PRESS NOTES
TIGER WITHIN PRESS NOTES
Run Time: 98 minutes
SYNOPSIS
A young punk who thinks she knows it all. An old man who knows he doesn’t. They strike up a conversation, it becomes life-changing. A deepening knowledge occurs as they walk the streets of LA.
He is a Holocaust survivor; she a massage-parlorworker on the run and a Holocaust denier, though he doesn’t hold any of that against her.
Newcomer 14-year old Margot Josefsohn plays angry but stunningly naïve Casey, living from hand to mouth on the streets of LA fending off the frightening advances of men, having nowhere to go. She trusts no one. Samuel, played by the sublime (multiple Emmy Award-winning actor Ed Asner) trusts only a few.
She tells him she hates Jews, he asks her if she needs a place to stay.
The two form an unexpected friendship, which gradually blossoms into a new family unit – him providing her the support and guidance that was lacking in her life, and her offering him the glimpse of the fatherhood that was torn from him many years prior.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Rafal Zielinski
Many wise men have said, we are like droplets of water from one big sea of water, and after we die, we will return to the same sea (the pool of light, energy and love, that the universe/god is).
Buddhist masters such as Dogen Zenji (1200-1253) believe that in forgiving we have to just as much forgive ourselves as others – it is a form of unburdening ourselves from the pain of the past – and we are able to become light and free and to move on…
I intuitively feel that the theme of this film relates globally and timelessly – even more today than ever, as the world seems to be in an ever more precarious state. The more we can make it relate, the more power it will have to illuminate, enlighten, transmute and whatever else it can do (if you believe, as I do that cinema has such a power).
I feel that I am both an outsider and an insider, which gives me a unique and more objective point-of-view, which I feel is necessary for this film to work on the highest level possible.
I was fortunate to leave Poland at a very early age and travel the world – my father working as a Ford Foundation consultant, with projects all over Asia and the Middle East. I spent most of my youth in many countries in the region, the longest residency being in India, and I was exposed to many Eastern religions. Following in the footsteps of my mother, I became fascinated with various mystical practices and systems, which gave me a global perspective and enabled me to break out of the confines of simply the Judeo-Christian systems of thinking and explore many other ways of thought and belief.
My high school years were spent in Europe, primarily England focussing mainly on Art and History, eventually leading to a degree from MIT, where I explored how technology can be harnessed towards art and media — and that is where I discovered film, at first documentary, then drama.
I don’t feel a filmmaker should be a spokesman for any particular point of view – more a mirror for the audience to reflect their thoughts and in the process – hopefully provoke, inspire, and illuminate, but I do feel the power of forgiveness and faith embodied in all religions of the world can serve as a healing force with the potential to bring all of us closer together and make the world a more peaceful place…
Showing hate and division against the other is a war against oneself, because water is at war with water!
One of the biggest tragedies in the misuse of love, the most powerful force there is.
Loving oneself, family, group, race, country (narcissism) and being incapable of loving the other, equally, as oneself is the misuse of love, it breeds hate.
That is the message, I feel in this film – Samuel overcomes hate for this girl and shows her unconditional love.
It’s the greatest gift anyone can receive on this earth, and he keeps his promise, he once made to his wife, – “to forgive all before he dies”.
DISTRIBUTION
Written by Gina Wendkos (“Coyote Ugly”, “The Princess Diaries”), and directed by Rafal Zielinski (whose two earlier films, “Fun” and “Ginger Ale Afternoon” premiered in competition at Sundance), Tiger Within enters this year’s Academy Awards race as the ultimate underdog, without a distributor.
A fundraiser is running on GoFundMe to raise funds for the marketing costs of the Academy Awards campaign.
THE PREPARATION – TO FORGIVE OR NOT
In preparation for the film, the MIT graduate and filmmaker Rafal Zielinski researched forgiveness by interviewing numerous thinkers and religious
leaders, starting with Rabbi Yitzchok Adelstein of the Museum of Tolerance, who felt the film would inspire meaningful discussion and encouraged it to be made, as well as a priest – Rev. Alexei Smith , Venerable Chao Chu, – a Buddhist monk from LA Buddhist Union, Rejean Obomsawin – Native American council member, Prof. Najeeba Syeed – a professor of Islam/Muslim studies at Loyola Marymount, Prof. Shlomo Sher – a philosopher of ethics at USC, as well as Stephanie Riseley, certified hypnotherapist who specializes in past life regression.
Also, hundreds of people, especially the young, were asked on camera what forgiveness meant to them on the streets of Los Angeles, and New York, as well as high school students at schools.
These interviews and videos of our journeys can be seen on the films’s official website: TIgerWithin.info, including materials related to an earlier incompleted Kickstarter campaign (that did reach its $100,000 goal).
Everyone inevitably believed in the healing power of forgiveness, but differed greatly in its method, definition, and result, ranging from unconditional, to a measured forgiveness, a transaction with something expected in return, to issues of power, pride, honor, karma, cause and effect.
“It shows how divided we really are, we all really want to forgive, and unburden ourselves, but our human nature and upbringing intercepts us.”
