Tom Mattera and Dave Mazzoni recognized early on in their lives that they were destined for careers as professional filmmakers. But it took the Northeast Philly natives and lifelong pals a bit more time to convert their fundamental inspiration into a tangible product.
Specifically, the Archbishop Ryan and Temple film-school graduates spent five weeks in early 2005 shooting their debut feature, The 4th Dimension, at an assortment of compelling local venues that included the old Holmesburg Prison and the former Byberry state psychiatric hospital.
It then took the writing-and-directing tandem a year to edit the screen version from just over two hours to its final cut of 82 minutes. Another 18 months of encouragement and heartbreak followed as strong reviews and award-winning appearances at an international assortment of film festivals contrasted with the indifference of a seemingly endless succession of potential distributors.
But Mattera and Mazzoni persisted in pushing their black-and-white psychological drama. On April 8, their patience was finally rewarded as local distributor TLA Video released the offbeat opus throughout North America.
Yet another Ryan and Temple alumnus, Daniel Kalai, produced the film, which is available at TLA’s five Philadelphia-area locations, as well as TLAvideo.com and other Internet sources.
"You might call it an experimental narrative," said Mattera. "It explores the idea of time, how it works from a physical standpoint and within the context of life and death."
The central figure in the narrative is a 20-something man named Jack, played by Philly-based Louis Morabito. He’s a scientific whiz, but he’s also emotionally troubled as a result of traumatic experiences as a boy. A loner, he occupies his time fixing clocks at an antique shop.
One day, a mysterious woman enters the shop and presents Jack with a special clock, inside of which he discovers the personal journal of another enigmatic genius, Albert Einstein. In his quest to comprehend Einstein’s written thoughts and deliver the clock to a prescribed destination, Jack rediscovers suppressed memories of his own disturbing past.
"Ultimately, it’s about self-discovery," Mazzoni said. "We set up a world where you can tell something’s off with the main character. He’s very introverted and obsessive/compulsive."
The filmmakers tapped into their own shared past in conceiving and creating the film. One of their favorite activities as kids was making home movies with their parents’ amateur video camera. Even then, they endeavored to turn things into a big-time production.
"Ever since we were little, we would run around with the camera," Mazzoni said. "We’d be at family parties and have all of the kids there and we’d say, ‘Hey, let’s make a movie.’"
"We’ve collaborated since day one."
As teens, visits to Byberry inspired their cinematic vision. At the time, the 150-acre former psychiatric hospital was a haven for countless youths who would sneak into the abandoned, decaying buildings to hang out, party and explore what seemed to them like an alternate universe.
"I liked Byberry because you could get away from everyday reality," said Mattera, who holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering in addition to his education in the cinematic arts.
After graduating from high school in 1997 and while enrolled at Temple, the pair entered the screenwriting and directing categories for Project Greenlight, a filmmaking contest later featured in a cable television documentary series.
Among more than 6,000 screenplays, Mattera’s and Mazzoni’s Mectl was among 250 to make the first cut. Ultimately, another entry won the competition, which was determined by online public voting, but the local filmmakers got plenty of positive reinforcement.
"It was nice feedback," Mazzoni said.
"Some people loved it and some hated it, but (reaction) wasn’t in the middle," Mattera said.
They received the same type of responses at numerous film festivals they’ve entered since completing The 4th Dimension in early 2006.
In April of that year, it played to three sold-out screenings and won the Technical Achievement Award at the Philadelphia Film Festival. Two months after that, it earned a Grand Jury Honorable Mention award at the CineVegas Film Festival. It has also been an official selection at festivals in Montreal, Belgium, Holland and France.
The creators acknowledge that the film’s bleak, moody style isn’t exactly the kind of thing folks should expect to find at their local multiplex theaters. But it has met and exceeded their own artistic aspirations.
"We’re very passionate about filmmaking, telling stories and being able to achieve emotional responses from the people viewing (the film)," Mazzoni said.
"Film takes you to another world," Mattera said. "We like to be able to do that for somebody else." ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com