A Double Header: "Cleaning House" & "Patrimony" Go to the Woods Hole Film Festival

"Cleaning House", my last film made as a student, and "Patrimony", the first project I produced outside of school with Writer/Director, Donald Marcus, starring Robert Vaughn of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. fame and Tony Award nominee Melissa Errico will play in separate blocks of shorts at the Woods Hole Film Festival to independently SOLD OUT crowds on 8/1 and 8/3 respectively. Check out this thoughtfully composed video interview posted in the Falmouth Patch and the Waltham Patch by Chris Collora, a NY-based reporter who kindly took the time to interview me after "Cleaning House" screened at the Long Island International Film Expo. No food–I know, but how could I not share this with you.



Cleaning House as reviewed by Reel Salazars:

“[A] moving, perfectly shot drama about a mother and daughter who come together after the grandmother's funeral to settle their differences. The performances are pitch perfect. During a 5 minute monologue in which one the characters reveals harsh information about her past, Giarrusso makes a gutsy decision and it pays off in spades. The camera stays static in a two shot, enabling the actor the opportunity to connect the audience to her story. No flashbacks, no cutaways, etc. Giarrusso clearly trusts her actor to tell the story and it makes the moment all the more memorable because not only does the audience believe the performances, but he/she also feels that the director respects the viewerʼs sensitivity.”

www.reelsalazars.blogspot.com

Tutto Italiano Video on Perfunkt.com

Tutto Italiano: Bread Baking is being featured in the active "Bread" category on perfunkt.com's website, a site "on a never-ending quest towards perfect methods, techniques and results." Check it out here.

The Boston Athenæum

Not as food-based, but a cultural icon nonetheless, The Boston Athenæum, located at 10 1/2 Beacon St. has been a Bostonian institution for over 200 years. With a gallery and an extensive calendar of events open to the public as well as a multitude of additional benefits for their members, this beautiful membership library sought the help of Boston University's Center for Digital Imaging Art's Practicum program to create video content introducing the public to The Boston Athenæum's varied offerings. As producer of this video, shot entirely on the Sony EX-1, I lead a small film team from consultation to completion of the video you see below. Our goal was to introduce the organization to the public, highlighting the varied benefits of membership in this longstanding and multi-faceted institution. Enjoy!


The Boston Athenæum from Catherine Giarrusso on Vimeo.

Credits:
Catherine Giarrusso, Producer
Mike Moore, Director of Photography
Gordon Woolfrey, Assistant Camera
Tom Lawrenson, Sound Recordist, Editor
Greg Croteau, Advisor

"Goat Meat, Three Ways" for The Atlantic

From the mind of Anastacia Marx de Salcedo comes this three part series on provisioning goat meat in Massachusetts. Together with her, my crew and I journeyed to and documented a visit to Chestnut Farms in Hardwick, MA. Then we came back east to Cambridge where we filmed a whole goat being butchered by hand at Formaggio Kitchen, and we finished by frequenting Foodland, a Bangladeshi and Indian store, where customers can buy goat meet slaughtered according to the rules of Halal. This series was recently published online by The Atlantic Monthly complete with an informative article written by Anastacia containing recipes provided by Formaggio Kitchen.


Get a taste here with the second video in the series filmed on location at Formaggio Kitchen: Warning: Not suitable for Vegetarians!


Credits:
Anastacia Marx de Salcedo, Producer, Director, Host
Catherine Giarrusso, Sound Recorder, Editor
Ana Traynin, Camera Operator
Ben Reichman, Gaffer

The FARM Institute Short Documentary

Back in the Fall of 2009, after the first month of my film education, I produced, and edited this short documentary on The FARM Institute as part of my first film project at the Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University. Located on the island of Martha's Vineyard, The FARM Institute is a fully functioning vegetable and livestock farm which runs year-round educational programming for children and adults of all ages. The video, shot on the Sony EX-1, is intended to highlight the benefits of place-based education while also taking a closer look at the daily activities on the FARM.


The FARM Institute Documentary (w/o Soundtrack) from Catherine Giarrusso on Vimeo.

Credits:
Catherine Giarrusso, Producer, Editor
Aaron Tobin, Camera Operator
Amber Pettengill, Camera Operator
Tom Lawrenson, Sound Recorder

Angelo Locilento Cooking Demo: Cotechino con Lenticchie

Another in the series I produced and directed for Tutto Italiano, the Italian specialty food purveyor and importer based out of Hyde Park, Massachusetts, this video features proprietor Angelo Locilento cooking the traditional Northern Italian holiday dish: Cotechino con Lenticchie. Angelo is known to host in-store cooking demos like this one–free to the public–in order to share his culinary heritage. The video was shot on the Sony EX-1.

Click here to see the video as it appears on Tutto Italiano's website.

Tutto Italiano: Cotechino con Lenticchie from Catherine Giarrusso on Vimeo.

Credits:
Catherine Giarrusso, Producer, Director
Bryan Roberts, Director of Photography, Colorist
Desi Washington, Sound Recorder
JJ Rok, Editor