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5 Questions with Jordan Tetewsky and Joshua Pikovsky ("Sharon 66")

1) What have you been up to since we last spoke for "Bergmensch" earlier this year?

We completed Sharon 66, our first Christmas story, as well as another short film starring Hannah Lee Thompson. We’ve also been finishing up a script for a feature film we plan to shoot this summer. The feature will also be shot in Sharon but it won’t be titled Sharon 66.

2) What was the initial idea for this project and how did it evolve from there?

Jordan: I had a dream where I watched Buffalo 66. I haven’t actually seen the film yet, but this is what I imagined Buffalo 66 to be like. But in my dream. There were other circumstances that contributed to this very audacious, vulnerable, and bold piece. We just wanted to make something, raw, real-- just a very punishing sort of piece, very true to life. Kind of like Good Time. That was another dream I had.

Josh: The initial idea for the project came from a conversation about a series of dreams Jordan had. He described them to me over the phone. The details were pretty hard to follow, and as he rambled on and on, I had a script idea about two guys named Jordan and Josh who had no hope of achieving their artistic dreams.

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And the easiest part?

Jordan: The easiest part- getting into the groove with old friends. And then immediately losing the groove. My father is a wonderful actor though. Really loved having Jake Stern, Holeminer, and Jeremy on this one as well. Wish the Gray Man came through though. Dude was a raw, real, and punishing experience. Many lectures, and many that could have been way shorter. And all for nothing. Came to set, and left, expecting us to follow, as if he was the leader. Didn’t realize the dynamic was flipped. Also wanted final editing privileges. Crazy guy,
I tell ya! Love him though. He will be in the summer feature as well.

Josh: This was a brutal shoot, so it’s hard to narrow down. It was so cold during some of the scenes, and Jordan didn’t want anyone wearing gloves or hats because they didn’t ‘pop’ on camera. That was tough. Afterward, he actually ended up using Blender and Roto-techniques to track in CGI hats and gloves anyway. I guess he realized it didn’t make sense to have characters not wearing them in the dead of winter. Wish he had thought of this ahead of time. Could have been a lot more comfortable. But thank god images can be fixed in post-production.

4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?

Jordan: I keep watching our last short Bergmensch, wishing that Kelly Reichardt would watch it and love it. I keep trying to get Bergmensch on The Criterion Channel streaming platform. The world will not be
hearing of me watching movies, until this happens.

Josh: Watched Nicholas Roeg’s Eureka recently. Very underrated, except for that snake scene. You know the one I’m talking about.

5) What’s next for you?

The summer feature. If it doesn’t get Bartleby’d into a short like the last one. We’ll be casting more recognizable names, like Paul Southard, who is probably the most well-known actor to come out of the
Sharon film scene. We’ve considered expanding to non-Sharon actors, but it seems like a risky move. As usual, Michael Oshins of Content Noir will be on board for this next project. Mike has been a steady
and supportive patron of our work over the years, and he continues to exert a powerful psychological influence over us as we move into a new and unpalatable artistic direction.

https://vimeo.com/jordantetewsky | Twitter: @JordanTetewsky | Instagram: @jordan_tetewsky