By Nathan Mayberg
MONROE — When Charles Marinaro was a high school senior, he didn't get the lead in Monticello High School's production of “Grease,” but he made an impression playing Vince Fontaine, the radio announcer who kicks off the big dance.
Marinaro, a 2008 Monticello High School graduate, has come a long way in a short time since his days in high school musicals.
The director of three films will bring the Hudson Valley International Film Festival to the Town of Monroe Arts & Civic Center for three days, beginning Aug. 14.
The film festival is slated to feature more than 70 films between Friday, Aug. 14, and Sunday, Aug. 16.
Marinaro and business partner Melissa Cohen, both Sullivan County residents, are running the festival, which will feature a slew of independent films, some heralding famous and familiar Hollywood character actors.
Making choicesThe festival will begin Aug. 14 with the feature “Savior,” Marinaro's second film.
The cinematography was done by Monroe resident Simon Fridlich. Fridlich has worked with Marinaro on all three of his movies.
Marinaro describes the movie as “a blood bath, a love story. It's going to break people's hearts.”
It involves a homeless man, his family problems and a world of crime.
It's also about choices.
“In life, we always make these choices that can potentially be devastating,” Marinaro said.
Those looking to check out films at next week's festival will have a lot of choices. They include “Girl on the Edge,” an award-winning movie starring up and coming actress Taylor Spreitler. Spreitler plays a teenager dealing with emotional trauma after encountering an online tormenter.
The films includes actor Peter Coyote, who had a key role in the classic “E.T the Extra Terrestrial.” Mackenzie Phillips, who broke through in the 1973 classic “American Graffiti,” also takes a turn.
That movie will play on Saturday at 10 a.m. (A related story discusses other films to be shown.)
Guest appearanceThe festival will have a guest appearance from Naomi Grossman of the television show “American Horror Story.”
She will be at the festival all weekend. Grossman also has a role in two shows which will be screened over the weekend: “Carnival Knowledge” and “Girl in Argentine Landscape.”
Grossman will mingle at the red carpet parties on Friday, will hold a question and answer session on Saturday and will host an actor's workshop on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Making moviesMarinaro and Cohen teamed up with Fridlich after meeting at a film industry mixer Marinaro and Cohen were planning to cover as part of a brief online news site they were operating.
“I wanted to be a writer and I wanted to give people a voice,” Marinaro said.
Marinaro talked to Fridlich about the screenplay he was working on for “The Factor.”
Fridlich was doing local commercials and trying to make a film himself, Marinaro said.
“We never thought we were gonna do a movie,” Marinaro said.
Since 2013, the three have made three films together.
They have filmed their movies throughout the region, in warehouses, banks, restaurants and the Villa Roma Hotel in Sullivan County.
Making movies is “always something I wanted to do,” Marinaro said.
Marinaro, a Buffalo native, said “a lot of the scripts I write are autobiographical.”
“They originate from pieces in my life.”
He calls them “therapeutic.”
“I didn't have the most butter scotched, silver spoon upbringing.”
Put Monroe on the mapMonroe Town Supervisor Harley Doles has been trying to get a film festival at the theater ever since the town purchased the property.
“Hard work pays off,” he said.
Doles thinks the festival will be a boon to the town.
“It will help put us on the map,” Doles said.
“The single most important thing is it fills the seats in those restaurants,” Doles said about downtown Monroe.
“The intent is to help the economy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Village of Monroe Mayor James C. Purcell issued the following email this week, urging residents to support the film festival:
Dear Village of Monroe Resident:
Join us August 14th, 15th & 16th for the first Hudson Valley International Film Festival at 34 Millpond Parkway, The Monroe Arts & Civic Center. A highlight is the actor's workshop with Naomi Grossman Sunday Aug 16 at 4pm (first come first serve seating for Day/Weekend Pass holders). The Hudson Valley International Film Festival is a lifestyle that celebrates an interactive and contemporary experience, which will inspire, challenge, and enlighten viewers and participants alike. Filmmakers are welcome to submit shorts, pilots, features, music videos, animations, and much more! The HVIFF is the haven for free thinkers, innovators, and pioneers of the arts community.