Please note: My Name Is Sara includes depictions of violence and some sexual content.
Festival co-chair Neal Schindler talked with My Name Is Sara director Steven Oritt about the casting and making of the film, how he discovered the real Sara's story, and the ways in which his documentary background influenced his narrative feature debut.
Steven Oritt’s directing background began in music videos, working with the likes of the Foo Fighters, Muse, OneRepublic, Pete Yorn and Paulina Rubio. From there, he moved into the documentary world with his feature-length debut American Native; the story of a reclusive tribe of Indians living 30 minutes from New York City in the hills of New Jersey. The film appeared at 13 international festivals earning 4 best documentary awards. American Native was acquired by Indican Pictures who released the doc in 2015 on all digital/DVD platforms.
Steven then launched James Lucy Productions, whose first project was the documentary short Kid Yamaka, an intimate profile of troubled boxer Zachary Wohlman and his path to redemption through boxing, Judaism and sobriety. The film was selected to the Academy Award qualifying Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival, as well as DOC NYC – and was later acquired by Vice’s Fightland Channel.
Currently, James Lucy is developing an episodic series for AMC Studios, about a notorious crime family from El Paso, Texas whose quest for the American Dream fueled a 1970’s drug empire; as well as producing Steven’s narrative feature debut, My Name is Sara. The film appeared in over 25 festivals internationally, taking home 5 best feature awards. My Name is Sara was acquired by Strand Releasing in late 2019 and was set for a summer 2020 theatrical release, which has been postponed for now due to the COVID crisis.
Steven’s follow-up documentary Accidental Climber, fresh off a year-long festival run, was recently acquired by Vision Films, who will be releasing it on all North American digital/DVD platforms on August 11, 2020. The film looks at one man’s attempt to become the oldest American to climb Mt. Everest – what ensued was the worst disaster in mountaineering history, leaving 16 climbers dead in a tragic avalanche.
Please note: My Name Is Sara includes depictions of violence and some sexual content.
Festival co-chair Neal Schindler talked with My Name Is Sara director Steven Oritt about the casting and making of the film, how he discovered the real Sara's story, and the ways in which his documentary background influenced his narrative feature debut.
Steven Oritt’s directing background began in music videos, working with the likes of the Foo Fighters, Muse, OneRepublic, Pete Yorn and Paulina Rubio. From there, he moved into the documentary world with his feature-length debut American Native; the story of a reclusive tribe of Indians living 30 minutes from New York City in the hills of New Jersey. The film appeared at 13 international festivals earning 4 best documentary awards. American Native was acquired by Indican Pictures who released the doc in 2015 on all digital/DVD platforms.
Steven then launched James Lucy Productions, whose first project was the documentary short Kid Yamaka, an intimate profile of troubled boxer Zachary Wohlman and his path to redemption through boxing, Judaism and sobriety. The film was selected to the Academy Award qualifying Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival, as well as DOC NYC – and was later acquired by Vice’s Fightland Channel.
Currently, James Lucy is developing an episodic series for AMC Studios, about a notorious crime family from El Paso, Texas whose quest for the American Dream fueled a 1970’s drug empire; as well as producing Steven’s narrative feature debut, My Name is Sara. The film appeared in over 25 festivals internationally, taking home 5 best feature awards. My Name is Sara was acquired by Strand Releasing in late 2019 and was set for a summer 2020 theatrical release, which has been postponed for now due to the COVID crisis.
Steven’s follow-up documentary Accidental Climber, fresh off a year-long festival run, was recently acquired by Vision Films, who will be releasing it on all North American digital/DVD platforms on August 11, 2020. The film looks at one man’s attempt to become the oldest American to climb Mt. Everest – what ensued was the worst disaster in mountaineering history, leaving 16 climbers dead in a tragic avalanche.