Tacoma Film Festival: Q&A with Joe Rosati

By weeklyvolcano on September 28, 2007

Limboposter The Weekly Volcano has seen the Tacoma independent film “Limbo” several times now. Joe Rosati and his crew should be proud of their creation.

The story centers on Tacoman Rosati after his nightclub, The Shoboat, closed.  He moved back in with his parents, lost his girlfriend, filed bankruptcy and lived in a state of limbo.

Rosati’s misfortune actually happened over the course of a year, but it was written and filmed much quicker â€" for the sake of the movie. Rosati, Ben Warner, Mike Winfrey, and his longtime movie partner Nick Snapp collected funny stories in their lives and melded them into this original script. 

Rosati’s life will once again be a spectacle for Tacoma when it screens during the Tacoma Film Festival.  “Limbo” will play Friday, Oct. 5, 10 p.m., at The Grand Cinema.

We caught up with Rosati for his thoughts and dreams.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: So what’s it like to be on the “LIMBO” roller coaster again?

JOE ROSATI: Well, it feels great to be back on the roller coaster again, we never got off it really. It has been a work in progress with each screening, edit and article helping along the way to get it into a film festival. Also, we shot another film this summer called “Sarah Jane Road,” so Limbo has led to other projects.

We will be editing “Sarah” in December/January.

VOLCANO: Why did you want your life on the big screen in the first place?

ROSATI: The intent of the film was for a few reasons. I took an acting class as part of personal therapy and bonded with other actors, so we threw our ideas together and came up with the idea of “Limbo” over a few months.

I think many people have a story to share and I used “Limbo” as a way of making lemonade out of lemons. I felt I had nothing to lose and if we could pull it off, it would be a work of art for, by and from the City of Tacoma and its art and business community.

VOLCANO: You have done a few edits since it’s first release.  Are you happy with the product that will be screen at the Tacoma Film Festival?

ROSATI: We are happy with what will screen at the festival. We know it is not the most technically perfect film but we put everything we had into it and learned a lot while making it.

Are there things we would do differently? Yes, but we did not really know what they were until later. All that we learned will go into our next films and since we had to start somewhere, for our first film, we are quite pleased.

The story of how the film was even made could make a good book someday.

VOLCANO: One of our favorite parts in the entire film is the soundtrack.  How do you choose the bands?

ROSATI: Ah, the music, people do love the music. I had many CDs and handed them to Nick Snapp, the director of photography and editor of the film. He just has a knack for putting music to film.

We were sitting on a sailboat and playing a compilation CD that one of the bands gave me at the Shoboat. It had so many good songs on it and half of the songs ended up in the film. The other songs are from Jude Bowerman, Umber Sleeping, Fear Train Caravan, Weather and the Collection.

There are great songs from these bands, better than most stuff on the radio yet they remain unknown on a large scale. It is a tough industry for both music and film and our goal is to bring the people who help us out with us into wherever this is going.

VOLCANO: Is your life still in limbo?

ROSATI:
I think everyone is in limbo about something in their life.

Am I in the same state that I was in prior to making Limbo? No, I have much more direction and feel wiser from my experiences.

The film felt like it was in limbo and now has a bit more of a home since it got accepted into the Tacoma Film Festival. I think those who helped make the film and our friends and family know about it but there are nearly 200,000 people in this city and less than 1,000 have seen it. The Festival has helped to pull the film out of obscurity and now more people will see it which is great.

The new "Limbo" trailer is on YouTube.

Check out the old "Limbo" trailer:

Limbo

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This week's film openings in South Sound theaters

"The Kingdom"

"Feast of Love"

Other openings: “In The Shadow of The Moon,” “Ladron Que Roba a Ladron,” “The Game Plan,” and “Outsourced”

Check out the Movie Clock for show times and more reviews.