Forever’s Gonna Start Tonight
Short Fiction, Super 16mm / HDCam, 16:00, 2010
(Project currently in Post-production)
LANGUAGE
Russian with English Subtitles
TAGLINE
A Russian teenager in Brooklyn is forced to make an unimaginable decision to protect her aging father and herself.
SYNOPSIS
Sonya, a 17-year-old Russian immigrant, lives in a claustrophobic Brooklyn apartment with her dad and his ever-growing menagerie of cats. When the Landlady threatens to kick them out, Sonya is forced to make an unimaginable decision to protect her aging father and herself.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
For my graduation film, I was interested in shooting in a part of New York City that isn’t often represented in film. I wanted to capture the spirit of over-looked neighborhoods, predominantly Russian areas like Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend and Brighton Beach. Although the experience may feel foreign to audiences, for me it is actually the heart of the City. Having attended very diverse public schools in Brooklyn, I intersected with kids from all over the world. I was fascinated with the way that immigrant teenagers drifted between cultures. When casting, I scouted all over the city, from Russian Ballet studios to approaching kids on the street. The film draws inspiration from female directors like Andrea Arnold and Lucretia Martel. I also looked at visual references from photographers like Rineke Dijkstra and Richard Billingham. The film expresses the casual nature of teenage hook-ups versus the intimacy of friendships that girls have with girls. I wanted to show the kind of night where anything seems possible at first and how easily possibility can sour.
CAST
Viktoria Vinyarska.......Sonya
Nina Medvinskaya.......Sveta
Fedor Filonov..............Dima
Andrew Drozdov..........Alexei
Mike Pikeman.............Sonya's Dad
Mariya Lebedovych......Landlord
CREW
Writer / Director / Producer: Eliza Hittman
Director of Photography: Smokey Nelson
Casting: Anne Teutschel
Editor: Scott Cummings
Assistant Camera: Tim Trotman
2nd Assistant Camera: Matthew Henderson
Gaffer: Adam Lukens
Grip: Mike Miles
Assistant Director / Associate Producer: Andrew Ahn
Animal Handler: Kate Marks
Costume Design: Sarah Maiorino
Set Design: Andrew Boyce
Set Photographer: Claire Marie Vogel
Production Assistant: Jason Thompson
Production Sound: David Stevens
Catering: Meryl & Michael Hittman
Shooting Location: Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn, New York
Made in Part with the Panavision New Filmmakers Grant and Kodak Grant
