Artist of the Month-April-Joe Fiorello
This month's artist of the month is Joe Fiorello. Joe is a local indie film director. His latest project, Love Stalk will be getting it's Hong Kong premiere on April 24th. Joe is very helpful to other artists in the community and has a lot of passion for his work. Because of his go getter attitude- we have chosen him as our Artist of the Month. If everyone was a nice as he is, we would be a lot stronger as a community overall. Please get to know Joe, and remember to support the little guys when making your next choice at the cinema.
1. Name, Birthplace, Age
Joe Fiorello, Queens, New York, 35
2. How does where you were raised affect your work?
Overall, I think it definitely means that I end up putting a particular edge to my work. Growing up in New York, you get this certain energy from the place that stays inside of you and we New Yorkers do have a reputation to keep. (chuckles) Thus, as an artist, I find myself always approaching my work with an edgy, snarky sarcasm that I think you'll find in most New Yorkers. On a more specific level, bouncing from Queens to the suburbs and then back to the city, I found myself always living in situations where I felt like the one who didn't quite fit in. When I was young, I was one of few Italian kids going to a Catholic school filled with Irish kids, then I was one of few Catholic kids living in a mostly Jewish neighborhood, then even in university I was felt like a stood out like a sore thumb in a school filled with Asian kids, not to mention one of the few aspiring “artists” that somehow ended up in business school. I always felt like the misfit who banded together with other misfits and that's an element that I think comes through in my stories and characters as well.
3. Where did you train?
I was in the drama club senior year of high school. I took one improv acting class and a couple of writing workshops in university. I took what classes I could find from the Learning Annex in New York, and NYU's continuing education program. Then in Hong Kong, I took workshops with Jeanne Hartman, Glen Chin and Kate Sullivan. The rest, I learned from massive amounts of trial and error.
4. What is your favorite style of film? Why?
Favorite "style" of film? Hmm, I assume you do mean style as opposed to genre. That's tricky. Well I do love me a big, loud, popcorn extravaganza, but as an artist, it's smaller character driven pieces that inspire me the most; films that focus on the specific relationships between people. What I love the most are films that can marry the two; small, character driven pieces set against the backdrop of a magnificent high concept. I’m talking about the type of movie that you could literally do as a stage play, but really wouldn't want to if you could otherwise. Scarface, Amadeus, Life of Pi are some films like that style that come to mind.
5. What was the best show you EVER saw?
Best show I ever saw... Miss Saigon on Broadway... or possibly Ringing Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus: "the greatest show on earth"
6. What was the best show in HK you EVER saw? (You cannot say your own.)
Best show I saw in Hong Kong.... The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
7.What piece of work are you the most proud of?
I'm really proud of the short film I recently premiered in Singapore, Love Stalk. It's a project that I see as a true collaborative effort. We had a small, but dedicated and talented team onboard. I got to showcase a lot of my craft behind the camera: writing, directing the actors, the cinematography and editing. On top of it, I feel like I was able to infuse into this project some of what I had seen and experienced over three years of living in Hong Kong. It's a film that I feel shows how far I have developed as an artist since I debuted my feature film My Stuffed Animal is a Monster in 2009. We'll have our HK premiere on April 24 and then I hope to get to turn Love Stalk into a feature as well.
8. What is your process like?
An idea has to grasp me. I hear interesting ideas all the time, I come up with some on my own from time to time, but often they just fizzle out when I try to put pen to paper. It's when I get the right idea at the right time that I get this feeling inside me, like an avalanche of creative momentum. It's then that I know this will be the real deal and it will happen. Once I get that movement I can write at super speed. Take for instance my feature film My Stuffed Animal is a Monster which I wrote in 7 days. Another script I worked on for the feature film Sky Force took only a month to write. When I see it’s been 3 months or more and I'm still not finished writing a script, I usually just toss it because it’s never going to happen. The process for putting it to film is more complex. For that I really have to thank my teams that have stepped up, because the truth of the matter is I usually feel like there's so much I don't know about how to make a film. When the avalanche happens, good people will find their way on your project because they too can feel the momentum. That, a little bit of luck, a lot of elbow grease, and a great producer are the ingredients to making a Joe Fiorello film. The producer part is especially key because I’m admittedly an absolute shit producer. Just keep me at the writer's, director's or actor's chair if you value your project. hahaha
9. What is your dream project?
Dream project? To direct and act in a Hong Kong based action/comedy starring Tony Leung, Simon Yam, Antony Wong, Chapman To, Ekin Cheng, Miriam Yeung, Tang Wei, Fiona Sit, Dada Chan, Lam Suet, Andy Lau, Glen Chin, Harry Du Young, the guy who played Lo Pan in Big Trouble in Little China, Robert Deniro, Nicholas Cage, and Chow Yun Fat. Either that or direct a feature film adaptation of Thundercats!
10. If you could change one thing about the art scene in HK, what would it be?
My wish is for the entire scene to become more gritty and edgy. I want to see more films wing made in HK with brass cojones. And more indie feature films in HK in general. If someone doesn't start the trend, I'm just gonna have to start it myself.
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