By: Matthew DiSanto
Montgazette Staff Writer
Montgomery County Community College students recently produced a short film that mixes reality with a famous “Oompa-Loompa” theme. “Chelsea and the Community College,” was written and directed by student movie director Matthew Marinelli and starred Associate Professor of Communication Neil Goldstein with communication student Phoebe Gavula as Chelsea.
The movie follows Chelsea who dreams of being a singer. At the beginning she finds a brochure for Montco. She enrolls to unlock the golden opportunity of all of the course offerings, specifically “in the world of communication.”
This movie parodies the 1971 movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Professor Neil Goldstein takes on the role of the zany chocolate maker and sings as he guides Chelsea and other familiar student faces through their own chocolate factory of course offerings. Throughout the movie, some motifs of the 1971 match what happens to Chelsea and the other characters.
Matthew Marinelli said he has liked “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” since his childhood and found it interesting that the director of that movie viewed music as the highest form of art.
“Chelsea and the Community College” was filmed over four months from March 2015 to June 2015, as part of a student directing course. The movie was to show last semester on the big screen for the endof-semester screening. However, due to the time it took to produce the film, work had to be completed over the summer.
Achieving dreams through education and confidence are key themes of the movie. Marinelli said if there is one thing he wanted people to take away from the movie was to “stop being afraid and go out and do it.”
During the production of his movie, Marinelli said he found the hardest part to be scheduling because many people were involved.
Marinelli said his favorite part of making the movie was getting the best out of the lead actress. One part of the movie shows Phoebe Gavula very upset. Instead of asking her to fake a cry, Marinelli asked her to show him her breaking point and in the final product, her acting was convincing.
The film was co-produced by students Matthew Mashaintonio and Dani Moulton. “Chelsea and the Community College” is viewable in the Portal of the Advanced Technology Center. Students can also view the film via Matthew Marinelli’s YouTube channel. Just search “Chelsea and the Community College.”
“Chelsea and the Community College” is one example of many great productions made here at Montgomery County Community College. Remember, here you have all the golden tckets you need to make your way.
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