Film writer and director Bob Pondillo is back with a sweet little story of hope and redemption.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, MR. KATES! is a story about a lonely, elderly man who escapes from an assisted-living facility on New Year’s Eve only to meet a mysterious figure who leads him on an adventure of self-discovery.
Pondillo, professor emeritus in the Department of Electronic Media Communication, has been working on the film for a few years. The short is the latest in his collaboration with fellow EMC retiree Dr. Mary Nichols. The Recording Industry and EMC departments also had a hand in production.
“This was the last project Dr. Nichols and I worked on before our retirement,” Pondillo said. “It was made with the help of more than 30 EMC production track undergrads, Dr. Bob Wood and several grad students from the Recording Industry’ M.F.A. program, about a half dozen recent alumni and professors from the theater department.”
Pondillo’s script for KATES won Best Short Screenplay at the American International Film Festival in 2012. The filmmaker has produced numerous award-winning short films over the years, such as “Wait,” “The New, True Charlie Wu” and “The Miracles on Honeybee Hill.”
Bob Pondillo
HAPPY NEW YEAR, MR. KATES! makes it debut on Nov. 5 in Mass Comm 101 with two showings at 12:30 p.m. and 1:20 p.m. All MTSU faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend. Members of the cast and crew will be on hand to answer questions following each 30-minute screening.
The film was partially funded by the MTSU Synergy Grant.
