Acorn columnist shops his new movie at the Sundance Film Festival
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

THE PLAYERS- From left, Michael Picarella with actor Brian Napolitan and production manager Curtis Dinsmore at the Sundance Film Festival where they were promoting their feature film "Punchcard Player."

Acorn columnist and former reporter Michael Picarella recently completed his third feature film, "Punchcard Player," and attended the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in order to make VIP contacts.

"Punchcard Player" is a dramatic comedy about a young man who works six jobs at once to live up to the expectations of his family and friends. The movie is a commentary about the madness of consumerism in America, said Picarella, who writes The Acorn's "Family Men Don't Wear Name Brands."

"Our intention was to go there and meet those people and other filmmakers who can help us in the future," he said.

Picarella met plenty of people at the famous festival, including composers, writers, directors and producers. "It was a huge networking scene," he said. "Distributors are out there looking for films." Picarella and his friends are, not coincidentally, looking for a distributor.

"Punchcard Player" was written and directed by Picarella. Steven Napolitan, who heads Napolitan Productions, produced and edited the film, and his brother Brian Napolitan stars as the worker dedicated to impressing family and friends with the fruits of his labor.

Picarella said that although his film wasn't ready for a January showing at the Sundance festival, he met many influential industry insiders, including independent filmmaker Justin Lin. "That was one of the highlights for me," Picarella said. "I admire him as an independent director."

Contacts were also forged with Luc Besson, the writer and director of "Le Femme Nikita" and "The Fifth Element."

"Besson did a movie we saw there- 'Angel-a,' which was an excellent film," Picarella said.

He also appreciated meeting Zoe Cassavetes, daughter of famed filmmaker John Cassavetes, who was showing her movie, "Broken English," at the festival.

Just being in the same screening room with Martin Scorsese was a thrill for Picarella. "If I could have met him, that would have been huge," he said. "Of all the filmmakers, he is my favorite."

"Punchcard Player" was completed in December. Picarella and his colleagues are now shopping for a producer's representative to help them locate potential distributors. "It's a lengthy process," he said.

"As far as our movie, meeting festival directors and networking- that was our biggest achievement," Picarella said.

To learn more about "Punchcard Player," which cost $175,000 to produce, visit www.punchcardplayer.com.