{"id":6576,"date":"2013-04-02T10:42:38","date_gmt":"2013-04-02T14:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=6576"},"modified":"2013-04-02T12:51:16","modified_gmt":"2013-04-02T16:51:16","slug":"county-roots-an-anchor-for-filmmakers-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=6576","title":{"rendered":"County roots an anchor for filmmaker\u2019s project"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scenes from narrative short that debuts Saturday shot in area<\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n
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By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/strong><\/span>,\u00a0Managing Editor, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Pocopson<\/a>

Pocopson native Henry Roosevelt marvels at the flames created on the set of \u201cNative Boy.\u201d His producer, Brad Gulick, said, \u201dAs soon as we knew the story involved a firefighter, we knew we had to film firefighting in a way that had never been done before \u2013 raw, intimate, and dangerous. And we wanted to film with authentic period equipment, tools and tactics native to the 1970s. We had our work cut out for us.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

A penchant for forging lasting bonds that originated in Pocopson Township has led a 27-year-old filmmaker to premiere a short narrative film that he and his tight-knit production team hope will launch future projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cNative Boy,\u201d spearheaded by Henry Roosevelt, will debut on Saturday at the Ambler Theatre. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. with a reception catered by Whole Foods. The screening is scheduled for \u00a05:20 p.m. It will be followed by \u00a0a question-and-answer session with the cast and crew, most of whom have regional ties.\u00a0To purchase tickets, visit\u00a0http:\/\/nativeboyfilms.com\/events\/#.UVnjq6XJDzI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The story, which pays homage to firefighters, portrays a retired firefighter turned children\u2019s book author who crafts a captivating tale about a boy on a quest to capture the sun. It draws on the experiences of Roosevelt as well as those of his crew, several of whom are friends from the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

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\"Clay<\/a>

Clay Story, 10, plays the title character in \u201cNative Boy,\u201d a narrative short film by Pocopson native Henry Roosevelt that debuts on Saturday in Ambler.<\/p><\/div>\n

Brad Gulick, a Lawrenceville alum who studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and served as producer, said the absence of egos facilitated the work. \u201c\u2019Native Boy\u2019 is a true collective effort,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Roosevelt, who now lives in Manhattan, said he got his start in filmmaking at Unionville High, which he attended for a year before indulging his longing for a boarding school. \u201cI remember editing away on some old school Avid machines \u2026 \u00a0for various history presentations and class projects,\u201d he said. \u201cAny opportunity I had to film, I took.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued that passion at the Lawrenceville School and then\u00a0minored in film at George Washington University, where he received a degree in English and communications and racked up a number of rowing awards.<\/p>\n

That avocation landed him a role in \u201cThe Social Network,\u201d the film that chronicled the creation of Facebook. Roosevelt played one of the rowers in the scenes depicting the Henley Royal Regatta, an annual British event that served in the film to highlight the geographic reach of the social-networking site.<\/p>\n

Roosevelt, who has \u00a0served as a production assistant on shows including \u201c30 Rock,\u201d \u201cBoardwalk Empire,\u201d and \u201cLaw and Order,\u201d also\u00a0filmed a\u00a0documentary\u00a0in Africa about Liberian amputee soccer players\u00a0called “We Stand Alone” that is due out later this year.<\/p>\n

Dave Lichter, a fifth-grade teacher in the Unionville-Chadds Ford district who now works at Pocopson Elementary, remembers hearing Roosevelt talk reverently about Camp Tecumseh, the legendary New Hampshire program that features prominently in \u201cNative Boy.\u201d In fact, the film\u2019s title character was attending the camp when Roosevelt visited right after investing his life-savings on a revolutionary new camera, said Gulick.<\/p>\n

According to Gulick, Roosevelt wanted to experiment with his prized Red Epic, a state-of-the-art digital video camera, and asked a group of boys at the camp to serve as subjects. One of the shots he wanted involved walking into a muddy swamp and coming out screaming. At the end of the impromptu session, Roosevelt had the genesis of the film as well as its young star: Clay Story, the only kid who stuck around for the duration.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, for Roosevelt and his team, Story was not the only one with loyal, staying power. Little by little, the group not only achieved its fund-raising goal of $9,500, but also exceeded it, eventually raising over $15,000 to bring \u201cNative Boy\u201d to the screen, Gulick said.<\/p>\n

