Lighthouse International Film Festival

Lighthouse International Film Festival was an incredible experience and is hands down one of my favorite film festivals. I had the opportunity to meet and learn from Guy Nattiv, Oscar winning director of Skin, and numerous other talented filmmakers and industry people. Some friends and fellow Filmshop members screened at LIFF and it was fun seeing so many familiar faces. My family also enjoyed attending the festival and my 8 month old daughter ate lobster for the first time, thanks to Charlotte and the rest of the crew at the hospitality house. I highly recommend the festival and will definitely be coming back. Thanks to the entire team at Lighthouse Intl FF for such a memorable and wonderful experience!

Q&A with Guy Nattiv, writer/director of the opening feature film, Skin, and some cast members

I met Guy Nattiv and attended his filmmaking masterclass. Guy won the Oscar this year for best live action short film for his short, Skin.

My 8 month old daughter Leuca enjoying the view and lobster at the filmmaker hospitality house

Q&A following the screening of my short film, Settling Up. Photo by Clayton Dean Smith

Lisa and I in front of the Long Beach Island Historical Museum

Congrats to all of my fellow Filmshop members that screened at LIFF!

Settling Up Film Premiere Sunday June 9th

My narrative short film Settling Up will premiere Sunday, June 9th, at 1:30 pm at Long Beach Island Historical Museum (129 Engleside Avenue, Beach Haven, NJ 08008, USA) in competition at Lighthouse International Film Festival, one of MovieMaker’s “Coolest 25 Film Festivals in the World”. Settling Up will also screen alongside Filmshop short films If the Shoe Fits by Cinder Chou and Self(Ish) by Dani Tennenbaum. Oscar winner Guy Nattiv will open the festival with his narrative feature film, Skin, and Sundance documentary American Factory will close the festival.

Check out the full program here and schedule here. We are so excited to screen at LIFF and hope to see you there!

Favorite Patient Film Wrapped

We just wrapped the latest narrative short film I directed starring Barbara Miluski and Isabelle Pierre. We were fortunate to have Jackson Eagan as the director of photography, and this was very much a Filmshop collaboration. Hats off to our talented and hard working cast and crew. Below are some behind the scenes photos by Monica Kapoor and we look forward to sharing our film soon. Stay tuned…

Settling Up Film Festival Premiere at Lighthouse International Film Festival

I’m excited to announce my latest short film, Settling Up, will have its film festival premiere at Lighthouse International Film Festival, one of MovieMaker’s “Coolest 25 Film Festivals in the World.” The festival will take place June 6-9 on Long Beach Island and stay tuned for screening info. Thanks to our cast and crew for all of your hard work and we hope to see you there!

Directed by Reuben Hernandez
Written by Brady Evan Walker
Produced by Reuben Hernandez, Maryann Alspaugh, and Brady Evan Walker
Production Sound Mixer and Sound Design by Ash Knowlton / Silver Sound
Edited and colored by Patrice D. Bowman
Made in collaboration with the Filmshop collective

Filmshop Presents Unfinished Business

This past spring season I was accepted as a member of the Filmshop collective, a supportive community of filmmakers that regularly collaborate, workshop, and provide constructive feedback on works in progress on a weekly basis. Filmshop members actively support each other to help bring each other’s projects to life. Filmmaking can sometimes feel isolating, so joining a likeminded community of creatives has been one of the best things for my professional growth. It has forced me to do more and work on passion projects more regularly. Each week we share a creative goal and try to hold each other accountable on a consistent basis. This has been one of my most productive seasons as a filmmaker, and being part of the Filmshop community is one of the best ways to get a film completed. There are a tremendous amount of resources available through Filmshop.

This upcoming Saturday, July 21st at 7 pm, is Filmshop's yearly showcase of short films at Rough Trade NYC in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The latest film that I directed will screen this Saturday along with other Filmshop films on the big screen. Our film was written by Brady Evan Walker, and edited and colored by Patrice D. Bowman, so it is truly a collaborative Filmshop effort. Our lead, Jonathan Randell Silver, played the lead in a Sundance short film this year and it was a joy to work with him along with the rest of our cast and crew. Some behind the scenes photos are below. We look forward to sharing our new film with you on the big screen! Tickets can be purchased in advance here, and use code "Filmshop" for 20% off.

