Steven Hacker is a familiar face at the Maltz Museum. He’s contributed his time and talent to numerous projects here over the years including the documentary “To Be a Woman in the Holocaust,” winner of two 2014 International Telly Awards. Those projects are particularly rewarding for him. “I love doing things that have meaning,” he told me. “You know how I feel about the Museum . . . at least I think you do, right?”
After graduating from the University of Cincinnati, Hacker launched a career in cinematography that took him to a few cites, a handful of stations and even a couple of agencies. He’s been involved with documentaries, cable news, national commercials and the occasional bar mitzvah video. “In the stock market they call that diversification, and I do too,” says Hacker. “I am pretty diversified. But the one thing all of these projects have in common is that they involve telling stories.”
So does Hacker’s most recent effort, a short film directed by Andrew Gorell that’s showing at this year’s Cleveland International Film Festival. “On a Technicality,” the tale of five old buddies whose friendly albeit preposterous bet takes an unexpected turn, is part of the Ohio Shorts II Program on Wednesday, March 25 at 9:20pm at Tower City. (If you go, use code MMJH20 to save $2 per ticket.) I talked to Hacker about the film that was based on a real story and filmed locally at Jack’s Deli.
So, this film about old friends?
These guys grew up together. They went to elementary school together. They make a preposterous bet and end up learning how fragile life is and how important people are.
Is their friendship what resonated for you?
Yes. It is what they mean to each other. How they care for one another. The big thing about any good movie, I think, is the successful suspension of disbelief. You want to be lost in a story. I think in this film we were able to do that. It’s a beautiful story about guys who love each other, and that really came through.
How did you meet your co-producer on the film, Jeff Grover?
Jeff is a full-time actor. He lives in New York and Chagrin Falls. I met him maybe 10-12 years ago. We were working on a project together. He was the talent. He was playing a businessman in this film about an investment company. Over the years we’ve done several things together. Before “On a Technicality,” we collaborated on “Both Sides of the Family.” It’s a 50-minute drama about a man in an interfaith relationship and a woman who marries into the Jewish faith. They don’t know each other; it’s two simultaneous, unrelated stories. Still, it all converges at the end. They’re both at the Wailing Wall in Israel, and the man sees the woman’s daughter and she sees his son. It’s used as a piece to help families understand some of the complexities of interfaith relationships. It was underwritten by The Temple-Tifereth Israel. It was a play originally. We shot it digitally.
What are the challenges and benefits of shooting in an actual deli?
Because it was an actual deli, we had to shoot after hours. We had the run of the deli once they closed their doors. We shot into the wee hours of the morning and locked up as we left. One night, we actually were leaving just as the bagels were being dropped off for morning delivery. So, even though we were there late at night it had to look like daytime. Luckily, we had a great crew. Keith Nickoson, Rick Stern and Kip Gynn are all feature film guys. The challenges are easier to overcome with such a great crew.
The benefit was having everything feel as real as possible for our actors in terms of environment. After running lines in early rehearsals, the actors would adlib. We incorporated that. We refined. The actual script is a combination of what originally was written on the page and some of what they had adlibbed because they were five Jewish guys who got the nuances of it. They were able to organically bring things to the roles. Our final rehearsal was in the actual booth at the deli.
You surrounded yourself with a great crew and great talent, eh?
The actors are wonderful. They lived and breathed it. I’ve seen it 100 times at least, and I see something different in their performances every time. We shot with two cameras. One was a wide shot I had on a dolly slider, and Keith Aukeman ran close-ups. We did this all in almost real-time. Shooting a live style was definitely interesting. We didn’t have the deli long enough to do it any differently. We had to do this all on a fairly brisk timeline. We might do five takes to find one good one. It was expedient.
What does the deli mean to you?
I think what it means to Jeff is really important. It means a lot to him. It was the last place he went with his dad before his dad passed away. The deli is a regular meeting spot for the guys in the story. It is their home away from home. It’s their place, and there is a comfort in that.
Why would you tell someone to go to CIFF who may not have had that experience?
It’s filled with very provocative work that makes you think. Over the years, the film festival has become a wonderful place for interesting points of view and things of beauty, which is only fitting given that Cleveland has become a wonderful place for arts and culture. I am thrilled, and I am honored to be part of it.
Do you have insider tip for negotiating this increasingly popular festival?
Buy your tickets early. People don’t realize how crowded it can become—particularly the shorts programs. There is such a demand for tickets.
Where do you plan to take the film after CIFF?
We are already in a small, interesting Long Island film festival. We also need to cut another two minutes to submit it to a Screen Actors Guild competition. We have to put a sharp razor to this thing to meet the guidelines for entry, and I am guessing the three of us don’t see the cut the same way at this point. That’s the next step. We want this to have a long life to it.
Why should Maltz Museum audience come see it?
It’s a beautiful story about friendship. Sometimes, people think more about family when things go south. It’s a comedy that’s also a very serious film. It’s like life in that way . . . it has serious moments and joyous ones.
