Pay It Forward: Another Stage 32 Film Premiering This Week

As filmmakers, we all try to move forward and create our films with the talent, materials and tools at our disposal. Some of these we may have in or arsenal and others we acquire through purchasing, hiring, renting, borrowing or simply putting the “arm” on colleagues. However, apart from a great story and script, some of the most important components of our productions are those resources called humans. Whether above the line or below, these critical creative team members are not inanimate objects that sit on a shelf somewhere, ready to be plucked off when needed. Good people are hard to find and usually have full schedules.

As a producer, building and scheduling a committed, creative team requires more than just having a network. It requires a wide and deep network. In team sports it’s called bench strength -- and this is where Stage 32 fits into the picture.

We have been fortunate to find several talented people through Stage 32. Using the Advanced Search tools built into the site and parsing people against their IMDB profiles and personal websites, we’ve found and hired actors, screenwriters, line producers, production designers and composers.

 RB and Joe talk about the film at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival

I derive a substantial part of my income as an online marketing consultant. I’ve been helping clients utilize social media beginning in 1992 starting with Delphi dial-up service. In late 2003, I began using and then heavily promoting LinkedIn to my clients. Stage 32 quickly surpassed as the “LinkedIn” for the film industry. And like with any social network, a user will get out of it what he or she puts into it. Refer to it daily or, at minimum, weekly. Reach out. Build your network. Host Stage 32 meet-ups in your community. Participate in the affordable and often free webinars. Work it!

For me…for us, we’ve been fortunate to connect on Stage 32 with composer Enzo De Rosa, whose original score for Lucia Mauro’s short film, “In My Brother’s Shoes”, helped us win Best Short Film at the 2015 Vatican Film Festival in Rome. He also penned the score for her latest feature film, “One Year Later,” which is in competition for Best Musical Score at the Views of the World Film & Music Festival in Montreal this month. Other impressive talent we’ve connected with on Stage 32 have been AD Davide Cincis and actor Vincent Papa. The screenwriter for our current film, to be directed by Mauro, is Jennifer Cooney -- another Stage 32 find. For that production, I’ve recently hired a Production Designer off a Stage 32 search and am in talks with a new Line Producer, whose Stage 32 credentials caught my attention.

Thanks for the love Lucia! 

As a give back to Stage 32 and its members, I’m including a link here for complimentary passes to the premier of the aforementioned feature, One Year Later. If you’re in the Chicago area on Sunday, September 18 and would like to attend this very inspiring event, please RSVP. Parking is also free. There are still a few seats left, so please act soon because we’re approaching maximum capacity for the theater.

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