HOLOCAUST DENIAL AND YOUTHFUL IGNORANCE
Coincidentally, film has just become more relevant and topical, in how Casey explains, that the “six million” is a lie, because a study just came out, as published by the Guardian on September 16th:
Almost two-thirds of young American adults do not know that 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, and more than one in 10 believe Jews caused the Holocaust, a new survey has found, revealing shocking levels of ignorance about the greatest crime of the 20th century.
According to the study of millennial and Gen Z adults aged between 18 and 39, almost half (48%) could not name a single concentration camp or ghetto established during the second world war.
Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) said they believed the Holocaust was a myth, or had been exaggerated, or they weren’t sure. One in eight (12%) said they had definitely not heard, or didn’t think they had heard, about the Holocaust.
More than half (56%) said they had seen Nazi symbols on their social media platforms and/or in their communities, and almost half (49%) had seen Holocaust denial or distortion posts on social media or elsewhere online.
It has always been Gina Wendkos’ long dream to go around the high schools with this film.
Holocaust themed films are many, and a genre in itself, and we did not want to be pigeonholed. We see the story as a universal “human love story” of two extreme opposites, both lonely souls, uniting to form a “family” and the film resonating one a wider scale, beyond race, religion, geography, age.
The story could be taking place in many parts of the world as we speak, in our divided world, and in the end Samuel likens the Holocaust to many human war tragedies that have plagued this planet ever since mankind set foot.
The subject of forgiveness, in context of a Holocaust themed film, might raise some eyebrows, and the filmmakers were very careful not to specify what forgiveness Samuel is offering, but leave it up to the audience to interpret.
Why Samuel has numbers tattooed on his chest, unlike the common arm branding, was a piece of research we found about Auschwitz – at the beginning numbers were “stamped” with an evil looking instrument with removable plates with needles, consisting of specific digits. A single blow with an inked stamp to the chest was able to permanently impress the entire number – it was used on Russian Prisoners and a few Jews, but only a handful survivors remained with this type of tattoo.
We hope the film will provoke some digging into the facts, as not only only the majority of youth do not know the history, but many Jews do not know it as well.
MASSAGE PARLOR WORKERS
Having a teenage sex worker, played by a real 14-year-old might also raise some eyebrows with women’s groups. The filmmakers felt it was necessary to show this truth of our world, where teen workers are currently working in this trade in this country and around the world.
Having a child play these scenes, mean we had to follow strict guidelines set by SAG and the various child labor laws, and we made extra sure she was well protected, and felt comfortable at all times, and was not on the set where any sexual activity was shown. We used doubles, in any scenes where this was implied.
THE CASTING
Ed Asner who turned 91 this November 15th, and holds a record for Emmys (nominated 20 times, 7 wins, most honored male performer in the history of Primetime Emmy Awards), but has never been honored by the Academy.
Margot Josefsohn, beat out hundreds of actresses vying for the role in a highly emotional audition, but the filmmaker admitted he cast her prior to her audition by spotting her and her mom sitting in a waiting room, and being smitten by her piercing eyes. “The eyes caught my attention instantly, before I even looked at the face, and was drawn to her – to me she was Casey, with no doubt about it.
The audition (in the presence of myself, the casting director, the writer and the executive producer) blew us away – in a key emotional scenes tears flowed like buckets on her face, and it felt like someone who was much older than her age, and a deep soul was laid bare in front of our eyes.
I was pressured by everyone, including SAG, to cast an 18-year-old, but I believe in authenticity, and like with my earlier Sundance award-winning film Fun, I wanted to use the real thing, and fought hard for her.”
In casting Casey’s romantic interest, the Supporting Role of Tony, after a lot of deliberation, went to Diego Josef.
Diego is like a Latino James Dean, super handsome, with an undeniable charisma and probably the best and most natural actor I have ever worked with. He needed no direction at all, we just rolled the camera and sat there speechless with the magic that unfolded.
The Supporting Role of Casey’s mom Marge went to Erica Piccininni. This was the most difficult role to cast. Our casting director Brad Gilmore worked hard to present us with actresses who could display so many conflicting characteristics in any single moment. She nailed it.
THE SHOOT
Mr. Asner has a sharp and brilliant mind and wit – you can talk to him about any subject and his memory is impeccably striking for someone of his age.
We loved picking his brain and him telling us many wonderful stories about his experiences in the business, life and his activism.
He transcended challenges of health, age, fatigue and rose beyond the occasion, beyond anyone I have even met of his age.
“It was deeply touching, and sometimes I would tear up at his commitment to keep on going, against all odds, even late into the night”
He was very brave and was taking a huge leap of faith, in his belief in the movie and it’s message.”
It was always a race, each day, and rehearsals were pretty much out of the picture, we would just film the rehearsal, and often it was the best take. As the 5-hour deadline would approach, the studio teacher would be gracious in allowing us to keep the camera rolling without cutting and move into tighter shots or takes. Sometimes we shot whole scenes, with multiple takes and different camera setups/angles, without cutting, so we would not lose time resetting for each shot. That way we were able to squeeze a few extra minutes, but then had to scramble to get Margo out of wardrobe and makeup, off the clock just seconds shy of the 5-hour deadline, so as not to break any child labor laws.
