To attendees of last week’s Hoboken International Film Festival, it might come as no surprise that the film Lily received two nominations and an award for Best Short Film.
The imaginative project effortlessly blurs the line between reality and fiction, and features a star cast including Peter Facinelli (Can’t Hardly Wait, The Big Kahuna, Riding in Cars With Boys) and Maggie McOmie (featured in George Lucas’ THX 1138).
The short also received a nod from film great Oliver Stone, who called it “intriguing.” Stone said, “In a boldly surreal film, Daniel Boneville confidently directs the actors, the camera, and the story, while showing his potential as a fine young director.”
The production team of Lily includes director Boneville; producer/sound editor Louis Auguste; associate producer Ryan Knowles; associate producer/graphic artist and former Jersey City resident Justin Knowles; Jeremy Larkin, and others. They have put together a film that looks every bit as good as studio productions.
The film
The film is an intricately woven tale about the price of love, the loss of innocence, and the pivotal moments during one’s life that change the course of the future. It opens with a beautiful woman in white walking along the beach. The director skillfully cuts between the bright blue crashing waves and the washed up debris on the sand, which immediately builds tension as a mysterious man approaches the woman.
Throughout the film, there is heavy symbolism in the sequences, which add to the mystery of the story – including iconic religious symbols and the dramatic use of both color and black and white.
The narrative is told through a series of metaphoric symbols and the layered sounds, recalling films by David Lynch or Stanley Kubrick.
It comes together in the fine acting of the cast, particularly well-known Facinelli, who brings layers of emotion to his character. His open face is a canvas that emotions wash over. He easily conveys the obsession of a man who longs to see his mother once again.
The elusive McOmie is perfect in a dual role of the Lady/Old woman, who is tormented by events that she can’t quite control.
The mysterious stranger (played by a chilling John Klemantaski) offers a chance for mother and son to be reunited, yet carries a terrible price.
Behind-the-scenes
Boneville, a class of 2000 graduate of Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, had the good fortune to work under Stone, where he was invited to work in California at the studio of the prestigious director.
During that time, he also assisted actor Facinelli, who encouraged Boneville to pursue directing. After viewing work by Boneville, Facinelli agreed to star in Lily, which was filmed during the summer of 2005 and cut in December of 2006.
Queens-born Facinelli, who now lives in LA, was able to make it out for the awards ceremony in Hoboken last week. Facinelli is currently working on a new series Damages with Glenn Close that is due to be aired on FX in mid-July.
During a recent interview, Facinelli said that he was impressed with Boneville’s work, citing it as having “good detail and visually stunning.”
“I had a blast working with [Boneville],” said Facinelli. “I did nothing. He did everything.”
According to Facinelli, an original 20-minute short that had no dialogue convinced him of Boneville’s talent. Facinelli said that there was an image of a guy coming out of the water shackled.
“I told him that he needed to move on to something else,” said Facinelli. “He’s so meticulous. He spends a lot of time editing. I said, ‘Write something else. I’ll be in something else.’ ”
The next script Facinelli looked at by Boneville was Lily, which was co-written by Boneville and John Brennan. According to Facinelli, it was a good experience working with his former assistant.
“You know that you are getting good pieces when working with Dan. I knew working with him was something special,” said Facinelli.
Facinelli said that he enjoyed the whole experience of filming Lily, but said, “I have to say that my favorite scene was in the white room.”
New talent
After the awards ceremony, Boneville said that he was thrilled with the award, yet is steadily working toward other projects. In addition to co-writing and directing, Boneville also created the music for the film.
He is already working on his next film, which will be a feature.
Although noted for the stylistic work in Lily, Boneville plans to branch out to other genres.
“I feel like I’m at a point in my life where it’s important to tell more personal stories,” said Boneville. “Now I need to take what I’ve learned from Lily and make movies that are more reachable, not so abstract.”
In addition, to his new film, Boneville also is waiting for the results of other film festivals including: Hamptons’ Film Festival, Las Vegas International, Hawaii International, Edinburgh International, and Hollywood Film Festival, among others.
For his next film, Boneville plans to film in New York. Although he wouldn’t go into specifics about what the next film would entail, he did say that it would be a more realistic film rather than abstract.
“It’s always going to be unique,” said Boneville. “It will always have my stamp, but it’s a matter of applying a relatable story as far as narrative.”
If Boneville’s work on Lily is any indication, it seems certain that he will have success with his storytelling no matter what genre.
As director, Boneville deftly moves between the beautiful imagery and the gritty, damaged wreckage of life.
Whether or not you fully understand all the symbolism in Lily, it will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
For more information on Lily, visit: IMDB.com or www.myspace.com/lilythemovie. Comments on this piece can be sent to: current@hudsonreporter.com.