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Searching For Fortune

A family drama about a woman who tracks down her husband's brother after recently passing. Unveiling a father's secret adoption thirty years earlier, she didn't know he didn't know.

  • Joseph Matarrese
    Director
    Slanted; Room Service
  • Brian Smolensky
    Writer
    The Gadarene Swine
  • Mandi Reno
    Producer
    California Scheming; The Wrong Side of Right; Algorithm
  • Phillip Matarrese
    Producer
    Best Friends Forever; Algorithm; Love: As You Like It
  • John Heard
    Key Cast
    Home Alone; Big; Animals; Sharknado
  • Christina Moore
    Key Cast
    Jessie; Mr. Student Body President; The Dog Lover; That 70's Show
  • Brian Smolensky
    Key Cast
    The Gardarene Swine; Cartel War
  • Tom Costello
    Key Cast
    Dark Skies; Pieces of Eight; Peaceful Warrior
  • Aaron Munoz
    Key Cast
    Cadillac Records, CBGB, Cecil
  • Lawrence Hecht
    Key Cast
    Scream
  • Sam Gregory
    Key Cast
    Denver Center Theater Company
  • Kathleen McCall
    Key Cast
    Denver Center Theater Company
  • Diana Dresser
    Key Cast
    Denver Center Theater Company
  • Steven Cole Hughes
    Key Cast
    Denver Center for the Performing Arts
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 27 minutes 51 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 30, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    200,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Super 16mm
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Queens World Film Festival
    Queens, NY
    United States
    March 16, 2017
    World Premier
    (Nominated) Best Narrative Feature; (Nominated) Best Director Narrative Feature - Joseph Matarrese; (Nominated) Best Male Actor Narrative Feature - Brian Smolensky; (Nominated) Best Screenplay Narrative Feature - Brian Smolensky
  • Alameda International Film Festival
    Alameda
    United States
    November 11, 2017
    Jury Prize - Narrative Feature
Director Biography - Joseph Matarrese

Joseph is a native to the San Francisco Bay Area and began producing short films and features with his twin brother in 2008. Searching For Fortune is Joseph's feature directorial debut.

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Director Statement

Measure twice, cut once is my motto to directing. I enjoy telling stories that don't necessarily fit into a neat box.

I love American films from the 1970's because they tend to be stories about human connections. No matter how small or large a scope the films were, at the core they were about a father trying to save his family and community from a killer shark in Jaws, or a man running away from his upper class life in Five Easy Pieces.

I love shooting on film and the discipline it takes. I also love how forgiving film is, and the added excitement and positive pressure it puts on the cast and crew to focus on the task at hand.

Taking all my passions for shooting on film, traveling, telling stories that aren't predictable, American films from the 1970's and human connections, and combining them together, I am proud to have Searching For Fortune as my directorial debut.

-Joseph Matarrese