Filmmakers Scott Aharoni, of Great Neck, and Dennis Latos, of Glen Cove, were expecting 200 guests as they walked the red carpet at the premiere of their film Bardo at the Dolby Theater in New York City on Friday, June 24. The duo was pleasantly surprised.
“Wow! What an event,” beamed Aharoni. “We far surpassed any expectation we had about how many people we were expecting to be there. We had four screenings and close to 300 people at the event.”
The talented team, who has been referring to themselves as the “up-and-coming directing duo from New York,” submitted their short film to highly acclaimed festivals all over the globe. Aharoni, 22, and Latos, 24, who met in middle school, worked together to direct, edit and produce the film that was written by Petros Georgiadis.
Aharoni grew up in Great Neck and discovered his passion for filmmaking at Great Neck South Middle School in seventh grade, when he was inspired by Mr. Gluck’s filmmaking class and the HTV news studio.
Bardo was originally Aharoni’s senior thesis film at Hofstra University, while he was in the Honors College studying film and television. But the project grew to be much more than just a school assignment.
“The responses to the film left us speechless,” said Aharoni. “Being able to watch the film with an audience for the first time was an incredible experience. Hearing people laugh, gasp and cry at various parts throughout the film was simply surreal. We had industry professionals and executives at the event and the film left them very impressed. We’re hoping to establish future relationships with them.”
After the premiere, Aharoni and Latos announced their next film, called Brother.
“The script has been through a couple of drafts and we hope to be shooting this October in upstate New York,” said Aharoni.
“The red carpet opportunities were plentiful as we had all of our guests take everlasting photos on the carpet,” noted Aharoni. “People were having such a great time at the event that they even stayed until the fourth screening was over, even if they were there for the first. The people, the connections and the conversations people continued after the film was over were incredible.”
The filmmaker was thrilled by the response. “The most repetitive reaction we received to the film was that people said, ‘We were expecting something great, but not that,’” said Aharoni. “When you surpass people’s expectations, that’s all we could ever ask for.”
Learn more about the filmmaker and the film: “Filmmakers Win First Prize At Two Festivals,” “Scott Aharoni: A Filmmaker On The Rise” and “A Red Carpet Premiere For Young Filmmakers.”