Zielinski had directed a number of ultra-low-budget films for Roger Corman, whom he considers a mentor, as well as Richard Leacock, a founder of “cinema verité”,
whom he’d studied under at MIT. Having come from a documentary film background was part of his arsenal used in making Tiger Within.
Zielinski’s work with Helge Gerull on a previous film (“Downtown: Street Tale”), about homeless kids, was shot in New York in guerrilla verité 35mm, and this was key to the overall look and feel of the shoot.
DIVERSITY
The story is as much about race, as it is about forgiveness. There are derogatory comments about Jews as well as the appearance of the ‘N’ word. We debated, but in the end felt it was important to show this, because there is so much hypocrisy. People may write or say one thing in public but in private and in their thoughts and feelings, they say the opposite.
The universe is all energy when we break it down into the its minutest, thoughts and feelings have power to move the word, just like the orbit on as asteroid can affect a planet, or Eward Lorenzs’ Butterfly Effect, where even the flapping of a butterfly’s wing can affect the world on the other side of the planet.
As Hollywood makes attempts to diversify, hopefully not only on the surface, but from the inside where the real power lies, a new generation of filmmakers of all kinds of diverse worlds, religions, cultures, races, and future generations, will be able to pass through the golden gates, and tell their stories. It will enrich storytelling, the divided world and bring us all closer together.
In the spirit of diversity, we tried to fill the cast with the widest group possible… we have a transsexual, African Americans, Latinos, an Arab teacher, an Indian principal. Behind the camera team, people are from various nationalities: – the Executive Producer Mike Penia was gay Mexican-American, the Co-producer/line producer team was Chinese, Russian and Israeli, the Director of Photography, Helge Gerull a German, the Assistant Director an Italian, the editor Lea Vrabelova was from Czechoslovakia, the composer Mark Tschanz is Swiss and the Director was born in Poland.
At the beginning of the production we signed a manifesto to have 50% women on the crew and came very close to that number.
We had to be extra careful, I felt the women were watching every word and every look, every second.
I love working with women, it’s a much more holistic environment, and I hope all films adopt such inclusiveness.
THE DRAWINGS
In the last week of shooting I spied one of the wardrobe assistants making a drawing in a beaten up diary which must have been several years old. It was an expressionist self portrait and looked so much like Casey. She allowed me to flip through the dozens of pages filled with self portraits and drawings – it was like the soul of a teenage girl – showing all the joys, sorrows, fears and angst of a rebate girl – full of writings, poems and scribbles.
I instantly asked her if we could make it part of the movie and miraculously she agreed and Casey turned into an artist. Whichever scenes were left to shoot, I would incorporate the drawings, including the opening in her bedroom where we filled her walls with sketches.
I commissioned Clara to create additional drawings during the shoot.
My wife who is an Artist and a Set Designer at a major brand design firm took the concept of the sketchbook and used the Brushes and Procreate app (favorites of artists like David Hockney). These apps record each brushstroke and export it as a movie, creating instant animations of the artist’s work.
Vally developed numerous animations to embellish key emotional moments in Casey’s journey starting from the portrait at the opening and arriving at a series of dazzlingly beautiful animations at the climax of the movie, of Samuel and the family.
The movie is embellished by numerous illustrations and animations done by Vally which have become part of the storytelling and inner emotional life of Casey.
After Samuel dies, Casey dreams of the images from the concentration camps and the two twin daughters that Samuel lost. We imply that Samuel showed her books about the Holocaust and might have taken her to the Holocaust museum.
We felt that by showing it mostly in drawings rather than all through historical footage, made the scene more poignant and powerful and showed us Casey’s growing empathy to the history she did not know and denied it at the beginning, as reflected in the recent studies that the majority of the youth of today know little of the Holocaust and even think it was myth.
THE TIGER
The script called for Casey to go to a zoo and sneak up to a fence and stick her hand into the tiger’s cage. The Tiger growls and pounces, then stops and licks her hand enveloping it in his big tongue. This would have cost as much to create with the CGI effects and location costs as our entire shooting budget of $200,000.
I came up with the idea of Casey drawing the tiger and meditating eye to eye with the Tiger. I sent Clara to the zoo two hours ahead of time and produced a series of studies and a finished full color portrait of the Tiger. Two hours later we arrived and shot the scene with a pocket still camera.
Gina was disappointed we could not shoot the scene as she wrote it, it was one of her favorite scenes in the script.
But the result we achieved with minimalist means was probably just as powerful and perhaps even more so, because it was true to our no-frills movie.
We also had Clara do a version in Brushes afterwards and we used both the film, the ink and color, as well as the digital animated one.
THE MUSIC
During the preparation and the forgiveness documentary phase, music was donated by Claire Boucher (“Grimes”). I reached out to Claire when I read a story in a local newspaper in Montreal, where she was attending McGill University and heard her first garage band style album Geidi Primes, in Montreal many years ago, and was hoping she would score a dream sci-fi project, yet to be made. We would meet backstage at various concerts for a few years afterwards and exchange emails to continue the conversation, about scoring films, and when this project came around she graciously allowed us to use her music, in the documentary clips, fundraising videos, and promos. These can be seen on the film’s website.