Roosevelt, who described Camp Tecumseh as a \u201crough and tumble\u201d environment that fostered independence, said the experience initiated his desire to attend a boarding school, a preference reinforced by novels like\u00a0A Separate Peace<\/em>\u00a0and the film \u201cDead Poets Society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Influences from across his background have factored into the film, with varying degrees of impact, he said.\u00a0 His parents, Harry and Janice, have had pivotal roles in the process, and his brother, Ben, is the sound mixer for \u201cNative Boy.\u201d The film\u2019s production designer, Perry Mateson, \u201cis a girl I met in Honors English at Unionville high School,\u201d Roosevelt said.<\/p>\n

Some of the film\u2019s scenes were shot in East Marlborough Township, and others feature the Pocopson Home, where Roosevelt found \u201cgenuine acting talent in every corner.\u201d He said the residents and staff at the home were supportive and enthusiastic, and he \u201ccan\u2019t wait to show them a cut of the film.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gulick said the team worked efficiently with \u201cground-breaking, all-digital workflow\u201d and without cutting corners. As a result, a cast and crew of about 15 produced what would typically require 200, \u00a0an effort that promises \u201cto rewrite the status-quo of independent filmmaking,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Roosevelt said Lichter served as a particularly positive role model. \u201cIt\u2019s few and far between that you find a teacher that you really gravitate toward \u2026 At the time, at that age\u2026 it\u2019s hard to pinpoint why you respect someone, why you want to impress them, why you want to simply do well by them \u2013 Mr. Lichter was one of those people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He recalled that influence when he worked with his 10-year-old star, trying to strike a balance between warmth and authority. He said the shoots, which involved\u00a0early morning wake-ups, burning buildings, and frog-filled swamps, were often grueling. On the last day of filming, \u201cClay was sick. And with one final scene to shoot, I couldn\u2019t afford to have him miss it\u2026 I pushed him, a lot. \u00a0I\u2019m sure it\u2019s more a reflection of Clay\u2019s disposition, but he came through \u2013 amidst the pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roosevelt said the last thing he told him was \u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019ll\u00a0understand what you\u2019ve accomplished. You might not appreciate it until much later in life \u2013 but you did a hell of a job. One day, I hope, I think he will agree that the ends justified the means.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lichter said he had not seen Roosevelt in years and recently reconnected with him online after receiving an email from his mother. Reading Roosevelt\u2019s comments about the film on various websites had a time-traveling aspect, Lichter said, explaining that he recognized Roosevelt\u2019s distinctive voice. \u201cIt\u2019s like he\u2019s become a grown fifth-grader,\u201d Lichter said, adding that he \u201cwouldn\u2019t miss\u201d the film\u2019s premiere.<\/p>\n

Although Roosevelt has witnessed the celebrity milieu first-hand, he has no desire to pursue it. \u201cThis film, for me, on a personal level, reads as my disenchantment with that \u2026 and a personal effort to get back to that state of wide-eyed wonderment \u2013 where we are all boys, running around, chasing the sun,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Now his goal is to share that exuberance with as wide an audience as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody knows about us yet,\u201d said Gulick, adding that a distributor would be welcomed. \u201cWe hope to change that \u2026Small steps, big aspirations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ambler Theatre is located at 108 E. Butler Ave.,\u00a0Ambler, Pa., 19002. \u00a0For more information on the film, go to\u00a0http:\/\/nativeboyfilms.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NativeBoyFilms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Scenes from narrative short that debuts Saturday shot in area By Kathleen Brady Shea,\u00a0Managing Editor, The Times A penchant for forging lasting bonds that originated in Pocopson Township has led a 27-year-old filmmaker to premiere a short narrative film that he and his tight-knit production team hope will launch future projects. \u201cNative Boy,\u201d spearheaded by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,450,4],"tags":[2169,2170,2171,2172,2173,2174,2175,2176,2177,2178,2179,609,1150,2180],"class_list":["post-6576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-events-2","category-featured","tag-native-boy","tag-ambler","tag-ambler-theatre","tag-brad-gulick","tag-camp-tecumseh","tag-chasing-the-sun","tag-clay-story","tag-dave-lichter","tag-henry-roosevelt","tag-lawrenceville-school","tag-perry-mateson","tag-pocopson-home","tag-unionville-high","tag-unionville-chadds-ford-school-district"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}