Big Apple Film Festival - The Hoosac
The Hoosac is a ghost story about a lonely soul who can’t escape his past life. Inspired by the real life Hoosac tunnel tragedy where trapped miners suffocated to death in a small isolated New England mill town in the mountains.
Interview with Writer/Director Matilda Szydagis and Ric Sechrest
Watch The Hoosac on Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! We have just been thrilled being a part of the film festival circuit this past year. The Hoosac is our first foray as filmmakers and we wanted to take the creativity into our own hands for a change.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It’s spooky, surprising, visually splendid, especially once we get to the Berkshires. We grew up with shows like Tales From the Darkside, and the horror movies from the 70’s/80’s made a huge impact on us as kids. We wanted to pay homage to those horror films, in particular The Shining.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The Hoosac touches on how in a city of millions, one can still be alone and lonely.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
Well, the script was tweaked once we started shooting and we saw the potential once we arrived on location. One of the moments in the film that everyone absolutely loves and is visually stunning is the long shot from the hotel window of the character running. This was an idea that specifically came about once we were there and shooting.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Very positive! People are particularly loving the cinematography, the sounds and music, and the fact that The Hoosac was inspired by a true story.
The Oaxaca Film Festival gave us this review:
This film benefits from a pretty good conception. The photography is good, coherent with the narration and able to convey this strange atmosphere. The editing is fluid. It makes for a good ensemble. There are some very good shots such as the one of this snowy road on the way to the mine. The story’s “psychological thriller” side of it definitely keeps the audience focused. There are some reminiscences of famous films such as Amityville ( the shots of the clock at night ) or The Shining (photograph at the end ). The actor is good and does well to convey an impression of madness, isolation, desperation.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
It’s been fantastic. No complaints ;)
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Hoping to get more interest from film festival directors for upcoming fests, future potential audiences, a greater flow to our website and to our Facebook page, and of course, the main goal is to secure a producer who will turn our short into a full-length feature.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Would be great if film festival directors highlight our film more via Facebook and their websites. The Haunted Horror Film Festival, where we won the Audience Choice Award, was very good at that, as well as Scream in the Dark Festival and New Filmmakers NY; they were amazing at marketing the films individually and highlighting them on Facebook and their website. And Big Apple Film Festival has been extraordinarily organized and beyond amazing with the marketing throughout this whole process, both pre-film fest and during the screening itself with on-camera interviews, photos, and the Q&A after the screenings.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
So far, been a wonderful reception; people laugh at the right spots, jump and get scared at the right spots. It’s been great. And after the screenings, we have strangers coming up to us on their own saying how much they loved The Hoosac and thought we did a fantastic job, so that’s always lovely to hear!
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Does he exist at all? Is 2:37am the time of original death? The idea of reincarnation and fate. All philosophical points.
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you SO much for this interview! What a pleasure!!! We are certainly grateful for it.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Well, The Hoosac is actually part one of a trilogy and we just shot part two at the end of this summer. It is called The Ruins. Ric directed that one and the tangent in that storyline is Matilda plays the doctor who is on the phone with the character in The Hoosac. The connection ends there and that character has her own creepy trajectory which is inspired by the true story of the ruins that are in the woods of Cold Spring, NY. We are in post-production with that currently and hope to start submitting part 2 to film festivals in Spring 2017.
Interview: November 2016
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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The Hoosac
The Hoosac is a ghost story about a lonely soul who can’t escape his past life. Inspired by the real life Hoosac tunnel tragedy where trapped miners suffocated to death in a small isolated New England mill town in the mountains.
Short synopsis:
A solitary man in NYC feels that he is losing his mind. He is burdened with nightmares, has trouble breathing, is seeing things, and hearing voices. When medication doesn’t help, his doctor suggests that he take a vacation. He is drawn to the Berkshires where he finally has respite. But the calm is short-lived, as he wakes up in his own nightmare.
Length: 11 minutes
Director: Matilda Szydagis and Ric Sechrest
Executive Producer: Matilda Szydagis
Writer: Matilda Szydagis and Ric Sechrest
Script Consultant - Katarzyna Muller
About the team:
Ric Sechrest: actor/director based in New York City. Degrees: Ohio University, MFA; University of Maine, MA; Syracuse University, BS. SAG-AFTRA, AEA. www.RicSechrest.com
Matilda Szydagis: actor/director/writer from Chicago, NYC based, fluent in Polish, and holds a degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago; SAG-AFTRA, AEA. www.matildaszydagis.com
Katarzyna Muller: Script Consultant, is a Chicago playwright who works with Chicago Dramatists, and has had readings at Playwrights Horizons and MTC in NYC.
Key cast: Ric Sechrest
Looking for:
A producer who loves our story and wants to turn it into a real full-length feature. We would love for Guillermo del Toro to give us a call ;) He turned the short Mama that he came across online into the full-length Mama. Also, Lights Out started as a short and was turned into an incredibly successful feature just this year, while also using the original director and some of the original actors. Ideally, that is what we would love to happen. So if Michael Clear, Richard Brener, and Ben Everard are inclined to give us a call, we would be overjoyed.
Funders: self-funded
Made in association with: Your Team Productions
Where can I see it in the next month?
As of November 4th, we are awaiting to still hear from a handful of festivals, including Slamdance, Sundance, Stanley Film Festival, Cinequest, and Krakow Film Festival. SO, fingers crossed!