As promised I reached out to her to score Tiger Within, but couldn’t get hold of her anymore, probably because in between then and now, she became a huge pop star.
We went through three talented composers, each of whom delivered a different interpretation of the emotion, but it was Mark Tschanz who delivered just the right sound. We wanted it to be pure, emotional, yet not overbearing like a big movie, yet minimal and true to the naturalistic, handheld, documentary style of the film.
The placing of the music also required a lot of tinkering. I wanted to make sure that the music would not lead the emotion, or even mirror it or reflect it, it was rather allowing the audience to feel emotion come from the performance of the actors, and only then the music would take that emotion and uplift it to other dimensions, like jazz. I would move the music a fraction of a second earlier or later and screen the film and watch my emotions clinically like a surgeon, checking that it came just at the correct milli-second.
For the songs we reached out to local college radio station KXLU 88.9FM and engaged one of its Radio Personality/DJs Anthony Knox, who specializes through his “No More Heroes” show in Punk and Up-and-Coming local Los Angeles Rock ‘Roll bands.
All the bands featured, including a live performance by Terminal A, are local LA bands – the soundtrack has tracks from Jane Machine, Band Aparte, Luckyandlove, Plasmic and The Tissues. We wanted to give some of the local bands a voice in the film.
The opening song “One You Want” however, is from a new band out of Montreal – Sorry Girls, where the director’s parents live. We licensed a total of 24 songs, some of which did not end up in the movie, but are being featured in 24 promos that we will be posting on the web, in support of the release of the film, being created by the Mike Penia, our Executive Producer, who is multi-talented and has an advertising background.
POST PRODUCTION
The film was shot in the summer of 2018, and Margot celebrated her 15th birthday on the last day, but the post production took 2 years, much longer than any of my other movies because the editing and music scoring had to be just right. The great Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovski called cinema “sculpting in time”, this film for me was more like sculpturing in emotion.
I must have gone through a hundred cuts, and lengths ranging from 120 minutes to 90 minutes, tinkering back and forth with the pacing, and the emotion it delivered. I wanted the film to still have a rough-around-the edges feel and certain imperfections to stay true to the way it was shot and its indie, outsider-art type of roots.
At audience screenings, people have commented, the film slows down as I often show Samuel laboriously walking from point A to B (in our fast attention span universe such transitions are usually left on the editing floor) – I wanted for us to feel the pain along with Samuel.
As Buddha stated in Four Noble Truths, the suffering of old age, the deterioration of our bodies, is a suffering all creatures have to go through. We avoided using make up on Mr. Asner to show the beauty of old age skin, in juxtaposition of the flawless skin of a teenage girl – and as Holocaust survivors die off, memories fade away and so few are left to preserve the memory of such a human tragedy, skin texture, carries symbolism for me.
MICRO BUDGETS, INDEPENDENT FILM, OUTSIDER ART
Tiger Within enters this year’s awards race as the ultimate underdog and could provoke some serious controversy. It cost to shoot “possibly less than some Hollywood players’ cars,” as the producers proudly state, and is competing against much bigger films, without yet having been seen by any distributors, or exposed in any film festival. It was financed by home-equity credit lines.
I am so grateful for Vally Mestroni, my wife for allowing me to continue, and offer support along the way. I’m incredibly lucky to have such an amazing partner, for all my life. There were long stretches of time – years – when I was unemployed, and she had the regular job at various design firms, and put her fine art career on hold. It was a serious leap of faith as we were dipping into my son’s college money. Tiger Within is the fifth film I have self financed on loans, and I do hope finally the sale of this film will pay back for all five.
As a filmmaker in Hollywood, I find myself at this point very much an outsider working totally outside any system. I do not have an agent, manager, or a lawyer. The crew and the people working on the film are a lot of newcomers that I tried to incorporate.
My Executive Producer without whom I couldn’t have made this movie, and to whom I am immensely grateful to, was my Uber driver. He is Mexican, gay and not part of any Hollywood system, and all his life has tried to break into the film industry.
Yet his diverse background in many industries, as engineer, software developer, Olympic athlete trainer, comedian, actor, writer, filmmaker, coffee shop owner, concert promoter, social-media marketer, comedy club/comedy film festival festival
creator and his humanity, intelligence and wisdom surpassed any studio head, big time producer, or top agent in this town, I have met.
Perhaps this film is my own form of forgiveness to some players and gatekeepers in Hollywood, who I felt shut the door. The low budget genre films were my film school, but I wish I had the opportunities to make some of the dream projects, with much larger budgets and the support of the Hollywood system.
I keep them loaded on my website FilmArtPlanet.com, to keep reminding myself and to keep the dreams alive as I get older and there is less and less time to make them happen.
There is a whole new generation of filmmakers out there (and future generations) from all kinds of diverse backgrounds, and gender whose voices hopefully can be heard. It only enriches storytelling and enlightenment of the human race, and world peace.
I feel Hollywood has a lot of soul searching in this regard. I hope the gates will open more easily for them.
Also, I do not consider this film to be an “independent film”. What used to be independent films, are now big budget productions done without the studios but with major financing often cobbled together from many sources. The film festivals, unlike the time when “Fun” and “Ginger Afternoon” were in the competition, have become mainstream, influenced by money, power, the agencies, and Hollywood gatekeepers.
