Nicholas Taboni is a senior at Canisius High School in Buffalo, NY. When he's not busy working on films he is a variety runner and captain of the cross country team. Nick is also involved in numerous clubs and service activities throughout the year. His film 'The Box' s was recently awarded the 'Spirit of Serling' award in the 2016 Rod Serling Film Festival. He took some time to share his thoughts on the Festival with us:
What is your film about? Can you summarize it in a few sentences?
"The Box" is about Faheem Kaleel, a Muslim teenager, who is subject to stereotyping classmates. All he wanted to do is grab his box and bring it to the bus stop.
How did you come up with the idea for your film? I knew I wanted to focus on racial stereotyping in my film. I was on a run one day and had stopped at the corner. Right before I started back up I saw a man of middle eastern decent drive up to the red light and the idea popped right in my head.
Can you talk about your approach to the script and technical elements you used? For my script I wanted short lines and a large focus on the movements of Faheem. As I wrote the script I wanted to pull on the minds of the audience and have some relation to everyone. I also wanted to use the natural lighting of the day in order to make it feel as you are with the character.
Thank you for sharing your film with WSKG! How did you hear about the Rod Serling Film Festival? I heard about the Rod Serling Film Festival through my filmmaking class at Canisius High School.
Which part of this filmmaking experience did you enjoy the most?
My favorite part of the filmmaking experience is getting the film going. The script writing and planning is necessary but it is much for fun to get around the camera and let the movie happen.
Is there anything else you'd like to share? I would just like to thank everyone involved in creating this film. I would like to thank my film teacher for giving me the opportunity to compete in this contest.
https://youtu.be/yBe_GjKVLiEThe 2016 Rod Serling Film Festival will be held at the Art Mission & Theater on October 16, 2016 and all winning selections can be found here.