SIZE UP
(2020, Dir. Rigo Garay, 15 mins, SONY A7S)
cinematography by James Siewert.
featuring Jesse Schratz, Rigo Garay, Jose Useche,
Sean Mana, Matt Liqouri, Tatiana Montes.
After the senseless murder of this older brother,
an 11-year-old boy will discover what kind of a person he will grow to be.
watch the teaser below
and join us in the CineZone to see the film
SIZE UP is the directorial debut from Rigo Garay, Glass Eye Pix Filmworker
and actor in GEP’s CRUMB CATCHER, BLACKOUT and MISS MILLIE.
NOTES
I was rejected from all film schools. I didn’t even know what a C-stand was until finally stepping foot on a film set for a Glass Eye Pix flick (10 years ago this April). It finally came time to make my own short, and SIZE UP was my first rodeo in many regards. By this time, I had been at GEP for 4 years as Office Coordinator and on set as a PA, boom operator, swing, assistant editor, etc (GEP was my film school) and I made many friends along the way who rallied up and helped good ‘ol Rigo make his short. Chris Skotchdopole producing and editing, James Felix McKenney producing & ADing, Jesse LoCascio as AC, Ben Duff lit it, James Siewert shot the thing and a slew of interns including 2 new hires Matt Yturralde & Santiago Saba Salem as PAs and a fresh faced Luke LeCount who was hired during post. And of course, Fessenden producing and watching over everything.
The inspo for this movie came from stories about people mugged and killed for their Galaxy Foamposites. It’s terrifying to think that you could never see your loved one ever again because of a pair of ostentatious sneakers (ugly sneakers, if I’m being honest). I had pals trading war-stories about violence befalling them from the sneaker game. Stories like surviving a knife to the gut and robbed $400 cash from a Craigslist seller, or mugged out of your True Religion jeans, Burberry Tee and Jordans at gunpoint, walk home in your undies. It was all so surreal, I had to make it a movie.
Skotchdopole and I would talk through the script a lot. He suggested that I should play the villain “Lito”, who’s such a specific character, an amalgamation of riff-raffs & yahoos I’ve encountered growing up in Long Island. L.I. is a weird place, you can commit a B&E with a Juggalo and a Central American war criminal, then go to Sunday mass with your mother the next morning. I know this type of guy too well, I had no choice but to play him. A suburban, sociopathic, bully: The Long Island Kingpin.
The flick is littered with directorial mistakes, and I wear that as a badge of honor. This was my first assignment, my tryout. And like everyone’s first, there are hiccups that I take ownership of and I’m grateful that my collaborators (who are some of the most talented folks I know) allowed me to be stubborn, allowed me to LEARN. With all that being said, the one thing I knew I got right was the HEART of SIZE UP, hopefully it touches yours.
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