There is a whole new cottage industry that has sprung up of filmmakers working totally outside the system, with the help of digital technology and the web – I consider Tiger Within very much an “Outsider-Art-Film”, not an “Independent Film”.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
RAFAL ZIELINSKI – Director
Rafal Zielinski, director, producer & writer is best known for directing several award winning independent films such as “Fun” (Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award), “Ginger Ale Afternoon” (Sundance), “Hey Babe!” (Toronto), “Downtown: A Street Tale” (AFI Fest), “Hangman’s Curse”, “National Lampoon’s Last Resort” and the Roger Corman’s produced “Screwballs” and its several sequels. Born in Poland, his childhood was spent in Europe, Far East, Canada and high school at Stowe School in England. He graduated from MIT with a degree in Art and Design where he concentrated on documentary film and was mentored by Richard Leacock, one of the pioneers of Cinéma Vérité.
GINA WENDKOS – Writer
Gina Wendkos is a writer and producer, known for Coyote Ugly (2000), The Perfect Man (2005) and The Princess Diaries (2001).
HELGE GERULL – Director of Photography
Known for Bang. Bang. (2019), Extortion (2017), American
Streetfighter (1992), Puncture (2011)
MARK TSCHANZ – Composer
After studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston and driving to LA to continue guitar studies with Jazzman Joe Diorio, Mark spent a few years in LA during his early twenties playing live shows as a composer/ songwriter. He composed a ballet for Mozart’s Bicentennial at the Lincoln Center – the evening shared with his fan, the late composer Michel Colombier. Mark also contributed songs to films Michel scored.
A three weeks holiday in London turned into 14 years during which Mark remained in Britain with manager John Wadlow *( Seal ), signed with WEA as a solo artist and spent the next few years writing as an EMI songwriter, as well as scoring films and a large body of commercials, and on occasion, contributing songs to films (Bertolucci’s Stealing Beauty…)
Since his return to LA, his filmic style and love for songwriting and guitars (including a contribution as guitarist on Danny Elfman’s score for “50 Shades of Grey”), sparked the birth of Chillbillyman, billed as the first electronic album for Hillbillies – possibly the first instrumental “roots-electro” album. Currently Mark is scoring new films (Devil has a name – Tiger within), audio-visual installations (StillMovies) , and working on a new Album of songs. Films are being scored with his ever-expanding catalog and a second Chillbillyman album is in the cards as well.
MICHAEL A. PINA – Producer
Born in Phoenix, Arizona Michael Pina grew up in the Dupa Village Projects by a single mother. Born from a father who migrated from Nogales when he was 2, and a mother whose family came from New Mexico and lived there before New Mexico became a State. Michael and three of his brothers of a family of five, all graduated from Arizona State University, he did so with an engineering degree, and a degree in Physical Education. Mike also was a gymnast at ASU and helped coach the ASU Gymnastics Team to its only Men’s NCAA Championship in 1986.
ABOUT THE CAST
ED ASNER – SAMUEL
Ed Asner is a television legend, the winner of seven acting Emmy Awards (which puts him tied with Mary Tyler Moore, both of whom rank second to their “The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) Show” co-star, Cloris Leachman who has nine). In all, he has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award, with 17 nods for a Primetime Emmy and three for a Daytime award. (All of his wins were for Primetime.)
As well as being one of the most outstanding and most respected actors of his generation, equally adept at comedy as he is at drama, Asner also made a name for himself as a trade unionist and a political activist. He served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild, from 1981-1985, during which he criticized former SAG President Ronald Reagan, then the president of a greater concern, for his Central American policy.
MARGO JOSEFSOHN – CASEY
Newcomer Margot Josefsohn edged out hundreds of young actresses to secure the role of Casey, the lead opposite Ed Asner in the Indie Feature ‘Tiger Within’. The feature was written by renowned screenwriter Gina Wenkdos, who wrote Coyote Ugly and also The Princess Diaries which is credited for launching Anne Hathaway’s career. ‘Tiger Within’ was directed by multiple award-winning director Rafal Zielinski, who discovered Alicia Witt among other young stars. Margot’s passion for acting and ballet started with numerous roles in local theatre. A natural in front of an audience, Margot also had a captivating turn on the runway for Ralph Lauren in New York and was then introduced to The Partnership management, who snapped her up and secured Osbrink Agency for theatrical and commercial representation. Margot has also had roles on Nickelodeon’s “Game Shakers” and Awesomeness TV’s “Foursome” before securing the edgy role of Casey in ‘Tiger Within’. An animal lover and world traveler, Margot studies at Zak Barnett Studios and The Groundlings.
DIEGO JOSEF – TONY
For Diego Josef, every character is a new challenge and every project, a new adventure. Born in Burbank, California, he began his career in various print campaigns and national commercials for iconic brands like Reebok, Sprint and AT&T. However, this wasn’t Diego’s vision; the 17-year-old has always had the heart of an artist, with a passion for acting and tackling profound roles. In 2013, at the young age of 13, Diego landed his first lead role in the inspirational feature “Ugly Benny.” From there, he shined as the love interest in the critically acclaimed “Girl Flu,” starring opposite Jade Pettyjohn and Katee Sackhoff. His quiet intensity as a young actor is also reflected in the film “Message from the King,” which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival and had a stellar cast including Luke Evans, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer and Chadwick Boseman.
