WELCOME TO CONCESSIONS! 

Concessions is a hangout comedy about the death of movie theaters. It follows two employees working the final shift at a dying small-town movie theater in Albany, New York. 

The Story

Hunter and Lorenzo are two overeducated slackers working the final shift at a closing small-town movie theater; The Royal Alamo Cineplex. Over the course of their last night, they argue about movies, piss off customers, and re-discover the beauty of movie theaters.

Hunter is like the priest of the theater and the concessions stand is his altar, where customers get to hear his rambling sermons, crossing swords with anyone artless enough to miss the patronizing offensiveness of Forrest Gump or the blatant anti-semitism of George Lucas.

But Hunter is at a crossroads. He’s grown bitter about his place in life and the cards he’s been dealt. This causes him to reflect seriously on his life choices and contemplate what the future could hold. 

Director's Statement

Concessions is a love letter to my time working at my local movie theater in Clifton Park, New York. Some of my most formative and memorable years were spent serving popcorn and tickets behind a stand and arguing about movies with my friends. It was a lifelong dream to have that job, and I look back on it fondly. 

This film is a memory piece looking back on those times and the people I knew, making it a piece that speaks volumes to the experiences I had and to the beauty of movie theaters in a time where their future seems more and more uncertain ever day. The film mixes those memories with many of the movies that shaped me as an artist such as the work of Kevin Smith and Richard Linklater. Their DIY style of hang-out, slice of life films, matched with obsessive attention to every day conversations and youthful aimlessness has been incredibly influential to me as a writer and director. 

Concessions is a coming of age story about a universal teenage experience — apathy working a minimum wage job. 

- Mas Bouzidi

INFLUENCES

Clerks (1994) dir. by Kevin Smith

Slacker (1990) dir. by Richard Linklater

The Last Picture Show (1971) dir. by Peter Bogdanovich

SubUrbia (1996) dir. by Richard Linklater

What The Money Goes To

Celluloid Costs 

Yes! We are shooting on 16mm film!  Concessions is a film that needs to be shot on celluloid. It is a deeply nostalgic love letter to movie theaters in a time where their future seems increasingly dire. 16mm always evokes a warm and textured feel that enhances the film and goes hand in hand with its themes.

Equipment Costs 

Camera, Lighting, Lenses, etc.

Location Costs/Transportation/Meals

In "Concessions", our lead character works at "The Royal Alamo Cineplex" a fictional theater in Albany, New York. With your help, we'll be able to take over a theater back in Albany and create our own Royal Alamo! We will also need to feed our wonderful cast and crew, and compensate them for their travel.

Production Design, Wardrobe, Props, etc.

To create the lived in setting of The Royal Alamo Cineplex, we need to make signs, uniforms, popcorn buckets (no refills!) and more! 

The Crew 

Mas Bouzidi - Writer/Director​

Mas Bouzidi is a New York based writer/director. After making several theatrically released home-town feature films in Albany, Mas began making short films at NYU, including one on 16mm film. Mas fell in love with movies at a very young age and since then, has been watching and making films religiously. He’s written five feature films, directed over a dozen short films, and runs a podcast, Boxdin, where he talks to young filmmakers and industry professionals about cult movies and genre films. Mas has been writing “Concessions” for three years now and gone through almost sixty drafts since working at his local movie theater in High School.

Mas's Reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r33DaFQVV4M

Favorite Movie Theater Experience: Mean Streets 35mm midnight screening at the IFC Center and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 70mm at the Village East Cinema.

Ram Segura Khagram - Producer

Ram Segura Khagram is an Indian and Chicano American filmmaker and producer. Prior to attending NYU Film School, he worked as a producer’s assistant in LA and on several podcasts, talk shows, and other projects. Since arriving in New York, he’s produced several short films and written several more, along with some commercial work. He recently directed his debut short “Bagman”, and currently serves as a personal assistant to award-winning independent film producer Ted Hope. 

Favorite Movie Theater Experience: The Last Black Man in San Francisco  at the Castro Theater in San Francisco.

Adrian Sobrado - Producer

Adrian Sobrado is a Costa Rican writer/producer based in NYC. His passion for people and life has led him to work on numerous short films focused on humanistic storytelling. Growing up in Costa Rica and constantly surrounded by international cultures since birth, has inspired him to work on projects that have lead to Student Academy Awards and to be selected in festivals like Raindance.

Favorite Movie Theater Experience: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 35mm at the IFC Center.

Daniel Alejandro Beracha - Producer

Daniel Alejandro Beracha is a Venezuelan born award-winning film producer. While currently pursuing a dual degree in film production and business management at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Daniel has also taken the time to grow his own production company; "Headless Duckie Media Group". His 5+ years of film producing have afforded him invaluable experience in the management of a production.

Favorite Movie Theater Experience: Interstellar in Dolby Digital at the AMC Aventura 24 in Miami.

Derrick Chen - Director of Photography

Derrick Chen is a cinematographer based in New York City. Derrick has shot 1 feature film, 32 short films, commercials including Montblanc, Calvin Klein, Marie Claire, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, and Mark Cross in NYC, LA, a PSA for HK anti-suicide prevention center in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Mexico City. His work has been featured in the New York Times and in assorted prestigious film festivals such as SXSW, TIFF, Sundance Fellowships, Santa Barbara International Film Festival and more. He's eager to explore visual storytelling with the director and create a specially tailored cinematic experience for each project. He's educated at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Favorite Movie Theater Experience: Get Out  at the AMC Village 7.

Cami Olses - Assistant Director

Cami Olses is a Venezuelan filmmaker currently attending NYU film. After doing Theater for 11 years she discovered her passion for being behind the stage, or rather behind the camera, and making stories come to life. Currently, she works as an Assistant Director, Script Supervisor, and Editor, ranging from student to professional sets. She also works in post production and the makeup department, always adapting herself to what is needed.

Favorite Movie Theater Experience: Avengers: Endgame  at the Cinex in Venezuela.

Other incredibly talented crew members included are...

OLIVE RYAN - Casting Director

MEHULA SINGH - Production Designer

EWURAKUA DAWSON-AMOAH - Sound Mixer

JACK POSNER - Executive Producer

JACLYN GOLDSTEIN - Costume Designer

LIAM SABAN - Script Supervisor

BLAIR TALLER - Line Producer

CONNOR KEEP - Unit Production Manager

MATT IACONO - Gaffer

GEORGE DU - 1st Assistant Camera

ALLIE IACONO- 2nd Assistant Camera

CLINT PANG - Grip

RHEA LI - Boom Operator

SAM RICE - Steadi-Cam Operator

MARTINA DI LICOSA - Art Assistant

WHAT'S NEXT?

We've currently launched pre-production, and are preparing to shoot the film in February in Albany, New York! Once Concessions wraps production, we move on to the post process, and are planning to have our final product in late Spring/early Summer! In addition to an international virtual screening upon the film's completion, a public theater screening in Manhattan, and its film festival run, Concessions will also be distributed on Amazon Prime in early 2022, when we expect to be in production on the feature film! Stay updated with news about that on the film's instagram @concessionsmovie.

THE IMPACT