Taken from WSAW Newchannel 7:
Source: http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/27935524.html
When people think of the film industry, they usually think of cities like Los Angeles, Hollywood, or New York, but soon they’ll have to add Wausau to that list. That’s what producers of the short film “Microcosm” hope, anyway.
The film was shot in Wausau over the course of the summer, and its’ creators felt it was important to truly make a *Wausau film*.
Erik Cieslewicz, director of “Microcosm” says, “It’s a very realist film; it’s about growing up in this small town area in Wausau.”
And when “Microcosm” premieres, its’ creators hope it will strike a chord with the audience.
Production on the film started back in January of 2007, and its’ creators hoped to make it more than just a fun project for their friends, instead giving it a professional touch, which included over a year of pre-production, hiring a professional crew, and auditioning actors.
Cieslewicz says, “We had open auditions, which is something I was kind of like, ‘We can just cast this with the people I know,’ but producer Seth Callaway was like, ‘No no, you do open auditions, you find the best people for the part,’ and he was absolutely right.”
Actress Arwen Fonzen, who plays Ireland Singer in the film says, “I read the script and went to the auditions, and thought, this is a good script, and this seems like a fun project, so I’ll give it a shot, I’ll audition.”
One of the major shooting locations for “Microcosm” was right in downtown Wausau, and both cast and crew say it was important for them that the heart of the film was kept right in the city.
Cieslewicz adds, “I started looking around downtown Wausau and thinking, ‘this is a Wausau film, I should really entrench it in this area,’ so before I had anything locked down I was writing locations in this town into the script.”
And the city got involved as well, giving cast and crew access to all the locations they needed, meaning the film really was a community effort.
Fonzen adds, “I think for anybody who lives in Wausau or the area, it’s exciting just to see something that was put together in Wausau, and something that is a community project.”
The film’s director, Erik Cieslewicz, has also been an employee at NewsChannel 7 for more than two years, but is leaving us now and heading to Baltimore to further his film career .
If you’d like to see the film’s premiere, it’s Friday night at 8:30 at the UWMC Theater, and admission is free.
Taken from The Wausau Daily Herald
Source: http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008809040408
A Wausau filmmaker will unveil his new 15-minute coming-of-age “dramedy” Friday at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County.
Writer/director Erik Cieslewicz, 27, will show his recently completed short, “Microcosm,” at 8:30 p.m. in the college’s theater, 518 S. Seventh Ave., Wausau.
Cieslewicz, who has made several films, just left his position as a photojournalist at WSAW-TV 7. He will move later this month to the Baltimore area, where he’ll work as a freelance videographer.
“Microcosm” follows the story of four high school graduates the day before they leave for college, Cieslewicz said. Mikel (played by Luke Cieslewicz) wants to make their final high school party a success as a way to impress long-time crush Ireland (Arwen Fonzen), so he enlists the help of his friends Zaki (Joel Heimerman) and Ronnie (Liz Leighton).
It’s a teen comedy on the surface, Cieslewicz said, but he also is striving for deeper meaning. The movie’s name “is derived from high school as a microcosm for life,” he said, “with freshman year as an allegory for birth, senior year as death. The four main characters represent four philosophies and how they deal with their twilight hours.”
The movie is chock full of Wausau scenes, and the soundtrack features all Wisconsin-based groups such as Awesome Car Funmaker, Jim Carlson and Vinny Bex Dae.
In addition to the premiere, the event will feature a trailer for a new movie from Wausau filmmaker Jarrod Crooks, a blooper reel and a chance to fill out comment cards responding to “Microcosm.”
