Lost Kiddy Found

Posted by Franco Romero in Film

Writer/Director Frank Quatrone. Photo by Jason Stilgebouer.

The feature film Lost Kiddy Found follows an amateur investigative journalist as he attempts to uncover the mystery behind a string of kidnappings. Produced by students in SFUAD’s Film School, the film was written and is being directed by sophomore Frank Quatrone, who says the material for the script came from a very personal place.

“It’s a very dark script,” Quatrone said. “Some people might be like, ‘what’s wrong with you? Are you just going for shock value?’”

Quatrone wrote the initial script while he was in the process of grieving two friends who had committed suicide. He felt that he had yet to deal with these tragedies through his film-making and was still processing and accepting these events. During the process of writing, he lost two more friends from his hometown. Additionally, his uncle acquired a form of lung cancer and also passed away during this time.

Producer Danny Seymour. Photo courtesy of www.lostkiddyfound.com

“There’s a lot of death that follows the plot of the story,” Quatrone said. “The characters are dealing with a lot of grief and wrapping their heads around tragedy. That’s kind of intentional. I was sort of expressing my mindset during that time.”

The film’s producer, Danny Seymour, says he believes engaging with darker material is necessary for exploring the themes within the film.

“Ever since the days of Greek tragedy and Greek myth, those sorts of stories have allowed us as a community and as a people to explore the fact that things aren’t always roses,” Seymour said. “They’ve allowed us to process the negative parts of being human and existing in society.”

In addition to the film’s intense subject matter, there is a second striking element at play in the production of Lost Kiddy Found: its ambitious nature. The team behind the film feels that there is a notion within The Film School that making a feature film is more difficult while one is in school. It’s a notion they hope to put to rest.

“What we really want to do is raise the bar,” Seymour said. “We want this to be both a challenge to ourselves and also an encouragement that can sort of show other students that what you thought is impossible is possible. Dream big. Take the resources we have while we’re here, and really run with them.”

Quatrone echoed Seymour’s statement, saying, “a lot of people approach this stuff with the mindset of, someday I’m going to make a feature. Someday it’s gonna happen.”

The team feels that one of the keys to helping this kind of project succeed is finding the right people to help, and having the courage to ask others to contribute.

On the set of Lost Kiddy Found. Photo courtesy of www.lostkiddyfound.com.

“A big part of it is being shy,” Sam Burgos, first assistant director said. “If you’re not willing to open up to people and get them involved, then it’s going to be impossible.”

The team behind Lost Kiddy Found does not consider this a student film. Quatrone believes it has “gone beyond that.” While they do not want to diminish the importance of the school, they emphasize that they are approaching this as a professional production, and have a clear vision for what they hope viewers will experience when watching the film.

“[I hope] that they take away our theme of someone who’s over reaching their goal and pushing too hard,” said producer/unit production manager Summer Barnett. “There is a downside to ambition. That’s one thing they can take away from it.”

In addition, Quatrone says that he wants viewers to be entertained by his story. He feels that a good film is one that distracts the viewer from everything else going on.

“When you’re watching a good movie, you’re not thinking about any of your other problems,” Quatrone said. “When people watch this I hope to just take them out of their realities for a little bit, and down this dark ride.”

Lost Kiddy Found is currently in pre-production, and its producers are still raising money. Donations can be made at the film’s Indiegogo page, and more information is available on its website.