Credit: Murphy Birdsall
Matt Bartolomeo’s love of cinema has always been intertwined with his sense of home. Every Thursday, the Bartolomeos would make a trip from their log cabin near Stissing Mountain — built by Matt’s father, Pete — to The Lyceum in Red Hook, where films became Matt’s gateway to a broader world. Now, after years of guerrilla filmmaking, Bartolomeo is bringing that world back home — this Saturday, his horror film “Dream” will have its premiere at Stissing Center.
Provided by Matt Bartolomeo from “Dream”
“Dream,” shot primarily over a decade ago at the Simmons Way Village Inn in Millerton (now The Millerton Inn), is a love letter to 1970s and ’80s horror. It tells the story of a group of strangers snowed in together, a setup familiar to fans of the genre, but with a distinctly local flair. Bartolomeo made the film with a tight-knit group of friends, many of whom played dual roles as actors and crew. “It was the same people onscreen and offscreen,” Bartolomeo said, describing a production style that involved lighting scenes one moment and acting the next.
Though filmmaking has always been Bartolomeo’s passion, his day job is as production director at Video Caption Corporation, in Stanfordville, where he works on projects for major clients like Disney and Apple. For “Dream,” Bartolomeo pushed his creative limits, experimenting with artificial intelligence to achieve visual effects and de-age actors, allowing him to incorporate footage shot years apart. “I’m using the same software that Disney’s using,” he said, with some excitement. One actor in the film, he revealed, is entirely AI-generated, though he preferred not to say which one. For those curious about Bartolomeo’s use of artificial intelligence, Saturday’s audience is invited to see if they can spot the AI-generated actor in “Dream.”
Provided by Matt Bartolomeo from “Dream”
The screening will also feature “Pete’s Jeeps,” a short documentary about Pete Bartolomeo’s passion for restoring vintage Jeeps. Made with a similar DIY ethos, the short film is a tribute to Matt’s dad, who passed away in 2018. “Pete’s Jeeps” is a personal project, inspired by the outpouring of love for Pete at his funeral. The film captures his joy in driving his World War II-era Jeep around Stissing Lake, a vehicle that Matt recently restored with the help of his uncle Billy Bartolomeo and cousin Matt Cade. The film has already been selected for the 2024 Hudson Valley Film Fest.
For Bartolomeo, the act of making films — whether it’s a sprawling horror feature or an intimate family portrait — is deeply tied to memory, place and the relationships that sustain both. The premiere of “Dream” at The Stissing Center, followed by a Q&A moderated by actor Willis Williams of Rhinebeck, represents a full-circle moment for a filmmaker who never let go of his roots.