Diego’s acting career quickly elevated and gained traction when he booked a lead role in “The Ballad of Lefty Brown” as young Jeremiah. The young star really holds his own and gives an amazing performance as a gullible adolescent reluctantly taken on by Lefty Brown (Bill Pullman) when they run into each other on the trail. The beauty of the film is the unexpected wonderful friendship that ensues during this treacherous journey. Diego spent a month in Montana filming the feature alongside the award-winning cast including not only Bill Pullman, but also Peter Fonda, Tommy Flanagan, Jim Caviezel and Kathy Baker. “The Ballad of Lefty Brown” premiered at SXSW Film Festival and opened in theaters nationwide in December 2017 with stunning reviews from major outlets about Diego’s performance and how the young actor is poised for stardom.
Diego can be seen in the upcoming second season of Amazon’s Original Series & Golden Globe winner, “Goliath” where he plays young Julio Saurez opposite Billy Bob Thornton.
In his spare time, Diego enjoys giving back to the community. He’s a passionate animal activist and supports charities around children and homelessness.
FRONT CREDITS
FILM ART PLANET
presents
ED ASNER
introducing
MARGOT JOSEFSOHN
DIEGO JOSEF
ERICA PICCININNI
JAMES VICTOR
JENNIFER CHRISTOPHER
JONATHAN BROOKS
JADE WEBER
MIKUL ROBINS
TAYLOR NICHOLS
PAT ASANTI
casting
BRAD GILMORE
production design
LEAH MANN
VALLY MESTRONI
art director
EVAN WELCH
drawings & animation
CLARA COLLINS
VALLY MESTRONI
costumes
RYAN ROSEWALL
hair & make-up
BRANDON MADSEN
music score by
MARK TSCHANZ
opening song by
SORRY GIRLS
music supervisor
ANTHONY KNOX KXLU
with songs by
JANE MACHINE
PLASMIC
THE TISSUES
LUCKYANDLOVE
BAND APARTE
with performance by
TERMINAL A
editing
LEA VRABELOVA
consulting editor
MONIKA LIGHTSTONE
executive producer
MICHAEL PINA
co-producers
TOMER ALMAGOR
line-producer
JOYCE LIU
associate producers
GINN ANDREWS
JULIE COHN
camera
HELGE GERULL
written by
GINA WENDKOS
produced by
RAFAL ZIELINSKI
directed by
RAFAL ZIELINSKI
END CREDITS
With Special Thanks
for all the
Words of Wisdom
from:
RABBI YITZCHOK ADELSTEIN
Simon Weisenthal Center
RT. REV. ALEXEI SMITH
Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
Los Angeles Archdiocese
VENERABLE CHAO CHU
Los Angeles Buddhist Union
PROF. NAJEEBA SYEED
Islamic Studies, Claremont School of Theology
REJEAN OBOMSAWIN
Council Member, Abenakis Nation of Odanak
PROF. SHLOMO SHER
Philosopher and Ethicist, U.S.C.
STEPHANIE RISELEY
Hypnotherapist, Regression Therapist, Author
and everyone on the streets of
Los Angeles and New York
in our search for the meaning and the effects of
FORGIVENESS.
CAST
Samuel ED ASNER
Casey MARGOT JOSEFSOHN
Tony DIEGO JOSEF
Marge ERICA PICCININNI
Linda SARAH FRENCH
Bill JONATHAN BROOKS
Eddie JAMES C. VICTOR
Linda JENNIFER CHRISTOPHER
Zoe JADE WEBER
Stephie KAYLE CURTIS MURPHY
Heather RYLEE LEIGH MURPHY
Amber HELENA ASNER
Skinhead in Club JESSE SALER
Skinheads
MIKE HEGER
LIAM FOUNTIAN
ESTHER GOODSTEIN
BOBBY NICKELS
Tattooist FRANK MIRANDA
Young Bum MARK DIPPOLITO
Landlady SIN
Sleezeball MICAH FITZGERALD
Homeless Drunk CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL
Skateboard Kid Thief NOAH ZIELINSKI
Canters Waitress #1 DAPHENE BOELSMA
Canters Waitress #2 LINDA RICH
Hasidic #1 HESHI HERSHEI
Hasidic#2 RONALD MISHIYEV
JDL Collector VICTORIA GOODHART
Jewish Man #1 LEE LAWRENCE
Jewish Man #2 BOB MIRET
Tim MIKUL ROBINS
Hooker RYANN SIMANTEL
Seth LUKE EISNER
Homeless Kid #1 KELLEN WATTS
Homeless Kid #2 JACK SCHEINBAUM
Body Double Casey HANNAH NICHOLSON
Massage Parlor #2 JEROME WILLIAM
Latino Family
ANGELEE VERA
ALEJANDRO MAYEN
PABLO SERRATO
