16-year-old filmmaker Alex Lamburini just had his first short film accepted into the Burbank International Film festival, to be held in Burbank, California sometime this summer. Alex, a junior at Molloy High School in New York City, looks to have a promising future ahead of him.
His short, "Meeting Mr. Williams," tells the story of a young girl who finds a solitary wilted flower in a playground and learns a valuable lesson about fitting in. It was inspired by Alex's own emotions as an alienated teenager. He said he was feeling, "out of place in my environment and I was grasping to find my niche and to find acceptance. In the film, both characters come to find acceptance through a symbolic object that touches them greatly." Alex was able to get across a message in less than four minutes that most high school students can’t figure out in four years.
How Alex got into filmmaking
He got his start as a photographer and then moved onto filmmaking. He remarked, "In a sense, I was used to telling small stories using just one image. I remember thinking to myself, if I could do that, then I could tell a story with a lot of images."
Like most filmmakers just starting out Alex sites Steven Spielberg as his biggest influence. But the allure is not the big name and pop culture status of the "ET" and "Jaws" director or his $3 billion net worth. Instead, Lamubrini says, "So much of Spielberg’s work deals with alienated characters, seeking placement in their environment. And that niche is something that I see in my films and something that really inspired me when I was starting to make films." Smart kid.
A recent write-up in the New York Daily News called Alex a "16-year-old movie-making phenomenon." He reacted to the statement acknowledging, "Of course it made me feel great! I don’t want to agree or disagree with that statement, because it’s not for me to decide... As a director, it’s all about my work, and what the audience thinks of it."
What's in the future for Alex?
So what's next for Alex? He's hoping to go to NYU film school in the Fall of 2011, but in the meantime, he is finishing up his second music video, writing his first feature film, and starting production on his next ten-minute short with a professional cast and crew. He states, "It's my first time running through the casting process, and working with a legitimate film crew so I’m definitely excited to work on this film, both in a management sense and a creative sense."
As for his long-term goals, Alex reveals, "Ultimately I’m looking to direct professionally for television, music videos, and film to bring my work directing to a larger platform. Having the opportunity to do what I love every day would be the ultimate utopia for me."
"Meeting Mr. Williams" has been selected for seven film festivals to date. Watch for it in a theater near you. And remember his name—Alex Lamburini. He may just be the next Spielberg.
To see Alex's complete interview, visit Pop Culture Passionistas.
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