Circus Boy, Trailer (1 min. 2020) Directed and edited by Lester Alfonso from his nonfiction short about a family expanded when mentor meets his apprentice.
Day 25 of 360 videos from my archive. This would be the newest addition to my archive. I only posted this on Instagram last night. I’m officially publishing this trailer for Circus Boy today on the occasion of its first community sneak preview this afternoon at five pm.
People do occasionally call me for help to document important moments in their lives usually for weddings, birthdays, and the like but when Thomas asked me to film an important meeting in his life, I had to emphatically say no.
“My mom is coming down from North Carolina to meet my son for the first time,” said Thomas. “Can you film the meeting?” I got the phone call in March 2019. I had already been documenting Thomas and Ethan sporadically since 2015. His mom’s visit was going to be a big event for them.
I projected myself into the future and saw my puny self with a tiny video camera in the corner of the room trying to take it all in all by myself. I knew how emotional this could be and if I were making a “real” film, I would like to do it the way it’s really done. “I want to do it properly this time,” I told Thomas. “I would like to, at least, hire a professional camera crew and make a whole day out of it,” I said.
That’s how it began. That’s how my filmmaking family in Peterborough got together to make this film happen with no budget and no guarantees of payment. I’m so incredibly lucky to have the support of a small group of dedicated collaborators. This filmmaking family includes Angel Hamilton, Troy Armstrong, Jared Bremner (aquapher), Rob Viscardis, Pawel Dwulit, Michael Phillips, and Mike Munn.
They took care of me. They made things better; they supported a cockamamie vision with their incredible talent but it was their faith in me that mattered most. I’ll never forget your generosity. Thanks to ReFrame Film Festival for giving the film a place in their program for this special home preview. I hope you can make it.
More soon! — LA
P.S. If you’re liking these daily posts, perhaps you can consider becoming a monthly donor for a year or making a one-time contribution. It would seriously help a lot. Your money goes directly into supporting an artist committed to continually become the best version of himself. Thank you so much! Much love, LA