{"id":96126,"date":"2024-04-18T16:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=96126"},"modified":"2024-04-18T16:15:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T16:15:00","slug":"local-film-recognized-with-industry-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2024\/04\/18\/local-film-recognized-with-industry-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Local film recognized with industry awards"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Ken Cleveland<\/em>
\nLandmark Correspondent<\/em><\/div>\n

Accolades for the locally based film One Door Closes: Korey’s Courage<\/em> include Massachusetts Independent Film Festival Official Selection laurel and International Independent Film Festival Gold Award laurel.<\/p>\n

Those show the impact of the Holden-based production, based on a book highlighting how people have overcome challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cResponse to the film has FAR exceeded my expectations,\u201d executive producer Tom Ingrassia said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The poster for One Door Closes: Korey’s Courage, done by Paxton-based David Gorham Design. Photo Credit: Submitted photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThat One Door Closes: Korey’s Courage<\/em> is an Official Selection by both the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, and the Documentaries Without Borders International Film Festival \u2014 and a Gold Winner at the International Independent Film Awards \u2014 is validation that the vision Jared (Chrudimsky) and I had eight years ago, when we first talked about turning our book, One Door Closes: Overcoming Adversity By Following Your Dreams<\/em> into a documentary film was spot on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to present a message of healing and hope \u2026 and I think we have accomplished that goal,\u201d Ingrassia said.<\/p>\n

In addition to the online screening of the film during the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, Ingrassia said he is pursuing more showings in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople ask all the time where they can see the film. I am currently pursuing screenings at some area colleges, at WCUW 91.3FM’s Cinema 910 (currently undergoing renovations), and some smaller, intimate theaters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book on which the documentary is based profiled 16 people from all walks of life, many of whom live in Central Massachusetts, who overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles in order to live into their dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cJared and I are so proud of this film,\u201d Ingrassia said. \u201cOur cast and crew were so wonderful to work with. Whatever we needed them to do, they did \u2014 and did beautifully. Their stories are about things everyone can identify with, the struggles we all have. How to overcome those struggles. The power of a dream to get you through the rough patches. In a time when so many feel hopeless and have lost their ability to dream, June\u2019s, Scherrie\u2019s, Ken\u2019s, and Korey\u2019s messages of healing and hope are so important. Yes, there is sadness in the documentary. You will probably shed a few tears. Ultimately, though, these are stories of resilience and triumph. People will leave the screening knowing that, as Mary Wilson always said, \u2018Dreams DO come true.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

The film is now an Official Selection of both the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival and the Documentaries Without Borders International Film Festival.<\/p>\n

The film will be available for screening online during the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, from April 25 to 28, for ticket holders; more information is available at the festival\u2019s website: shawnafoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Screening dates for the Documentaries Without Borders International Film Festival have not yet been announced.<\/p>\n

Ingrassia said Korey\u2019s Courage<\/em> presents the powerful, inspiring stories of four people: Ken McDonnell of Holden, who suffered a traumatic brain injury; June Monteiro, of the \u201860s Girl Group, The Toys, who was diagnosed with throat cancer; Scherrie Payne, formerly of The Supremes, who discusses battles with depression and breast cancer; and Dr. Korey Varano, who was diagnosed with bone cancer at age 12.<\/p>\n

Mary Wilson, of The Supremes \u2014 who wrote the epilogue for the book, and who Ingrassia knew for almost 50 years, and worked with for six years\u2014was scheduled to provide the narration for the film. When, in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic shut down production, recording Wilson\u2019s narration was put on hold. Sadly, Mary Wilson died in February 2021, before production was back up and running. The film ends with an emotional dedication to Wilson and her legacy.<\/p>\n

Chrudimsky is co-owner of Revitalize Massage Therapy, in Worcester, and lives in Holden. Ingrassia is the founder of Holden-based Tom Ingrassia Productions, and is a local radio personality.<\/p>\n

Korey\u2019s Courage<\/em> features music by Scherrie Payne (written by Paul Jabara and Bob Esty), Mary Wilson (written by Paul Hill), Scott Lamlein (former minister of music at Worcester\u2019s Wesley United Methodist Church), and Holden resident Kristjon Imperio (director of operations and programs at Pakachoag Music School of Greater Worcester). The movie poster was designed by Paxton-based David Gorham Design.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ken Cleveland Landmark Correspondent Accolades for the locally based film One Door Closes: Korey’s Courage include Massachusetts Independent Film Festival Official Selection laurel and International Independent Film Festival Gold Award laurel. Those show the impact of the Holden-based production, based on a book highlighting how people have overcome challenges. \u201cResponse to the film has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96127,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}