Cannes Short Film Corner - The Bridge
Pono, a tenacious seven year old boy lives with his family in a five story tree house deep in the rainforest of Hawaii’s Manoa Valley. Pono’s father provides critical ancestral knowledge through cultural transmission to his youngest descendant. After tragedy strikes the family, Pono’s mother blames her youngest son and repeatedly pushes him away. Pono, however, is the heir to critical cultural practices, which can help her resolve her inner conflict between Christianity/religion and Hawaiian spirituality, but only if she can concede to Hawaiian culture through the encouragement of the son she has alienated.
Interview with Writer/Director Cindy Iodice
Main photo: The Hawaiian Night Marchers
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I wrote a screenplay loosely based on a family tragedy, so The Bridge allowed me to reconcile that loss through sharing some of my family’s personal tragedy and struggles with moving forward.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The Bridge is a story about reconciliation of guilt and grief, which is a universal experience. Viewers find something to relate to in the story told in The Bridge.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The personal aspect of the film is based on pain that lived deep inside me for a long time. After 18 years of grief I finally found a way out and into the light again. The story of The Bridge is resonating with audiences around the world (Australia, New Zealand, Berlin, London, France, Madrid and Naples audiences have interacted with me regarding the story line) confirming its universal appeal and connection.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
In addition to loss, grief and reconciliation from that pain, The Bridge is a story about family and culture. I incorporated Hawaiian culture and their beliefs and practices around their ancestors, however, although I am a longtime resident of Hawaii, I am not Hawaiian. We invited a cultural advisor to view an early cut of the film and she immediately was interested in coming on board. Hina Leimoana Wong was the head of the Hawaiian burial counsel and an advocate for accurate representation of Hawaiian culture in films, so The Bridge needed her input for cultural accuracy. After Hina viewed the rough cut the first time she said that I had done a beautiful job of fusing western ideals with Hawaiian spirituality, which was a tremendous compliment.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We took a year in the edit and brought our film to various parts of the US where audiences might not be familiar with Hawaiian culture, which allowed us to learn how the film was being interpreted. We received tremendous feedback and continued to edit the film until audiences reported correctly on the Hawaiian cultural aspects. That is precisely when our film felt finished. In the past year The Bridge has been an official selection to 30 festivals and has won 12 awards globally.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The most surprising thing about the feedback is how wide the film has been able to reach into various diverse cultures around the globe. I knew that islands/countries in the South Pacific would get the cultural content, however, I have been pleasantly surprised by the success of our film in Europe.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
The Bridge is a thought-provoking story about some of life’s most difficult challenges we all experience on some level or at some point in our lives. Through our own experiences with family and cultural identity we all can relate, In order to tell such a story, the writer must become vulnerable, which can be very scary, however, when there is light at the end of the tunnel and hope for a stronger more courageous future it can inspire people who maybe haven’t overcome their personal adversity or healed from deep seeded grief.
I wrote The Bridge because my mom lived with and died of a broken heart unable to reconcile her own guilt and grief. I realized when writing the screenplay that I could change the ending of the film and thus the end of my mom’s suffering by allowing Rachel, the mother and wife in The Bridge, to take a slight step forward. It was important to me that the remaining family be recognize and embraced as a way of moving through, away and out of the dark clouds that grief often casts on families especially after tragedy.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
The Bridge is currently on the international film festival circuit, which we are grateful for, because it gives me an opportunity to engage audiences with the story behind the story. I am interested in reaching more film festival directors, distributors and sales agents. It is my goal to cast a wide net for The Bridge so that it stays in circulation and reaches audiences around the globe.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like for people to really understand the content and message of the film and the importance of the story, so that it continues to travel to audiences I might not be able to access alone.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
The Hawaiians have different voices and interpretations of their oral story telling and the accuracy of the portrayal of their traditions. The Bridge was immediately controversial in Hawaii not only for the varied view points but also that someone not Hawaiian would even tell a story that included Hawaiian culture. Some felt that I was not qualified to take on such a subject as the Hawaiian night marchers (ancestors walking the land as has been experiences by many people in the islands) If no one is telling the stories of the many diverse cultures around the world the stories will fade.
Having worked with a cultural advisor, I realized that it really does take a village to make a movie. I never claimed to be an expert in Hawaiian culture or any other culture for that matter. I only knew pain and how to find a way out from that dark place. Many people are fiercely protective of their cultural identity but do nothing through film to tell and preserve these stories. The debate then is about who has the authority to tell cultural stories and why can’t we just collaborate and each contribute to the story in the area of our individual strengths?
Would you like to add anything else?
