Film student Christian Schifano’s short film, On Point, will be made into a feature film.
The short, which had its world premiere at the Mammoth Film Festival in early March, follows Amy and Natalie on a summer night in Harlem. As they wait for an Uber to go to a party downtown, Amy enters a bodega to buy a vape where she is suddenly interrupted by a man who feels he has a point to prove.
The feature, which Schifano will also write and direct, will tell an expanded version of the story for the big screen. Actors Taliah Webster (Good Time) and Sam Dillon (Boyhood), who also star in the short, will return to work on the feature-length version of Schifano’s crime thriller.
“Working with Sam, Taliah, and Alaina is a really exciting opportunity for me. Knowing that they have worked with some of my favorite directors such as Richard Linklater, the Coen brothers, Spike Jonze, and the Safdie brothers is an honor and will challenge me to bring out the best in everyone including myself,” Schifano told Variety. Schifano went on to detail how important rehearsals were for the short film as a one-take, which requires the actors to treat it like a live-performance theater production rather than the start-and-stop nature of a typical film that relies on many takes to create the final cut.
Christian Schifano is an Italian-American director based between New York City and London. He is currently in his second year at Columbia University where he is pursuing an MFA in Screenwriting and Directing. He has written and directed several short films and is drawn towards stories that are critical and deliver powerful social commentary. He often explores the perspective of marginalized characters that find themselves in hostile environments. His films aim to be both thought provoking and emotionally driven.
