Filmmaker Screening of "Pete's Jeeps" and "Dream" at the Stissing Center
5 Questions with Filmmaker Matt Bartolomeo. A lifelong resident of Pine Plains, NY, Matt found a love of film and music at an early age, producing his first album, and short film by age 15. In 2024, Matt’s short film, Pete’s Jeeps, a short film on his father’s love of restoring WWII era Jeeps, would premiere at the Hudson Valley Film Festival. This autumn Matt will premiere his first feature film Dream.
Join us as we screen two of Matt’s films, “Pete’s Jeeps” and “Dream” on October 12th, at 7pm, tickets available at www.thestissingcenter.org.
1. Your early experiences in both film and music are quite unique, having produced your first album and short film by the age of 15. What inspired you to pursue both of these creative outlets at such a young age?
My mother and father were both very musical and into film. My father had a rock band with his brother Charlie, and their good friend Gary Keeler called Sole Distributor. Hearing those guys harmonizes and play ‘60s /‘70s tunes was a wonderful experience as a teenager growing up in the 1990s. When I showed interest in playing guitar with my friends Brian Adams and Dan Keeler, we were given lots of vintage music and recording gear by our aunts and uncles. Having that equipment was the best introduction to making, and recording music a teenager could ever have. Learning how to record music on reel to reel tape was a great starting point before recording in a studio with digital consoles just a few years later. My mother was the documentarian of the family, as was my grandfather, George Rosenquist. They would always have those big VHS camcorders slung over their shoulders, while we were all opening presents on Christmas day. The idea of capturing images with family and friends was always a unique thing to me, but when I was 13, I saw Star Wars for the first time at the Red Hook Lyceum. I was never a Star Wars kid, but that experience did for me what it does for every generation once they see that film. That made me want to make films, but it was George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead that made me realize anyone could do it. His team was made up of his close group of friends, and I realized as long as you have a group to collaborate with, anything’s possible. A year later I was stealing my mother’s camcorder and shooting a movie in town with Brian, Dan and the rest of our friends that we conned into joining us.
2. The Gospel Truth, your a cappella quartet with your father, performed extensively and even shared the stage with Cissy Houston and CeCe Winans. How did that father-son collaboration shape your approach to creativity and storytelling in your films?
My father and I were very close before he passed away, and music was the thing that formed our incredible bond. His approach in raising me, not only in standard father-like ways, but also creatively only elevated that connection. The Gospel Truth was such a unique period of my life. I was a teenager singing with my father, doing 70 shows within a four year period, and producing three records for the group. All of that happened through the collaboration of all involved. Myself, dad, Doug Shook, and George Frick; none of us tried to be “the leader”, but we all collaborated in ways that lifted one another up. It’s that all-involved mentality that works not only in film and music, but in any kind of organization.
3. Your short film “Chair” was featured in the 2004 Dutchess Community College Communications Festival, and in 2023 the New York Odyssey Film Festival honored your first feature film, Dream. How has your style and approach evolved from those early days to your recent work?
George Romero once told me to shoot as much footage from every angle as you can. You never know what you’ll pull from in post-production. On “Chair” I had one camera, four actors, and half a day to shoot what was to be a three minute short, with no chance of coming back to the location. I knew if I captured more angles than what I had storyboarded, I’d be safe in the editing room. I wound up with 60 minutes of footage to choose from. On “Dream”, which is 85 minutes in total runtime, I shot 20 hours of material while still working within actor’s schedules. That kind of approach has allowed me to recut and restructure scenes in ways I would have never been able to do had I just stuck to a strict schedule. Also, the technology has advanced in ways I never could have imagined back in 2004. Today we’re shooting in 4K and 8K and editing in Final Cut, Premiere, and AfterEffects. These are incredible tools that allow you, as an editor, to move faster and come up with things beyond what was in the script. There’s also the ability to use AI which is interesting to me. I know a lot of people are worried about it, but I see it as another tool if used responsibly. And we are!
4. Your short film Pete’s Jeeps is a personal tribute to your father’s passion for restoring WWII era Jeeps. What was the process of creating this film like, and how do you think it resonates with audiences who may not know your father’s story?
Many people who knew my father knew him through his locally owned business Cold Energy Refrigeration. He built that business from the ground up like he built our log cabin home on Stissing Mountain. While he had a huge love for music, he also had a side hobby of restoring WWII era Jeeps. I have a lot of great memories in the garage with him sandblasting rusted metal parts that he’d eventually add to his final restored Jeeps. The “Desert Rat” was his favorite, and the one seen in the film. I’d come home from work, and he’d already have it ready for us to drive around Stissing Lake with. There’s nothing like gassing up a 1946 CJ2A at Stewarts alongside a Prius. We would often take these joyrides into town, and I quickly realized how unique it would be to capture it on film as nothing lasts for ever. For me, what I love about Pete’s Jeeps is the idea that someone with no formal training can do something as unique as restore a Jeep. The message couldn’t be any clearer; get off the cellphone and find a hobby to be passionate about.
5. Your upcoming thriller Dream features local actors from Pine Plains, Millerton, and Red Hook. What was it like working with talent from your hometown, and how did the community influence the film’s production?
The cast of Dream are near and dear to my heart. These are people who believed in the project and gave me their time to turn the project into a reality. They’re a mixture of all walks of life. Guys and gals who are deeply split with beliefs and political views, yet we all came together with a common ground to make a fun, and ambitious film. Like the community around us, the film focuses on a group of people with different backgrounds coming together to face challenges that can only be accomplished together. Its that kind of collaboration that I love, and the kind I feel the Stissing Center is bringing with events like the one we are about to host.
Tickets available at www.thestissingcenter.org
