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My film for advanced directing I class from my junior year of film school

Award Winning Short Film
Best Editing - East Brunswick Indie Film Festival 2023

Written, Directed & Edited : Tommy Kozakiewicz
Starring : Luiza Abecia
Director of Photography : Andrew Nyaga, Tommy Kozakiewicz

Here is the short film I made for my advanced directing class in junior year of film school. I am now able to release it on Youtube after a great film festival run, my first ever one!

So many incredible souls helped me create this piece and I could not be happier with how it turned out. Going through the experience of bringing my most ambitious artwork yet through conceptualization to final product showed me a lot about what I truly care about when making art.

It's the being present when you're in the midst of the storm. Every project brings its troubles and stresses and if you are able to stay centered and open to what's happening, I feel you'll witness the true magic. Every project you take on will bring its unique story to execute, unique set of people to help you, and unique moments to experience. Live with them before they're memories. I think the more you're open to the process as it's happening, the better you will flow with it and contribute to what is being created.

My incredible girlfriend, Luiza, made this film possible. Luiza, you are a genius, a star, loving, caring, endlessly talented, and you do mind-blowing things. Like drop this as your debut short film performance (unless you count your school project with Dani, which honestly holds a candle to this). We both believed that you could do this and you did. You made this film legendary and iconic. Something that could never be replicated. This film and the making behind it are blessings in our memories. The support from both of our families are the true, OG fan base. Your family in Brazil made this an international release in my eyes.

I hope everyone who watches this enjoys the experiences and feels something from it. This is the first film I've made where I feel this strong in pride, satisfaction, and happiness with the end product. For me, the film is about perfectionism and I'm glad I was able to overcome it for this making of this.

Here are some more details about the film:

Premise - Luiza fights for her freedom as she must write a sufficient song before time is up.

Gear Used
Black Magic 6k
Sigma 18-35mm f1.8

filmmaker, filmmaking, film production, independent film, film festival, film editing