‘A Young Skater’s Life’ named Best Student Short Film at NYC Festival
You may recall me telling you about my nephew Nick Wager’s short film ‘A Young Skater’s Life’ being featured at The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. If not, then read about it here.
Well not only was it a fun and exciting night for him and our family, the film wound up winning the festival’s Best Student Short Film award!! This is very cool considering when he wrote, directed and stared in it he was only 12 years old. As for my family … well let’s just say it’s amazing how a bunch of people who grew up in the shadows of NYC can be so overwhelmed with ‘city life’. It makes me laugh sometimes, but I digress.
During the festival, Nick—now 13—got up to address the crowd. His speech was very funny. First he made sure to thank his family, “who probably make up a third of the audience tonight.” He wasn’t kidding. We came out in force to show our support. He went on to thank his Mom for handling the camera work during the film shoot. As for the rest of the cast and crew, “Well,” he said, ” I had no crew. Ok well, my mom.” We all laughed. “My cast couldn’t be here tonight because they all have school tomorrow.” Then he threw his fist up and exclaimed, “But I took the day off!!” And we all cheered.
At the end of the very long night—his was the last film to show—I was impressed by how the crowd stuck around to the end. I’m generally a jaded fellow. I never really expect any sincerity when it come to the arts. I was moved by the warmth of they rooms ovation as the credits rolled. Not just from my family, but from the other filmmakers and audience members. then came a moment that made for many fun, embarrassing jokes.
One of the hostesses of the festival announced that there would be an after-party at a club called La Vagina. Had she pronounced it correctly (La Va gee na), no one would have reacted. Instead well, you can imagine how she said it. As we were leaving I exclaimed, “Come on, it’s getting late. I need to go to the Vagina!” This was followed by a chorus of half laughs, half groans from my family. So I said, “What!? Sorry, I don’t speak French!”
The best line came when my cousin Joseph later asked me, “Are you going to the Vagina?” To which I answered, “No, I’m going to the club around back. You know … the Asshole.” Of course proof that real life is funnier than fiction, across from the theater is a place called Dick’s Bar. This I suspected would be a good place for anyone uncomfortable in the Vagina.
Anyway, all joking aside; now with this award, it is pretty clear that my young nephew Nick has a future in film. For next year’s festival he plans to submit a longer-form claymation piece. That is another discipline he’s been working on and getting quite good at. He and I are currently in discussions about setting up a website to show clips of his work. I’ll keep you all posted on it’s progress.
See Also:
My Nephew Nick Wager’s Film Featured at NYC Film Festival
The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival
