Hey everyone, I got me a trophy at the Arpa International Film Festival in LA. Vahik Pirhamzei won Breakthrough Performance award for playing Rafael, and Scott Yagemann and Vahik won Best Screenplay.
Here’s some pix:
Me with my shiny, transparent bestest director trophy.
Anthony Clark & Marc Fusco on red carpet of 'My Uncle Rafael' premiere
Malina Moye and Marc Fusco on the red carpet at 'My Uncle Rafael' premiere Hollywood
Marc Fusco & Vahik Pirhamzei on red carpet 'My Uncle Rafael' premiere Hollywood
Marc Fusco & Vahik Pirhamzei on red carpet 'My Uncle Rafael' premiere Hollywood
Scott Yagemann & Vahik Pirhamzei with awards at Arpa Int. Film Festival
Though it’s been a couple weeks, the first American/Armenian comedy in movie history is being unveiled. I like to say it’s putting on its make-up, shining its shoes, taking a deep breath, then…ta dah! Birth! Prom night, first date, first kiss, first time eating kabab… the cocoon is open damnit! As Rafael says… ‘Hoy hoy!’
And the best part–audiences are laughing! A lot! We are sneak-previewing, so if you or someone you know wants to see the film, shoot me an email.
My team and I have shown the film to a couple test audiences and both have given us great notes and validation that we have a pretty unique and funny comedy that peeps will wanna see. The most recent test screening was comprised of about 30 people of all walks of life/ethnicities, and I’m pleased to report that they were laughing quite a bit through the entire film, plus they responded positively to the story.
My writers Scott Yagemann and Vahik Pirhamzei should be psyched about that. It’s always hard to know exactly what dialog works and what doesn’t until your movie is playing in front of an audience. Favorite characters were Uncle Rafael and Hamo, both played by Vahik. And the best part…no one knew that he was playing both parts until the very end during a shot where he’s on screen as both characters for the first and only time. Our temp visual FX shot gave it away. Maybe it’s a good thing that people know as the end of the film, though. Not sure.
Well, I’m off to do another editorial pass and to lock picture in the next two weeks.
After a super fast 20 days, I wrapped principal photography on the comedy “My Uncle Rafael.” Shooting a studio-style script in such a short time was a feat yet barely possible with a great crew and super talented cast. John Michael Higgins, Missi Pyle, Anthony Clark, Rachel Blancherd, Vahik Pirhamzei, Joe Lo Truglio, Anahid Avanesian, and Lupe Ontiveros (to name a few) came to the project with their comedic game faces on. Allowing this cast to go off book was like Christmas morning every time. As I edit the picture, I am frequently paralyzed by choice and am thrilled to inform all of you that the film is turning out funnier than I imagined it would be, which is always the goal.
So it’s official, my next feature as a director/editor will be the comedy “My Uncle Rafael” starring the ‘Armenian Tyler Perry,’ Vahik Pirhamzei. The script was penned by Scott Yagemann (187) and Pirhamzei with a story based on characters created by Vahik from his wildly successful Armenian stage comedies “Mez Lavutyun Chi Yekel,” “Rafael Keri Gandzere” and “Rafael Keri Bartezeh.”
“My Uncle Rafael” is a feature film comedy about a beloved Armenian ‘Uncle’ Rafael, and his son Hamo, who are forced to work together on a surprise TV show. With Armenian flair, their mission is to save a marriage and an entire family from breaking up.
If the best of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” were mashed up with the best of “Diary of a Mad Black Woman”…you’d have “My Uncle Rafael.”
