NATE DOGG

THURSDAY 6 NOVEMBER AT MIDDAY UGC HAYMARKET SCREEN 2

FRIDAY 31st OCTOBER 5:10 UGC HAYMARKET

Country USA Running Time 74 mins Format Super 16 Director/Screenplay/DoP/Editor Thomas Farone Producer Shannon McCarthy Cast Nathan Hale, David Bunce, Michalina Almindo Print Source Damage Films E shannon@damagefilms.com

Debut filmmaker Thomas Farone bursts onto the film scene with a dazzling feature, not from the usual film centres of NYC or LA, but from a trailer park in the Catskill Mountains. Mixing fact and fiction, Farone has woven the tale of Nate Dogg, a sixteen-year-old high school dropout who suffers from acute ADHD. The film is based on the true-life story of Nathan Hale, who plays himself and delivers a performance that will be the envy of many trained actors. Abandoned by his parents, Nate Dogg (Hale) lives in a world of poverty and depravity that is stunningly captured by the two-man crew of Farone and producer/soundperson/art director, McCarthy.

Shot helter-skelter over four months last year, the film portrays Nate Dogg's struggle to grasp the reality of his predicament and keep on the straight and narrow while supporting his girlfriend. Dogg's good nature and na vet» are preyed on by his neighbour, Ray, played by journeyman actor David Bunce, who drags Dogg into a series of small time drug deals. The story ends up with bodies strewn around the trailer park, reminiscent of the closing scenes of Hamlet.

Farone's visual storytelling style, camerawork and editing point to a major new talent, while his sensitive portrayal of Nate Dogg speaks of a filmmaker willing and able to delve deep below the surface. EG

Thomas Farone taught himself how to write, direct and edit for this debut feature using the money that would have paid for film school. He describes himself as a student of documentary and narrative films.