If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming a Filmshop member, we are hosting an open house for prospective members tonight from 7 - 9 pm (Monday 7/16) at the Made in NY Media Center by IFP (30 John Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201) in Dumbo. Applications for the 2018 fall season are due next Monday, 7/23 and can be found here.

In other news, I am also in the middle of developing an exciting and immersive virtual reality project that I have workshopped at Filmshop. My team and I are currently applying for grants and will hopefully have some news to share soon. More on that later...

BTS photo by Nikolai Basarich

BTS photo by Nikolai Basarich

BTS photo by Lars Fuchs

BTS photo by Lars Fuchs

Maddie Trailer

Maddie World Premiere

I’m excited to announce that my short film, Maddie, will have its world premiere at Landmark Sunshine Cinema on Tuesday, May 30th, at 9:55 pm in competition at the NY International Short Film Festival.

Tickets (Maddie screens in program 3): nyshortsfest.com/ny/content.asp?PageID=10

Our cast and crew did a remarkable job on this film and we can’t wait to share it with you on the big screen. We hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Reuben

2016 A Year in Review

2016 A Year in Review

As I write this, it’s hard to believe that I’m approaching my six year anniversary of living in NYC.

2016 was an interesting year, to say the least. A lot of people can’t wait for it to be over. I learned a thing or two and some memorable experiences include:

Antarctica premiered in NYC earlier this year and screened at a handful of film festivals.

Beauty, Balance, and Grace premiered in Paris, France.

I had the opportunity to film Bono this year for a PSA for the Red Nose Day campaign. Spike Jonze randomly showed up and then thanked me for allowing him to help out. It was surreal. Bono and his crew were so gracious and kind and it was truly a pleasure to work with them. I’ve looked up to Bono for many years so it was such an honor to meet him.

This year I wrote and directed my first narrative short film, Maddie, that will premiere next year. I’m so thankful for my talented cast and crew that worked so hard on this project and gave so much. Writing is a new creative process for me, and I’ve learned that I can do it even out of necessity. It was an empowering experience to own a project completely from start to finish, and to learn firsthand that anything is possible. So many elements of this film seemed impossible and daunting at first, but we somehow pulled it off. People helped out from near and far and I’m truly grateful for all the support. We look forward to sharing Maddie on the big screen in 2017 so stay tuned for upcoming screenings.

I spent two months abroad in Europe this summer, working on post production for Maddie and recovering. Production on Maddie gave me a serious ass kicking so it was a much needed breath of fresh air to spend the summer away from NYC. 

One of my major takeaways from 2016 is that if you have a creative vision/idea that you believe in, then you just need to go for it and figure it out along the way. Some people thought that making Maddie would not be possible, but deep down I believed in my vision and was absolutely determined to see it through. I also learned a hell of a lot along the way, which will be invaluable.

See you next year.

All My Best,
Reuben


 

My film Maddie is finally complete and has been submitted to Sundance & SXSW! It has been quite the journey… Huge thanks to my talented cast and crew and everyone that helped along the way. I can’t wait to share it with you on the big screen. Much love✌

Photo caption: Working on the final sound mix with our sound designer, Isilay

Tomorrow

There are so many emotions running through my head right now, mainly of relief and excitement. I just received an email from the NYC Mayor’s office of Film that my shooting permit has been approved for a very exciting stunt sequence that we will film tomorrow. I literally screamed with uncontrollable joy into the phone while talking to my friend Evan. Sorry about that Evan! Long story short, I’ll be directing a narrative short film starting tomorrow that I’ve written and have been working on since March.

This will probably be one of my biggest projects to date. I’ve never worked so hard before in my entire life, and have enjoyed and learned immensely every step along the way.

I haven’t come this far by myself. I owe tremendous thanks and gratitude to my talented cast and crew, and every single person near and far that has helped in some form or another along the way. I could never do this without you. I sincerely love and thank you all (literal tear, tear).