A friend, Maryann Erwin, recently made an observation of my film that caught me by surprise because of the accuracy of her point. “It's amazing how your film about family, culture & customs has re-united you with your own. How special…”
The Bridge screened in Naples, Italy on May 19th and although I could not make the screening I went to Naples on the 18th to meet the festival directors and present them with a few gifts of gratitude for selecting my film. The day that I got into the Naples festival I learned that my grandfather was born in a small village an hour away. And although my grandfather and his parents emigrated to the east coast of the US over 100 years ago, when I arrived in Bucciano, I immediately discovered family and old Italian culture that I was unaware existed.
The Bridge is about bridging the gap between Christianity/religion and Hawaiian spirituality yet because of an invitation to screen The Bridge in my “motherland” or “old country” as my grandparents used to say, I have found The Bridge back to Bucciano. My Italian community in Bucciano said that my arrival back in the village after over 100 years since grandpa’s family left to start a new life has awoken the souls of the people of Bucciano. Within 36 hours of meeting the people of Bucciano the story of my return was published on the front page of their local paper (this morning).
Last night in Nice we won Best Director of a short film, and of course I immediately let Bucciano know. The people of Bucciano, where my DNA hails from, couldn’t be more proud. The irony of this journey is that I will now be going to Bucciano with a camera crew to capture the story of my return on behalf of my entire family. The records in their city hall, where my great grandparents married in 1911 go back to 1809, so more will be revealed. My last name and that of my great grandmother are common to that region. I am certain that I will uncover family that has never left Bucciano but continue to live deep in the old Italian cultural ways. I have always admired the Hawaiians and the passion they have to preserve their culture. The Bridge has led me back to my culture. This is a new and unexpected direction for my future projects and one that I couldn’t be more thrilled to embrace.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
My next project will reflect my return to old Italy and the origins and practices of my own culture.
Interview: May 2017
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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 Bridge
Pono, a tenacious seven year old boy lives with his family in a five story tree house deep in the rainforest of Hawaii’s Manoa Valley. Pono’s father provides critical ancestral knowledge through cultural transmission to his youngest descendant. After tragedy strikes the family, Pono’s mother blames her youngest son and repeatedly pushes him away. Pono, however, is the heir to critical cultural practices, which can help her resolve her inner conflict between Christianity/religion and Hawaiian spirituality, but only if she can concede to Hawaiian culture through the encouragement of the son she has alienated.
Length: 20 Minutes
Director: Cindy Iodice
Producer: Connie M. Florez and Ken Monroe
Writer: Cindy Iodice
About the writer, director and producer:
Cindy Iodice, Connie M. Florez and
Ken Monroe are all Hawaii based filmmaker.
Key cast: Rachel Adams (Mia)
Tomayo Perry (Manoa)
Asher Morgado (Pono)
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Film festival directors, buyers and distributors.
Social media handles: #Hulagirlproductions
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebridgeshortfilm/
Twitter: #hulagirlproductions
Instagram: Cindy_Iodice
Other http://:www.islandgirlpictures.com, http://www.hulagirlproductions.com
Film Trailer: https://vimeo.com/176691438
Funders: Self funded
Made in association with:
Where can I see it in the next month? Wairoa Maori Film Festival June 2-5, St Petersburg Fla June 14, and Madrid International Filmmaker Festival July 8-15
The Bridge short film awards:
Global Accolade Film Competition 2015 Award of Recognition The Best Shorts Online Competition 2016 Award of Recognition Reel Time Int. Online Festival 2016 Best Short Category Winner Hawaii International Short Film Festival 2016 Best Short Film Tampa Bay Arts and Education 2016 Laurel of Excellence Award IndieFest 2016 Award of Recognition
NY Film and TV Festival 2016 Best Indigenous Film F.A.M.E.U.S International Film 2017 Festival Bronze Award World Cinema IFF London 2017 Best Editing of a Short Film
Depth of Field International Film Festival Loose Shorts Exceptional Merit 2017 Depth of Field IFF Loose Shorts Award of Excellence in Editing 2017
World Cinema International Filmmaker Festival Nice 2017 Best Director
Official Selections:
Audience Award 2016
LA Cinematic Art and Film Festival 2016 Cinema World Festival 2016
Diamond in the Rough Cut 2017
Berlin Independent International Film Festival 2017 Red Wasp International Film Festival 2017
Silver Screen for Short Film Festival 2017
Women of Wonder International Film Festival 2017
Female Filmmakers Film Festival Online Competition 2017
World Premiere Film Awards 2017
Gulf of Naples Independent Film Festival 2017
Wairoa Maori Film Festival 2017
Madrid International Film Festival 2017
Nominations:
World Cinema International Filmmaker Film Festival London 2017 Best Short International Monthly Film Festival March 2017 Best Drama (Short& Feature) International Monthly Film Festival March 2017 Best Editor
World Cinema International Filmmaker Festival Nice 2017 Best Cinematography World Cinema International Filmmaker Festival Nice 2017 Jury Award