MERIC VERA
Amber HELEN ASNER
Teacher LIZA ASNER
Registrar ERICA GREEN
Jack SAM THAKUR
Saleslady JULIE DOLAN
Clinic Receptionist JULIE COHN
Doctors ZACHARY MOOREN and LORI TALLEY
Nurse CHAREE DEVON
Massage Customer PAT ASANTI
Rocker SEBASTIAN NEUDECK
Passenger JAMES “JD” DISTEFANO
Hector JOEY DEDIO
Samuel Body Double
TODD HOFFMAN
MICHAEL A. PINA
Punk Club Dancers
TINA MCCRORY
RYAN ROSEWALL
JASMINE GILMORE
Punk Club Bouncer STEPHEN KIMBROUGH
Background
ANIKA BOLTON
CHAREE CUTHRELL
ANDREA MYERS
VICTORIA GOODHART
ANDREW MASLEY
LORI TALLEY
PABLO SERRATO
ANGELEE VERA
REUBEN BOYD
CHRISTOPER FERNALY
CLARA COLLINS
KALEEN WATTS
Stunts
NOAH ZIELINSKI
MICHAEL A. PINA
Terminal A – band members:
COLIN PETERSON, Vocals
LEE BUSCH. Guitar
ANTHONY KNOX, Keyboards
CREW
Director & Producer RAFAL ZIELINSKI
Screen Writer GINA WENDKOS
Executive Producer MICHAEL A. PINA
Co-Producers
TOMER ALMAGOR
MIKHAIL MAKEEV
Line Producer JOYCE LIU COUNTRYMAN
Associate Producers
GINN ANDREWS
JULIA COHN
Location Manager KEVIN SHIPLEY
Cinematography HELGE GERULL
First Assistant Director MATTIA FERRANTE
Second Assistant Director EDWARD TAHUKA-NUNEZ
Production Designers
LEAH MANN
VALLY MESTRONI
Art Assistant ANDRES HAMMER
Editor LEA VRABELOVA
Consulting Editor MONICA LIGHTSTONE
Graphics Editor FLORENCIA MARANO
Assistant Editor DARREN KWAN
Production Assistants
MARA FERRANTE
ANDRES HAMMER
JOE NARDELLO
JESSE EMMANUEL
Casting Director BRAD GILMORE
Extra Casting Director JOCELYN JONES
Stunt Coordinator MELISSA TRACY
Assistant Stunt Coordinator ANITA CLAY
Makeup & Hair BRANDON MADSEN
1st AC GASTON RICHMOND
2nd AC HORACIO MARTINEZ
Key Grips
ANTONY SU
RYAN EMANUEL
KEATON BAYNE
JUAN MANUEL GUITERRES JR
Grip and Electric / Swing ZANDER EDELMAN
Script Supervisors
HEATHER DETWELLER
MICHAEL A. PINA
Art Director EVAN WELCH
Set Dresser HUGH BLEWETT
Set Costumer DEENA
Costume Design RYAN ROSEWALL
Art Department HUBERTINA MANSVELDERS
Production Management LOA ALLEBECH
Production Coordinator EDWARD TAHUK-NUNEZ
Concept Art VALLY MESTRONI
Drawings & Animation
CLARA COLLINS
VALLY MESTRONI
Costume / Production PA IRINA STOROZHENKO
Sound Department MANUEL LOPEZ CANO
Camera Electrical JUAN MANUEL GUTIERREZ JR.
Key Grip HORACIO MARTINEZ
Second Assistant Camera TATSUYA OUCHI
Makeup Artists
BIANCA APPICE
ANA BOONE
KOURTNEY KUROKI
HANNAH SCHENCK
RACHEL OLSON
Ed Asner PA / Driver NICK GRANADAS
Driver STEPHEN KIMBROUGH
Still Photographer NOAH ZIELINSKI
Caterers
GROUPSIE CATERING
IT CATERIN
Assistant Editors
KATIE McCLELLAN
JOEL CHRISTIAN GOFFIN
Colorist ERIC YALKUT CHASE
Music Supervisor TONY AUGELLO
Studio Teachers
DAPHENE BOELSMA
ALEJANDRO MAYEN
KELLEN WATTS
ERIK WINSTON
VALERIE PRITZLAFT
J. SPROTT
Special Thanks to everyone
who helped or tried
to get this film made
over the years:
CLAIRE BOUCHER (“GRIMES”)
for contributing her music
MARTIN LANDAU
SUSAN SHAPIRO
STEVEN SIEBERT
DAVID SAUNDERS
LINNE RADMIN
PAUL SAHAI
SARA ROSE
KEN GORD
DANIEL SOLLINGER
JASON BRUBACKER
CARMEN CUBA
TARA NIAMI
SEBASTIAN COWAN
PATRICK QUINN
GINN ANDREWS
KATIE FRANKENBACH
REBEKAH ESTEY
NICOLA ROWLANDS
CAMI STARKMAN
JEREMY SHER
ASHPHORD JACOWAY
ANNA JACKOBY HERON
LILLY MASSEE
ALLEN BLOOMFIELD
IDA ZIELINSKA
JEREMY CLEM
DEBORAH CLEM
CELINE ORDIONI
JIM GOYER
MARK POLITI
CHRISTI JEZIORSKI
ROBERTO ZORFINI
ALEX WEINER
LAURENCE COHEN
MELISSA PELLICIO
IRIS VENTURINO
JAMIE LORENTE
HANNAH MURPHY
MATT GIBSON
BRIGITTE MUELLER
KENNETH GOFFARD
STEVE SAVITZ
DENISE MEDINA
UZMA KANG
NAV KANG
CAROLE SABOURAUD
my mother
CZESLAWA ZIELINSKA-BYCHOWSKA-HAIMOVITZ
who always believed in this project
and encouraged me to make it
and my wife VALLY MESTRONI
who tolerated and supported me
as we took out loans and used
