Filmmaker Statement

The impetus for Five Families was mainly my maternal grandfather, who while not a career criminal by any stretch, was possessed by a selflessness and compassion, especially for his children and his grandchildren, that only increased as he got older. While studying acting with my teacher Jack Waltzer, I met Barry Primus and David Proval and the idea for Five Families began to form around that time. I approached this short much differently than other shorts I’ve made in the past, which if I’m being honest I tended to rush along into production. With this project Barry and I spent about a year working on the character, discussing his backstory and motivations, and allowing Frank to reveal himself. Having that time to work properly was invaluable. The result, I hope, is a layered narrative that gives a sense of who these people are today, who they were at a time when figures such as Frank and Benny were thriving, and the way certain divisions of law and order have become delineated, or in the case of the film, entirely reversed.