A bizarre audition challenges the idealistic ambitions of Alyssa, an aspiring actress.

Interview with Writer/Director Eden Martinez

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

As an artist, I have always dealt with a sense of imposter syndrome and this is something I know actors also deal with greatly, but on a much more vulnerable and exposed level. This vulnerability is something I empathize with greatly as an artist. There are always external voices that present themselves to resist and I wanted to create a story that put that experience in perspective.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

Masterpiece is a literal laugh out loud farce that is unpredictable to the very end. The humor in the film is perfect at a time like this where we're being inundated with fear-driven content.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

The two themes at play in Masterpiece are:

Personal Theme: If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Universal Theme: Life doesn't always have happy endings.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

I wrote the original draft, which maintained much of the structure and characters, but Producer, co-Writer, and actor Ginny Leise had an incredible hand in elevating the comedy - both written and through improv. Her experience as an actor gave her deep insights into some of the egregious moments actor faces. Additionally, the script was workshopped in the Filmshop collective and the feedback and support from that community really helped bring it home.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Most of the feedback I get is from actors at Film Festivals who say how spot on the film is regarding some experiences. The uncomfortable barrage of questions or producers eating during the audition. The film is a farce, but it was very much built from the real experiences of actors.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Yes! Honestly, I sat and wrote the original draft in a few hours and the story didn't shift very much, but I didn't necessarily have a sense of why I personally made the film til a year or so later. During one screening a viewer explained how they connected with the insecurity of the protagonist and that hit me like a truck. The looming voices of external rejection are something that I actively have to be aware of as an artist. Moreover, the process of making Masterpiece and sharing the film has helped me discover the purpose of creating is the love of the process as the journey is very much the reward with any project.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I have a number of screenings coming up and my hopes are to a) create a buzz around the film and b) leverage this publicity as I continue to apply to festivals and seek distribution.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

At this point: Anyone in distribution, film festival directors and Journalists (In that order)

Behind the scenes of Masterpiece - The crew films the final shot of the day

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

There is nothing greater than to see an audience laugh and be surprised by the course of the film. Ultimately, as with all my films, I'd like to create a dialogue around how the use of humor can be used to engage difficult subject matter.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Does work still need to be done on the casting couch for actresses?

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

The Feature Film & Proof of concept script for Adela and the Wonder.

Interview: May 2020

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. 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

Masterpiece

A bizarre audition challenges the idealistic ambitions of Alyssa, an aspiring actress.

Length: 6:43

Director: Eden Martinez

Producer: Grace Kim

Writer: Eden Martinez & Ginny Leise

About the writer, director and producer:

EDEN MARTINEZ is a Queer Puerto Rican-American Filmmaker and writer who’s imaginative films use magical realism, metaphor and satire to explore social norms. By inviting viewers into heightened worlds her films challenge cultural norms. Eden has screened and garnered awards at festivals such as the Staten Island Film Festival, Art of Brooklyn Film Festival, Lighthouse International Film Festival, and YoFi Fest. She has over seven years' experience as a producer for independent films, web series, commercials and branded content, working with high profile clients such as Zeiss, 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Cornell, Verizon, 92Y as well as A-list talent like Rosie Perez, John Cleese, Susan Sarandon, and Robert De Niro. Eden has directed projects across the United States and the rest of the globe including countries like South Korea, Turkey, Haiti, and Sri Lanka. In 2020 she directed the Huffington Post featured piece Driving Forces featuring Andrea Londo, in collaboration with Ryot Studios and Kia. In addition to her production experience, Eden is an independent film activist. She is a co-leader of The Sandbox, a directing workshop based in New York City and former chapter leader of the New York-based film collective, Filmshop. She is on the development committee for the Women’s Weekend Film Challenge and hosted their 2019 annual fundraiser. She is currently in development on multiple projects including the narrative feature film titled Adela and the Wonder and hosts the podcast Corona Chronicles.

GINNY LEISE is a filmmaker, comedian and actor in New York City. As a filmmaker, Ginny has written and produced two short films and two full-length comedy pilots. Her first short, Pillows, won the Indieworks Best of Fest award in November 2015. Splitsider said of her second short, Smile, “...watch and be wowed.” Smile was a 2017 Official Selection at the Lower East Side Film Festival. In 2018, Ginny directed and produced the comedy pilot Vows.

GRACE KIM is a Korean-American filmmaker and writer who uses absurdist and surrealist premises in films as a vehicle for showing empathy. Dropping audiences into the otherworldly circumstances of her characters, she seeks to reflect to viewers their own humanity. If one is able to resonate with the loneliness of say, a man desperate for love after hearing a woman's voice on the other side of a banana phone, could human empathy not transcend arbitrary boundaries of race, gender, class, and beyond? Currently, Grace is in development for an animated TV series about climate change, The Grand Tammy, which was a second-rounder for the Sundance Episodic Lab. She is a Viacom Viewfinder Program fellow and recently shadowed director/executive producer Dime Davis on the Paramount TV series Boomerang, executive produced by Lena Waithe and Halle Berry. In addition to television, Grace is a Picture Farm Directing Program fellow for female commercial directors. Grace's award-winning short films have screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival, Tall Grass Film Festival, and Sidewalk Film Festival amongst others. Her debut short Loveseat was a finalist for the Horizon Award at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and the Loveseat script was a quarterfinalist for the Screen Craft Short Film Fund. The script for her latest project Fissura was a finalist for the Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival Script Studio as well as one of the top 100 submissions for the Shift Creative Fund. Grace was also a part of Ghetto Film School's EMERGE8 semi-finalists for their inaugural emerging directors program. Her work has been supported by the NYC Women's Fund funded by the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and NYFA. Her upcoming projects include Heart Tick Kaboom, a short film commissioned by Atlanta Film Society for the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport which will screen on the 500 screens throughout the airport starting in April 2020 and a narrative dance film, Fissura, which is slated to shoot in September 2020 and is supported in part by the Brooklyn Arts Council. Grace currently splits her time between the brownstones of Brooklyn and the sunny shores of Los Angeles.

Key cast: Ginny Leise (Alyssa), Clayton Dean Smith (Mr. Dupont), Marcia Hopson (Mrs. Dupont), Daniel Gonzalez (Gustav), Mother (Gloria Jung)

Looking for: film festival directors, distributors, journalists

Facebook: Eden Martinez

Twitter: @edenmart11

Instagram: @edenmart11

Hashtags used: #shortfilm #masterpiece #comedy

Website: www.edenmartinez.com

Other: Vimeo

Made in association with: Spot Creative Inc.

Funders: Eden Martinez Creative LLC in partnership with Spot Creative Inc.

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? At the Online Kansas Film Fest International from April 13-19th