Sergey's Fortune

A hitman for the Ukrainian mafia gets in trouble with the boss after his mission is compromised by a pair of obnoxious YouTube stars.

  • Peter Mackie
    Director
    Panofsky's Complaint, For Annabelle, Cineastes
  • Nick Vitale
    Writer
  • Peter Mackie
    Producer
    Panofsky's Complaint, For Annabelle, Cineastes
  • Kseniya Yorsh
    Producer
  • Dorothea Paschalidou
    Producer
    Worlds Apart, Swedish Dicks
  • Yorgos Karamihos
    Key Cast
    "Sergey"
    The Durrells, Ben Hur, Genius
  • Ravil Isyanov
    Key Cast
    "Oleksiy"
    Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Defiance, The Americans, Glow
  • Anthony Howes
    Key Cast
    "Kyle Dunhoffer"
  • Hudson Long
    Key Cast
    "Kris Dunhoffer"
  • Jami Alix
    Key Cast
    "Kelsey"
    85k Instagram followers
  • Nick Mutuma
    Key Cast
    "Kasey"
    206k Instagram followers
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Dark Comedy, Crime, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 20 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 27, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    45,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Alexa 2.8K (digital)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Wisconsin Film Festival
    Madison, WI
    United States
    April 5, 2019
    Wisconsin Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Minneapolis Saint Paul International Film Festival
    Minneapolis, MN
    United States
    April 10, 2019
    Minnesota Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Hollywood Comedy Shorts Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    April 20, 2019
    Official Selection
  • 2019 Short Film Slam: Round III
    Baltimore, MD
    United States
    July 27, 2019
    Voted #1: Movie of the Month
  • Montana Int'l Film Festival
    Billings, MT
    United States
    September 22, 2019
    Montana Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Hamilton Film Festival
    Hamilton, Ontario
    Canada
    November 4, 2019
    Canada Premiere
    Official Selection
  • 2019 Short Film Slam: Championships
    Baltimore, MD
    United States
    December 7, 2019
    Short of the Year ($1,000 Cash Prize)
Director Biography - Peter Mackie

PETER MACKIE is an award-winning filmmaker and photographer based in Los Angeles. His films have screened at the LA Shorts Fest, HollyShorts, Cannes Court Métrage, Minneapolis-St Paul Int'l Film Festival, Montana Int'l Film Festival, Wisconsin Film Festival, Hamilton Film Festival, Brooklyn Shorts, Athens Int'l Film Festival in Greece, and Cine Gear Expo, among others. His latest film, "Sergey's Fortune," won the Grand Prize at the 2019 Short Film Slam in Baltimore, in addition to winning the Movie of the Month Award at the Philadelphia and Baltimore Short Film Slams. His films have been featured on Film Shortage, Ain't It Cool News, and Reel-13 Shorts (PBS-NYC).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"Sergey's Fortune" was a formidable beast to tackle and at the same time, so much fun to make. Cinematically, it offered so much potential in terms of suspense, humor, and style. I've always wanted to work in the crime genre and also channel my inner 70's director (hence all the zoom shots, the classic film score, and the "film" look to the color grade), but I was just as interested in portraying this unfamiliar world of the YouTube vloggers, a world that is especially popular among millennials yet has not been explored much in a narrative way. In a time when films are lamentably referred to as "content" in the industry, this movie boldly draws a line between what is cinema and what is actual content.

On a personal level, this film offered an opportunity to work with my closest friends and collaborators. "Sergey" marks my first collaboration with longtime friend Nick Vitale to hit the silver screen, although we have penned several scripts together. It is the second short film that I have made with actor Yorgos Karamihos (Sergey) and the third short film featuring my brother Jack (Rinat). The cinematographer, Ernesto Pletsch, has gaffed for me in the past - we are also photography buddies in our spare time - Sergey marks our first collaboration as director/cinematographer. The two young gentlemen who play The D.G.A.F. Bros (Anthony Howes and Hudson Long) are two of my closest friends in Los Angeles and this whole project came about because they wanted me to direct them in something to become SAG-Eligible. This was also the first time working with my wife, Ina Rose Farestad, in a professional capacity; she was First Assistant Director. Finally, the composer, Vincent Oppido, and I were classmates at USC long ago and he has scored all of my films to date.

All in, this movie is a culmination of lots of love for each other and lots of love for the cinematic medium; all of us united for the common cause of telling a great story.