By Patti North
Michael Fallavollita is an old friend of the Alexandria Film Festival. His first experience was in 2017 with his film “Tale of the Kite,” which won the Grand Jury Award. It’s available now on Amazon Prime.
He made his second appearance last year, with “Trust Me,” a film he edited, which won the Joe Cantwell Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking. AFF held the premiere, with Zoom appearances by the producer Joe Phelps, and Oscar-nominated director Roko Belic.
He will make his third appearance this November, using “Tale of the Kite,” reedited to screen with the live Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, as part of an unprecedented partnership between ASO, the Alexandria Film Festival, and six filmmakers entitled “Homegrown: American Stories in Music and Film.”
He has one of the most amazing back-stories of any filmmaker I have ever met. When he was ten years old, he made a Super 8 sequel to “E.T. the Extraterrestrial.” He had the audacity to send it to Steven Spielberg, who told him “when you graduate from film school, let me know.” When he contacted the great director more than a decade later, Spielberg was true to his word and hired him, as a production assistant for “Hook.” In his years with Spielberg, he worked as an assistant editor for “Schindler’s List,” and “Jurassic Park,” among others. His filmography now lists nearly 60 credits.
We caught up with Michael via Zoom at his Pasadena home last month. Asked to reflect back on his experience with Spielberg, he laughs, “I may have peaked too early, but I never worked harder or learned more. We lived in Krakow for four months, working on ‘Schindler’ all day and ‘Jurassic’ at night. I never got more than five hours of sleep at a time. It was an incredibly emotional experience. We met Holocaust survivors in the places where these atrocities happened.”
When the film premiered in New York, the crew waited in the lobby. “The credits rolled, but there wasn’t a sound from the audience. It took a minute to realize what we were listening to was emotional devastation. People literally stumbled out of the theater, sobbing. 1993 was quite a year for Steven and for all of us. ‘Schindler’ won seven Oscars, and ‘Jurassic’ three. I think I was 23.”
Michael has worked in the industry ever since in a variety of capacities, but always had his heart set on making his own film. “Tale of the Kite” was made over a span of more than a decade, using the same actors at different stages of life. It captures the heartwarming story of boy who grows up to become a test pilot, his special relationship with his grandfather, and a magical kite. Most audiences, he says, fail to recognize that it is the same actor playing both the kid and the pilot and he is often asked how he found a child and adult who so resemble each other. “CG is a blessing and a curse,” he says now. ”It’s an incredible tool, but people see something amazing with their own eyes and think ‘the computer did it.’”
“Tale” charmed the AFF audience that year, especially the many young, aspiring filmmakers who were there. They gathered around Michael like groupies, peppering him with their questions long after the screening had concluded. “I had one of the best festival experiences I’ve ever had at your festival,” Michael said. “To see the film in a state-of-the-art theater setting and interacting with an enthusiastic audience is the best. The people I met were great, I really enjoyed networking with other filmmakers, and it was my first trip to Alexandria and D.C.! I will never forget it—one of those rocking chair moments.”
We will welcome him back this fall, when the re-edited “Tale” joins “Homegrown: American Stories in Music and Film” and debuts along with all six films and the live orchestra. Originally planned for 2020, the program was shifted to 2021 because of the pandemic. Last year’s virtual festival offered a few sneak previews of the films with recorded music. There will only be two live performances of the Homegrown program, so watch this website or www.Alexsym.org for ticketing information when it is available.
About what is in his current portfolio, Michael is circumspect. “I’ve been lucky to have been continuously working, but all of that is governed by confidentiality agreements.” He is more forthcoming about his personal plans. “I have an investor who’s interested in making “Tale” into a feature-length film. It’s an exciting prospect—if he can raise the financing.” He is also writing a screenplay for a new narrative fiction project, though he is also discreet about that idea. There may also be a sequel to “Trust Me” on the horizon.
He notes that the pandemic has not changed his work life all that much. He’s used to being locked in an editing suite for days and hours at a time. He was doing final edit on “Trust Me” at the height of the pandemic, but worked at home via Skype with the director at his home in Malibu.
He normally teaches a filmmaking class every spring, which had to be cancelled this year. “I miss the kids, their ideas, and enthusiasm. Some of them just want to be famous in L.A. I tell them ‘that’s the phony stuff--this is very hard work. Forget about fame and do something to make the world better. Do whatever it is you have real passion for.’ The truth is, this does not feel like work to me. I haven’t had a real job since I worked at The Gap in 1982. I still can’t believe they pay me for this. I’ve been very, very lucky.”