A scene from INTERVENTION
The Bronx, 1968. In front of a dark, quiet, moon-lit street, Paul LoMedico sits in his parked Buick, holding a 38mm gun. He waits in anticipation, while loading his gun with bullets. A red Mustang pulls up to the opposite side of the street. His wife, Susan, slides out of the car, heading toward the front stoop. As her male friend follows behind her, Paul’s heart pounds as he raises the gun, drowning memories of their childhood romance, Italian-American family traditions, and his vow of “til death do us part”. He points the gun at the girl of his dreams. The expression on his face suggests his world is crumbling around him, and as he takes a deep breath . . . fate steps in.
This is a short intro-synopsis of an Italian-American movie Intervention. It is a slice-of-life story by award-winning filmmaker Anton Evangelista, featuring a cast of Bronx actors and residents, who lead the audience through an examination on the themes of loyalty, conflicting choices and redemption. The story focuses on the struggles of a young married couple in the Bronx of 1968.
Intervention is an intimate, family drama, that explores the choices we make in life, with a spiritual undertone and a universal theme that strikes a nerve. People will relate to what the families in the movie are experiencing, in finding solutions to move forward, and hope to get through adversity.
Intervention received its New York debut at the Quad Cinema, the premier art house movie theatre in New York City, as part of the N.I.C.E. (New Italian Cinema Events) Film Festival, in collaboration with MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), as the first Italian-American-made film in a festival dedicated to bringing new Italian films from Italy to the United States. Intervention also screened at various film festivals, including the prestigious Palm Beach International Film Festival, where it had its World Premiere, the Appalachian International Film Festival (“Jury Award for Best Film”), the Philadelphia Film and Video Festival (“Best Film,” “Best Drama”), Quintus Montreal Film Festival (“Best Cinematography”), and the Long Island International Film Expo (“Audience Award”).
Garry Marshall, director of Pretty Woman, Princess Diaries, and brother to Penny Marshall, said of the movie: “I was impressed with not just the story, but the lengths you went to in making this look like the Bronx of 1968”. Many baby boomers will especially enjoy the film, not only because of its accurate attention to detail, but also because the way in which the film portrays the family values inherent in that by-gone era.
Intervention is a dramatic feature film, with some strong language, but very mild by today’s standards.
16 Film Festivals Intervention screened in: ( * marks festivals won awards in)
- NEW ITALIAN CINEMA EVENTS (N.I.C.E.) Debut at Quad Cinema — premiere art house movie theatre in collaboration with MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)
- WESTCHESTER COUNTY FILM FESTIVAL
- DUPONT WILMINGTON DELAWARE FILM FESTIVAL
- PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
- FORT MYERS BEACH FILM FESTIVAL
- LONG ISLAND FILM EXPO * (Audience Award)
- APPALACHIAN FILM FESTIVAL * (Jury Award)
- PHILADELPHIA FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL * (Best Drama & Best Film)
- QUINTUS-MONTREAL ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL * (Best Cinematography)
- BIG BEAR LAKE FILM FESTIVAL (CA)
- BROOKLYN VIDEO FEST
- NEW HAMPSHIRE FILM EXPO
- BRENTWOOD FILM FESTIVAL (CA)
- BIG APPLE FILM FESTIVAL * (Honorable Mention)
- OCEAN CITY FILM FESTIVAL * (Grand Jury & Set Decoration)
- WESTWOOD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (CA)
