LIVE FROM THE GENEVA!, 13min,. USA
Directed by Nick Leahy
Amidst the hysteria of the Red Scare in 1953 Chicago, a nightclub staff becomes entangled in a political scandal when their star performer's iconic red-and-gold pocket square becomes the focal point of media chaos.

https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1295719-live-from-the-geneva
https://www.instagram.com/livefromthegeneva/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I wanted to write a story that tackled themes of misinformation on the Internet, and especially how they influence our beliefs socially, politically, and economically. And I wanted to sort of find a good way to wake people up to sort of what's been going on around them by comparing that period in which we live in today to that of the Red Scare, and sort of show a compare and contrast between what we know as a terrible period of American history and the Red Scare, and sort of seeing if there is anything we can really learn from it and apply to towards misinformation online today in order to not repeat the same mistakes that we may have already learned in the past.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

I wrote the very first draft in I think February of 2023 and then I tried applying for different types of funding which I didn't get and so I kept rewriting it for the next six or so months before I finally got the idea to self-finance it with my own money and start to put together a crew and start to make the short film enter pre-production and so I spent I guess the next two months getting cast, crew, finding rehearsal space, finding locations, you know all the fun stuff you do in pre-production and then we shot for one weekend right before Thanksgiving from the 17th to the 19th of November and then editing took all of the winter and then sound design, coloring, VFX took all the spring and I premiered it to my university in late May.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Pocket square.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

The biggest obstacle was definitely financing. I didn't get any really support from my university other than equipment. So I had to do a lot of the funding myself. I spent my own money. I had help from my parents and other family members that I pitched the project to. And then I also applied for external funding through different public grants, which weren't that much money, but they were still helpful. I would say that's probably the biggest. And the other part was trying to get the pocket square in red with a black-and-white aesthetic in the film. It took a lot of hours for VFX work to do that.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

It was kind of crazy, because I hadn't heard direct feedback before from people outside my friends and family, so I was a little nervous to see what people would say. But generally, the comments were very nice, and people said that they liked a lot of the stylistic choices and themes. They liked the creativity behind the project, which I am really grateful for. I think I got my message across in a good way. So that's always good news. And yeah, I just appreciated all the kind words.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

It came to me in an unexpected way. I wasn't one of those kids who knew from age five that they wanted to be a filmmaker. It wasn't until late middle school or high school that I started to realize it. I'd always been involved in theater—starting at six years old in local school productions—and continued it through high school. I also played hockey, but I knew by age 14 that I wasn't going to be a professional hockey player. Instead, I found a sense of purpose in the arts and appreciated the way it gave people a voice.

I gravitated toward film because, growing up, my mom was a SAG member. She would receive DVD screeners whenever it was time to vote for the awards, so I was exposed to great films early on, like The King's Speech, the Les Misérables remake, and Argo. There were plenty of others too, but those are the ones I remember. And I guess it stuck.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

I would have to say Raiders of the Lost Ark. I loved Indiana Jones as a kid. I probably watched that movie close to 50 times during my youth. And yeah, it's still one of my favorite movies of all time.

8. What is your favorite meal?

Cheeseburgers.

9. What is next for you? A new film?

I'm currently writing either a longer, short script for a short film, or maybe, potentially, a first feature screenplay. Who knows? That may change. I may not come to a decision on whether I want to make that short film or try to finance that feature just yet. It may take a while. I still need to write the thing.