Asbury Park Reporter

The third annual AP’N3 Challenge Awards took place on Sunday, November 3rd at the Jersey Shore Arts Center. Eleven of the thirty-five entry films chosen as finalists were screened for the packed audience of filmmakers, friends and artists. Michael Sodano, Board President for Asbury Park Arts Council (APAC) together with Nancy Sabino, Executive Producer of AP’N3 Challenge were co-emcees for the popular event.

“AP’N3 is sponsored by the Asbury Park Arts Council and is intended to stimulate creativity and elevate film making in Asbury Park. Our entrants were given a theme/prompt, a location, a prop and a line that had to be included in the film. This year, a diverse range of films were made by locals, all with the same prompt and no budget. This year’s theme and prompt was ‘Hidden Gems in Asbury Park’. The film had to be made in Asbury Park, including a scene shot on St. John’s Island (Sunset Park), a map of Asbury Park, the AP’N3 logo and the line, What a Treasure. Contestants were given a two-week window in which to complete their film.”

The films were rated in 11 categories: original creativity, story, editing, sound, picture quality, lighting, theme, location, dialog, prop, and logo. The panel of judges chosen to review and rate the films included Paul Kaplan (Filmmaker), Jeff Lundenberger (Cinephile), Marci Mazzarotto (Executive Director, Bread & Roses Film Festival), Nancy Sabino (Executive Producer AP’N3), Jeffrey Seeds (Film & Internet Professional), and Matthew Whelan (Executive Director, AP Chamber of Commerce).

The show reel began with A Hidden Gem by Mike Gatta. The story follows a delivery man dispatched to deliver a package to someone, who does not show-up to receive the package. The delivery man’s grim discovery as to why the intended recipient does not arrive provides a darkly comic twist to his dilemma. Introducing his film, Gatta said he and his friends made it in a day.

The Curse of the Hidden Gem by Kyle DeMilner begins at The Paranormal Museum on Cookman. The protagonist, Dr. Neutrino, is an Elvis wannabe character looking for the hidden gem that will make him the King of Asbury Park. The madcap antics of Dr. Neutrino provide the suspense and humor of this short.

Tom Cavanaugh’s, What a Surprise, is a crime caper short inspired by his grandparents’ stories about managing the Santander Building on Deal Lake Drive many years ago. Three criminals plot to sell properties they don’t own to unsuspecting buyers; a con that almost makes them a lot of money.

Oddities of What and When and Why and How, takes the viewer on a supernatural trip around Asbury Park from The Paranormal Museum to St. John’s Island. Filmmakers Patrick Green and Ashley Woolsey Green said that Asbury has so many backdrops, that is makes it a fun place to make films.

Sarah Ixmucane Lekics film, Hunt, is a missing person story with a happy ending that celebrates the love between two women.

What a Treasure, by Salvatore Zeppi, takes its inspiration from the sinking of the SS Morro Castle, an American ocean liner that caught fire and ran aground onto the Asbury Park beach, September 8, 1934, on route from Havana, Cuba, to New York. The short was filmed in the style of a B&W silent film and follows the efforts of two pirates who try to locate treasure from the shipwreck.

Caryn Whitman’s, The Lure of Asbury Park, is based on the true story about a competition to catch a fish in Sunset Lake, a very fishy tale indeed.

The Mud Hole by Margaret Leland tells the poignant tale of our Black communities experience of Asbury Park beach during the 50’s-60’s, and the progress made since.

Jay Leibowitz’s, A Hidden Gem, is a music video complete with original music and lyrics written for the AP’N3, set in the Carousel and Sunset Park.

Listen, by Antonio Johnson considers the hidden gems of wisdom passed down through the lines of female matriarchs in his community.

Nicolas Wolf’s film, Residential Treasure, took First Place as both the judges and audience favorite for its darkly comic portrayal of a man haunted by Asbury Park’s own Tillie. The three minute black and white film was shot in the style of an anxiety film, or Twilight Zone episode, heightening the mysterious and climactic twist ending.

Tillie’s iconic image graces the landmark Wonder Bar This is Jersey TV After the screening, Michael Sodano announced a new collaboration between APAC and Asbury Park High School (APHS). Sodano said, “A portion of the ticket sales proceedings will go toward the establishment of a filmmaking course at APHS.” Incoming Principal Perry Medina spoke at the event to announce his plans to expand the school’s arts offerings for students and to thank APAC for helping APHS, “to operate from a place of access and opportunity.”

Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce, Jules Plangere Jr. Family Foundation, Manasquan Bank Charitable Foundation, McLoone’s Asbury Park, and Monmouth Arts, provided additional sponsorship and support, including ticket sales for the awards ceremony.

The Asbury Park Arts Council (APAC) 3 Week Film Challenge is now underway from August 5 – 26. The AP’N3 Film Challenge is the only film making event in Asbury Park and is open to the entire community. Contestants who accept the challenge are required to create a 3-minute movie, with an original script, shoot it, edit, and score it in three weeks.

Michael Sodano, Board President for APAC says, “It is still not too late to enter the challenge. All you need is a $30 entry fee, discounted for students and non-profits. So far, we have thirty-five people taking part in the challenge.”

APAC provides each contestant with a production package available to download from August 5th at 10 a.m. (See link below). The production package includes a theme, line of dialogue, a prop, and a scene-specific Asbury Park location. The film must be shot entirely in Asbury Park and uploaded to the website no later than Monday, August 26th at 6 p.m.

“This is a challenge that stretches our imagination and those of the participants,” says Sodano. “Most of the participants are first time film makers, so once they have a film under their belt, they can use it whatever way they want. Last year the Second Prize winners went on to enter their short with the Jersey Shore Film Festival and it won Best Comedy Short. Another filmmaker entered their short into the Garden State Film Festival and it won Best Short.”

The top ten winning entries will be screened at the Premier Event taking place at the Jersey Shore Arts Center on Sunday, November 3, 2024. A selection of AP’N3 entries will also be screened on APTV, the local cable channel, and on the YouTube channel of the Asbury Park Arts Council.

Sodano says the judging panel is made up of experts and cinephiles. “We have teachers, professional filmmakers, others involved in film who evaluate the films on a number of standpoints.”

APAC is a 501(c) nonprofit organization established under the guiding promise that the arts have been — and will continue to be — critical to the overall health and development of our community. The board members include: Carrie Turner, Michael Sodano, Jenn Hampton, Bob Ellis, and Paul McEvily. This year they have hosted Asbury Park’s Got Talent, Filmmakers Meetup, Connor Kane Photography Show, Asbury Park Panel and Mural Tour, a Black History Month art event at Asbury Park Library, Music Mondays pop-up at Springwood Park, Sewer Plant Mural Project, Lake Street Light Pole Beautification, and For Artist’s Sake Lectures.