Sometimes the most dramatic elements in a story don’t happen through dialogue or overt action. They arrive with a glance or a pregnant pause, nothing more.
First-time director Joseph Infantolino understood those essential truths while shooting “Helena From the Wedding.”
“That’s what I notice about social interactions. Sometimes people say something else, but you can tell they mean or feel something differently. Sometimes it’s body language, sometimes it’s a facial reaction,” says Infantolino during his visit to the Starz Denver Film Festival last month to screen his new film.
“Helena,” set to debut at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago starting Dec. 26 and available now via Video on Demand, follows a group of old friends gathering to celebrate New Year’s Eve at a snowy cabin retreat. Little by little, relationships start to fracture under the strain of job woes and marital infidelity. The film co-stars Lee Tergesen (“Oz”), Gillian Jacobs (NBC’s “Community”) and Jessica Hecht (“Fair Game”).
Infantolino drew inspiration from films like “Love in the Afternoon,” movies where the subtleties add to the richness of the tale.
The two-week shoot, which used Infantolino’s parents’ actual house as the main set, employed hand-held cameras and natural light as much as possible. The tight schedule allowed no time for rehearsals. He used those constrictions to his advantage.
“You gain the ability to keep going and experiment,” he says of his fast-paced approach. “If you work it out too much you might lose the spontaneity.”
Infantolino may technically be a rookie behind the camera, he brings a long list of producer credits to the big screen (“Run, Fatboy, Run,” “Our Song”). He doesn’t dislike producing, but he wouldn’t mind directing a follow-up feature to “Helena.”
“I’ve got the desire to try it at least one more time and see where it goes … it’s very different from producing. It’s good for control freaks,” he says, smiling.
The camaraderie displayed during “Helena” feels like it took months, not mere days, to establish.
“It’s important to appear relaxed. If you’re not relaxed, no one else is,“ he says of his on-set style. And the director’s sense of balance impacts the performances. “[The actors] said they didn’t feel rushed. I felt rushed sometimes, but not that much. It’s important not to show it. It’s weirdly contagious, especially in a small cabin.“
“Helena” falls squarely in the indie film world, which means Infantolino often accompanies his feature on the festival circuit to spread the word.
The financial realities of his craft are impossible to ignore, but he’s optimistic audiences want to see movies like “Helena” as well as bigger budgeted fare.
“I don’t see nuanced, independent films going out of existence,” he says. “The audience [for it] is out there … that doesn’t mean they don’t want mass entertainment and 3-D spectacle. But sometimes you’re in the mood for something different.’
(Photo: Director Joseph Infantolino on the set of his new film, “Helena From the Wedding.” Film Movement)
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