Courtesy of Other Side of The River Productions.

Two years ago, an independent film was quietly shooting in Tampa Bay under the title, The Fallen Faithful.  Last Thursday, the people behind the flick decided to come back to Tampa to debut The Fallen Faithful, in the city they thoroughly enjoyed shooting in.  The event in Channelside not only marked the world premiere of the flick, but all proceeds benefited the 1 Voice Foundation.  That once quiet film is now on its way in making quite the impact on many fronts.

In tracking The Fallen Faithful since being on the set two years ago.  I have met so many people involved with the project.  A good portion of them reside in the area.  Although many believed that this was just another indie flick shooting in Tampa.  The culmination of the events this past week has given the local film industry a voice.  All shouting to bring more productions back to Tampa.  Perhaps one of the biggest proponents for this, is the main man behind The Fallen Faithful, P.J. Leonard.  Ironically, he doesn't even live here.

Five years ago, P.J. started Other Side of The River Productions in New Jersey where he was born and still currently lives.  He always wanted to shoot a feature film in the Tampa area.  He loves the city's culture and history.  Finally, he was able to get a million dollars to do The Fallen Faithful.  From there, he secured accomplished talents in Sonny Marinelli, Mark Margolis, and Obba Babtunde.  He plucked out a talented director in Csaba Bereczky and they were off and running.  Literally.  Dealing with crazy time constraints, P.J. and company spent many sleepless nights in Tampa putting together the flick.  Outside of the people from L.A., the rest of the crew and many of the actors were from Tampa.

After viewing the flick, Tampa has talent my friends.

John Dominici, a 14 year old "kid" who resides on Davis Island, has already been a part of one major Hollywood production (Stay) in his young career.  In speaking with him at the event last week and seeing him on screen.  The energetic young man, who constantly has the wheels turning in his head, could have quite the career ahead of him if he chooses to stick with acting.

"I wasn't able to attend the red-carpet for Stay, so this is my first one and it's exciting.  It's great to see everyone again and I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.  It's great that it was shot right here."

Michael A. Gonzalez, who also lives in Tampa, has a role in the flick, and spoke candidly about what this night means to him...

“Bringing in Hollywood is a very tough chore.  This night is all about bringing Hollywood to Tampa.  All of us involved are looking to do it again."

Sonny Marinelli, star of The Fallen Faithful and a class-act across the board, touched upon the great cause their film is supporting.

"The 1 Voice Foundation is one of the reasons we came back to Tampa to screen this movie.  Overall, I'm very happy with tonight's event."

As mentioned in an earlier column, P.J. decided to have this screening as a thank you to the city of Tampa for all their support.  In June, arguably the most important screening in his young production company's tenure, happens in Hollywood.  However, he's already plotting his next film, which he wants to shoot in Tampa.

"Right now we’re going to take a look at the film (Fallen Faithful) and make sure it is ready for its debut in L.A.  Then we’re going to submit to film festivals.  My next movie I definitely want to shoot in Tampa. I’m hoping to secure the financing real soon to make that a reality.  There is just so much talent here."

Director Csaba Bereczky echoed P.J.'s thoughts...

"I would love to come back to Tampa to shoot a film if the story calls for it.  People here are film friendly, we hired everyone locally.  I personally want to thank all of them.  All were extremely supportive."

Keith Sedita, Vice President and Founder of 1 Voice Foundation was running around hours before the premiere making sure everything was set to go.  All involved with 1 Voice did a sensational job in executing a smooth night.  The Fallen Faithful event generated $11,000.00 for the foundation.  Bravo!

Another theme which was evident in the days leading up to the premiere was loyalty.  Aside from the support Tampa residents showed in coming out to the event, the amount of people that came from New Jersey to support P.J. was incredible.  Although some of them are going to hound me for not mentioning their names, P.J.'s "Jersey family" were a great crew to have in town and their passion toward their friend's project was a pleasure to witness.  The bars and clubs also appreciated them as well ;).

So, the quiet flick that no one ever heard of, is now on the radar.  I'm sure a few of my readers are wondering if my movie reviewer mind is going to creep into this column.  On that front, Fallen Faithful is destined to have a cult following in the vein of Boondock Saints.  Fortunately, the minor issues the flick has, can be fixed before the run in Hollywood.  Acting is the standout feature in this flick.  The good news is that the people involved aren't fully satisfied with the feature, despite a positive reaction from the audience.  In speaking with Sonny and P.J., both of them are true to themselves and know what they have to do.  Once the flick attains distribution, a formal review will be published.

The buzz in the Florida film industry is at an all-time high right now.  A tax incentive bill has just passed the House vote and is now heading to the Senate.  If the bill comes to fruition, more flicks will be brought to Tampa and the state.  What rings in my mind is why we aren't embracing the outside independent projects that are begging to come to Tampa.  The Fallen Faithful has shown what they can do here with a next-to-nothing budget.  They have already made an impact and they're journey is just beginning.  Maybe it's time for the community and people behind the film initiative to take note of people like P.J. Leonard, who want to do something in our community.  I'm sure the hard-working people in the industry throughout the state, will gladly take numerous indie productions like Other Side of The River, rather than two-to-three major Hollywood productions a year right about now.

In conclusion, The Fallen Faithful event put on by 1 Voice Foundation is something we need to see more of in this city.  And in other cities not named New York and/or L.A.  Hopefully, film commissions may actually attempt to go find the P.J. Leonard's of the world instead of waiting for projects to show up at their front door.  Forget the big boys, embrace the indie scene.  You'll be surprised what can come out of it. 

To read more about The Fallen Faithful journey and to see what is coming next, check out the below articles:

Interview with Sonny Marinelli   Interview with Mark Margolis  

Fallen Faithful August Update                       

PJ Leonard's Next Movie   Official Press Release