We will do our best to do this story justice, and hopefully bring it to the big screen somewhere near you in 2017. Wish us luck and send us good vibes, we’ll need it :)

Gotta run and make a movie…

Peace and Love,
Reuben

ANTARCTICA | Brooklyn Short Film Festival

ANTARCTICA | Brooklyn Short Film Festival

I’m excited to announce my film, Antarctica, will be screening at the Brooklyn Short Film Festival next Thursday, June 16th at 7:30 pm at the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn! The programmers tell us the screening will definitely sell out so be sure to get your tickets early.

Tix/info:
https://brooklynshorts.ticketleap.com/2016-brooklyn-short-film-festival-b/

Trailer:
https://vimeo.com/161488191

I hope to see you there!

Warmly,
Reuben

making a movie

I’m 3 months into making my short film, knee deep in preproduction with casting, meetings, trying to coordinate a complicated stunt on the streets of NYC, and a whole list of other things. I’m all in pouring my heart and soul into this project, switched to 7 day workweeks, and forget to eat lunch sometimes. Despite feeling overwhelmed and alone at times, I also feel empowered and able to bring this project to life in a beautiful and compelling way. So many people have been supportive, generous, and willing to help, even strangers (friends of friends of friends of friends of friends, etc.) that don’t even know me. I can’t thank you enough. And I’m learning something new and growing every moment along the way. I absolutely love it and I’m beyond grateful.

I’m blown away by the hundreds of actors that have responded to my casting call. Thank you! I wish I could audition every single one of you, but that is impossible. The amount of talent/passion/dedication/hard work out there is truly remarkable. Keep kicking ass. You inspire me.

I have high hopes for this film and am working towards completing it in time for the Sundance Film Festival deadline in September. If all goes to plan, principle photography should commence in 3-4 weeks (OMG!)!!

Shit is getting real, real fast. Stay tuned folks…

Much Love,
Reuben

BEAUTY, BALANCE, AND GRACE | World Premiere in Paris, France

My film Beauty, Balance, and Grace featuring JR and NYC Ballet principal dancer Lauren Lovette, will premiere at the Paris Short Film Festival in Paris, France on 5.5.16 at 10 PM. I’m very excited to take this film out into the world and hope you can join me at the Paris screening in a few weeks!

Tickets and info here: http://www.psff.eu

Trailer coming soon…

Join me next week for the world premiere of my film, ANTARCTICA, screening at the NYC Independent Film Festival on Wednesday, April 27th at 4:15 pm.

Trailer: http://reubenhernandez.com/antarctica-trailer

Tickets and info: https://www.nycindieff.com/session/art-experimental-films-sessions-1

I look forward to seeing you there!

How to Quit Your Job

Check out this fun 30 sec sketch video I directed :)

Improv + the 21st Century: http://www.lapertoso.com/when

Directed and edited by Reuben Hernandez
Created by Lisa Pertoso
Produced by Lisa Pertoso and Reuben Hernandez
Featuring Poppy, Philip Markle, and Star
Additional Cinematography & Studio provided by Daniel Castro

Our short film, Across the Pond, a finalist for Tropfest NY 2013, the world’s largest short film festival.

Last Saturday our film premiered in front of tens of thousands of people and it was an incredible, surreal, unforgettable experience. It will go down as one of my most memorable moments in NYC. Liev Schreiber was the host and some of the judges included Malcolm Gladwell and Academy Award winning producer, Fisher Stevens (The Cove). It was an honor to be a part of such a large festival and share the stage with a talented group of filmmakers. One of the highlights for me was meeting Malcolm Gladwell, my favorite author!

We are incredibly happy to announce that our short film, Across the Pond, has been selected as a finalist for Tropfest NY, the world’s largest short film festival! Join us at Prospect Park on Saturday, June 22, to see it on the big screen along with 40,000 people. Liev Schreiber will be hosting and the judges include Malcolm Gladwell and Academy Award winning producer Fisher Stevens (The Cove). Tickets are free and are available here: http://tropfestnewyork2013.eventbrite.com/.

Official press release:
http://tropfest.com/ny/files/2013/06/Tropfest-Finalist-release-FINAL-1.pdf

A short film by Casey Neistat for Nike

Casey Neistat spent Nike’s ad budget on a trip around the world. Such a fantastic idea.

The opening title cards read, “Nike asked me to make a movie about what it means to #makeitcount. Instead of making their movie I spent the entire budget traveling around the world with my friend Max. We’d keep going until the money ran out. It took 10 days.”