Maddie Wins Best Williamsburg Short Award

Maddie wins the Best Williamsburg Short Award

The audience at the 11/16 screening of Maddie at the Wythe Hotel Cinema

Neil LaBute and Gia Crovatin both won awards for their short film, Good Luck (in Farsi)

Maddie won the Best Williamsburg Short Award at the 8th Annual Williamsburg Independent Film Festival in Brooklyn, NY last week. This was a total shock and completely unexpected.

I want to thank my talented cast and crew for your tremendous hard work and dedication. Without you, this film never would have been possible. It has been quite a journey ever since we started production back in the summer of 2016. I'm so honored and grateful to share this award with you.

Overall I was really impressed with WillFilm. The programming was strong and the organizers did a wonderful job of making us feel welcome. It was also great to meet Neil LaBute, who won the Best Screenplay Award for his short film, Good Luck (in Farsi). I would highly recommend this film festival and look forward to coming back.

Maddie Premieres in Brooklyn Tonight

Maddie premieres tonight in Brooklyn, in competition at the Williamsburg Independent Film Festival, where it all began for this project. Come out and support our talented cast and crew and share a drink with us. We hope to see you there!

Much Love,
Reuben

Thursday, 11/16, at 9:15 PM
Williamsburg Independent Film Festival
Wythe Hotel Cinema
80 Wythe Ave. at N. 11th Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11249
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here: https://willfilmtickets.brownpapertickets.com/

Interview with The Day Collective

Check out the full interview here

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT MADDIE AND WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START THIS PROJECT?

Maddie is a narrative short film inspired by a life-altering personal experience I had in NYC, that I wrote, directed, and produced.

WITHOUT GIVING TOO MUCH AWAY, WHAT IS MADDIE ABOUT?

Maddie shows how certain events can alter the course of the rest of your life. It’s a very real, raw, and honest human story. The central protagonist in Maddie is a strong, yet complex female character.

WHAT IS PERSONALLY MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU ABOUT THIS FILM?

The film is a very personal story that is close to my heart, and was inspired by actual events that I witnessed firsthand. The process of creating the film has been very therapeutic and taught me that anything is possible because making this film was an uphill battle most of the time. Bringing this project to life has really empowered me as a storyteller and filmmaker.

Maddie Screens at NewFilmmakers New York

BTS Photo by Jen Trahan

Maddie will screen at NewFilmmakers New York in the East Village next week:

Wednesday, 11/15, at 6 PM
Anthology Film Archives
32 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
Tickets are $7 (purchase at the box office) and include all screenings that night

Maddie trailer: 
https://reubenhernandez.com/maddie-trailer

Thanks for all your support and we hope to see you there.

New Studio Location

Our view. Photo by Daniel Castro

Reuben Hernandez Studios has moved into a new shared studio with our friends at Sky Pie Studio. We are located at 67 West St., just off of the East River in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. We love visitors so please stop by and say hi if you're in the neighborhood. We're in suite 504, on the same floor as The Greenpoint Loft, Ruby Bird Studio, and Colony Studios.

Storm King Art Center

Storm King Art Center, a picturesque 500 acre outdoor sculpture park, is one of my favorites places to visit and is only a short drive north of NYC. I highly recommend stopping by The Shops at Jones Farm for some goodies either before or after!

Acme Studios Llama Party

Some images with Pierre, the famous llama at the Acme Studios Llama Party with our friends at Skypie Studio. Acme Studios specializes in props and set design.

Thanks Acme Studios for hosting such a fun party!

Marina del Rey Film Festival

Thank you, Los Angeles and the Marina del Rey Film Festival. That was an incredibly special and unforgettable experience sharing my film, Maddie, with you on the big screen. A big thank you to everyone that came out and supported our film. I'm forever grateful and look forward to doing it again soon!

Tomorrow Maddie Premieres in LA

Tomorrow Maddie premieres in LA in competition at the Marina del Rey Film Festival and I'll be in attendance doing a Q&A afterwards. I just realized this is the first time one of my films will be projected on the big screen in Los Angeles. I grew up in Southern California, attended university in LA, and had no idea back then that I would become a filmmaker. Thanks for all your support and I hope to see you there!

AMC Classic Marina Marketplace
Wednesday, Oct 4th at 6:00 PM
Q&A afterwards by yours truly

Trailer: https://reubenhernandez.com/maddie-trailer
Tix: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sixth-annual-marina-del-rey-film-festival-tickets-37866102532

Maddie LA Premiere

I'm so excited for the LA premiere of my film Maddie next week at the Marina del Rey Film Festival. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into this film and many of you know that this is a very important, personal story that is near and dear to my heart. Please come out and support our talented cast and crew. We look forward to sharing it on the big screen out west and hope to see you there.

Trailer: https://reubenhernandez.com/maddie-trailer
Tix: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sixth-annual-marina-del-rey-film-festival-tickets-37866102532

AMC Classic Marina Marketplace
Wednesday, Oct 4th at 6:00 PM
Q&A afterwards by yours truly

BTS photos by Jen Trahan and Andrew Klein

Geometric Shapes

While Interviewing Cherie Blair last week, I looked out the window and saw this

Maddie Wins an Award of Merit

My film Maddie recently won an Award of Merit at the One-Reeler Short Film Competition and will have its LA premiere in competition at the Marina del Rey Film Festival.

Maddie will screen at the AMC theatre in Marina del Rey in October. Stay tuned for screening info and we look forward to sharing it on the big screen out west.

Matera, Italy

Matera is a town built into caves using negative architecture and one of the oldest and continuously inhabited human settlements in the world. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its underground cistern and water collection system. The main cistern has a water capacity of five million liters and took over 200 years to dig/carve out of the rock!

Puglia, Italy

First light at 6:30 AM

Grotta del Soffio

A fried egg jellyfish at Grotta del Soffio. The water was so clear!

Grotta della Poesia Grande

Some highlights from Puglia, Italy included endless underwater caves and swimming holes

Athens

Old stuff, since 495 B.C.

Meteora, Greece

Meteora, Greece is one of the most fascinating and spectacular places I have ever visited. It's a four hour drive north of Athens and has an incredibly rich history. Meteora translates as "suspended in the air".

Caves in Meteora were inhabited continuously between 50,000 and 5,000 years ago and the monks settled here in the 11th century. The monasteries were built in the 14th - 16th centuries and the monks found the inaccessible rock pillars an ideal refuge from the expanding Turkish occupation, and the area was also attacked by the Nazis during WWII. 

Today all of the monasteries pictured above are still functioning monasteries. I recommend ditching your car and exploring the region by foot. 

Elafónisos, Greece

Monemvasia, Greece

Big life moments that remain in the memory bank forever

(at Monemvasía, Greece)

Anguilla

Peace 🇦🇮  in Anguilla last month

(at Anguilla, British West Indies)

Maddie Film World Premiere

Maddie premieres tonight at Landmark Sunshine Cinema and I can hardly believe it.

Looking back at BTS photos from Day 1, I can’t help but get emotional. So much of this project felt like an uphill battle, and I can’t thank my talented cast and crew enough for all of their hard work and dedication.

Thank you all and see you tonight!

BTS Photos by Andrew Klein and Jen Trahan

(at Landmark Sunshine Cinema)