credit cards to make this film
everyone at SAG and WGA
SINAI TEMPLE
DREAM HOUSE APARTMENTS
HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETARY
CLINICA MONSENOR OSCAR A. ROMERO
BAMBOO INN
SKIPTOWN PLAYHOUSE
RINCON CHILENO
AMTRAK
METRO TRANSIT
Camera and Lenses
CAMERA DIVISION
SONGS
“ONE YOU WANT”
Courtesy or Arbutus Records
Written by Dylan Obront, Heather Kirkpatrick
Performed by Some Girls
“ANIMAL (Wanna See You)”
Written by Lucky and Love (ASCAP),
Published by Oilxice Publishing (ASCAP)
Performed by Lucky and Love
“SUMMERTIME FROLIC”
Written by Lucky and Love (ASCAP)
Published by Lynx Technique, Oilxice Publishing (ASCAP)
Performed by Lucky and Love
“RED LIGHT”
Written by Jerrold Balcom, Kristine Bustos, Biana Ayala, Tara Edwards
Published by American Satellite (ASCAP)
Performed by The Tissues
“MEDICINE WOMAN”
Written by April Eleyce Latragna, Loren Gillum
Published by Lynx Technique, Oilxice Publishing (ASCAP)
Performed by Lucky and Love
“ST. ANTHONY”
Written by Colin Peterson, Lee Busch
Published by Meathaus (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Devour Records
Performed by Terminal A
“IT’S A MISTAKE”
Written by April Eleyce Latragna, Loren Gillum
Published by Lynx Technique, Oilxice Publishing (ASCAP)
Performed by Lucky and Love
“DANGEROUS RUNAWAY”
Written by April Eleyce Latragna, Loren Gillum
Published by Lynx Technique, Oilxice Publishing (ASCAP)
Performed by Lucky and Love
“SISTER”
Written by Lauren Lusardi
Published by Lauren Lusardi (BMI)
Performed by Plasmic
“TELEKINESIS”
Written by April Eleyce Latragna, Loren Gillum
Published by Lynx Technique, Oilxice Publishing (ASCAP)
Performed by Lucky and Love
“VISIONS OF LOVE”
Written by Erica von Trapp
Published by Erica von Trapp (ASCAP)
Performed by Jane Machine
“GALAXY EYES”
Written by Erica von Trapp
Published by Erica von Trapp (ASCAP)
Performed by Jane Machine
“RADIO”
Written by Brian Mendoza
Published by Brian Mendoza
Courtesy of Devour Records
Performed by Band Aparte
“DEATH”
Written by Brian Mendoza
Published by Brian Mendoza
Courtesy of Devour Records
Performed by Band Aparte
“GRAVITY’S RAINBOW”
Written by Brian Mendoza
Published by Brian Mendoza Courtesy of Devour Records
Performed by Band Aparte
“BABY MACHINE”
Written by Lauren Lusardi
Published by Lauren Lusardi (BMI)
Performed by Plasmic
“WORLD WON’T STOP”
Written by Brian Mendoza
Published by Brian Mendoza Courtesy of Devour Records
Performed by Band Aparte
“BOUQUET”
Written by Brian Mendoza
Published by Brian Mendoza Courtesy of Devour Records
Performed by Band Aparte
“SUM OF MY EMOTIONS”
Written by Erica von Trapp
Published by Erica von Trapp (ASCAP)
Performed by Jane Machine
“OVERZEALOUS”
Written by Erica von Trapp
Published by Erica von Trapp (ASCAP)
Performed by Jane Machine
“CHILL BOY”
Written by Erica von Trapp
Published by Erica von Trapp (ASCAP)
Performed by Jane Machine
“BAD SPEAK”
Written by Erica von Trapp
Published by Erica von Trapp (ASCAP)
Performed by Jane Machine
“PURPLE THOUGHTS”
Written by Erica von Trapp
Published by Erica von Trapp (ASCAP)
Performed by Jane Machine
“TREMBLE”
Written by Erica von Trapp
Published by Erica von Trapp (ASCAP)
Performed by Jane Machine
“SAND SQUID”
Written by Erica von TrappPublished by Erica von Trapp (ASCAP)
Performed by Jane Machine
except from “Bohemia
starring Troy Garity and Klara Issova,
with music by Iva Bittova,
courtesy of Film Art Movies
The events, characters and firms depicted
in this photoplay are fictitious
Any similarity to actual persons,
living or dead, or to actual events
or firms is purely coincidental.
Ownership of this Motion Picture
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