Locally shot ‘Dead Man Walking’ gets Youngstown premiere
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WHAT: Premiere of the film "Dead Man Walking"
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and 5:10 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The Playhouse Downtown, 220 W. Boardman St., Youngstown
HOW MUCH: : Tickets are $16 and are available online at youngstownplayhouse.ludus.com and by calling 330-788-8739.
ALSO: Mario Ricciardi's first film, "Midwest Sessions," will be shown at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $16 or $24 to see both films on Saturday.
Don't look for Mario Ricciardi's films on YouTube or Tubi.
The writer and director, who is a 2015 Cardinal Mooney High School graduate, prefers viewers to experience them in a theater rather than watched in 10-minute snippets on a cell phone.
His second film, "Dead Man Walking," will premiere this weekend with two screenings this weekend at The Playhouse Downtown in Youngstown, and Saturday's showing will be preceded by his first film, 2024's "Midwest Sessions."
Ricciardi describes his movies as science fiction, but not the kind of sci-fi with spaceships and futuristic sets and big-budget special effects. With "Midwest Sessions," Ricciardi said he was influenced more by the cerebral and fantastical stories of writers such as Rod Serling, creator of "The Twilight Zone," and David Lynch ("Twin Peaks," "Blue Velvet"). He takes a similar approach with "Dead Man Walking."
"The basic premise is we have this company man type character who’s been tasked with delivering these legal documents to a mysterious purchaser," he said. "He goes along his journey, and it’s more like a spiritual quest. He chooses to do it by foot. He runs into people from his past. He runs into moments of danger, and then he runs into maybe echoes of things to reflect on.
"As he goes through this journey and he makes his final decision, we find out that the documents in his briefcase, that seem a little mundane or banal, might be carrying bigger cosmic implications than he originally thought."
"Dead Man Walking" gave Ricciardi a chance to apply some of the lessons he learned on his first film. He tried to streamline the story and make it easier to follow while still including some of the weird and surreal elements that add color to the film.
He also wrote some of the roles with specific actors in mind that he worked with on "Midwest Sessions" on in local theater productions since its release. Ricciardi played Serling in Hopewell Theatre's "In the Zone with Rod Serling" and he directed "Almost, Maine" at Youngstown Playhouse.
Thomas Kushner wasn't in "Midwest Sessions," but only because he and his wife had moved out of the area. When they moved back, Ricciardi offered him the lead role and described his friend as a talented actor.
The rest of the cast includes Emelia Sherin, Brant Rothbauer, Jessica Buck, Devin DiPiero, McKenna Lago, Tom O’Donnell, DeShawn Scott, Richard Smiley, Bill Rees, Brenda Zyvith, Ken Miller and Terry Shears.
"Dead Man Walking" was shot over a year, depending on the availability of actors and locations, and he structured the screenplay to work with what he knew would be a fragmented shooting schedule.
"I find that it really helps to write a scene that’s maybe three or four pages, so it’s like three or four minutes (of screen time). We could rehearse, and an actor could come in for one, maybe two days and knock it out, and then that would be their contribution. It's not too demanding or asking too much of one individual person, except the main character, where it is going to ask a lot."
The movie was shot entirely in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, and locations included Boardman Lanes, Davis Motel in North Lima and St. Patrick Church in Youngstown.
Considering the budget limitations, Ricciardi is proud of the end result.
"There will be moments when they (the audience) see some of our shots, cinematography and lighting, and I think they'll be very impressed, because it punches above its weight class," he said. "In the same vein, so many minutes away from that shot or scene, there might be a scene where they could still see the seams. I think we're leaning into everything this area has to offer in terms of locations and the talented actors that we have around us."
Ricciardi decided to add a "Midwest Sessions" screening to the "Dead Man Walking" premiere because he still gets requests to see it from people who missed the public screenings. Ricciardi plans to submit "Dead Man Walking" to some film festivals, but the Friday and Saturday screenings may be the only opportunity to watch it for the foreseeable future.
"I want it to be an experience, so I've been intentionally holding onto these," he said. "Little screenings like this, I think that's a nice way (to see) a film with sort of a surrealistic vibe."