The Starfish - An Indie Feature Film

After discovering a starfish at his family's lakeside cottage, a young man is inspired to pursue his longtime crush.

Hi! My name is John DiGiacomo and this summer I will be shooting my first full length feature film. I'm putting everything I have into this project (heart, soul, time, money, physical health)—please help make this dream happen!

Check out the personal video essay above to learn more about me and where this project comes from :)

THE STORY

Why do we need romantic partners when we have best friends?

The film follows a young man named Ray, who is the host (as usual) for this summer hangout at his family's lakeside cottage in New Hampshire. Despite heading into his senior year of college, Ray still hasn't had a first kiss. But after discovering a starfish, and with the encouragement of his boys, he decides to make a move on his longtime crush.

The Starfish is a story rooted in personal experience—inspired by, dedicated to, and made with the love of my closest friends. It is a coming-of-age film that is part psychological drama and part hangout movie—with a touch of magical realism.

Ultimately, my promise is to make something that is true to life and unique. A movie with...

NO FILTERS on the way our characters speak...

FREEDOM for the cast to live the performances...

and an ENDING YOU WON'T FORGET.

THE STYLE

Hanging out on the lake by day and talking around the campfire by night, this film will follow in the tradition of other coming-of-age stories which explore character relationships over the course of one long summer day.

Unlike other coming-of-age films, these characters will be older (heading into senior year of college), exploring how the characters still live in the past of high school, are trying to break free from it, or embracing it like never before.

Shooting an observational documentary style with loose handheld camerawork and 16mm film emulation, we want the film to feel like memories you'd find in your phone's camera roll. Imperfect and intimate.

Our main references include the raw visual style of Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001), the fun and crude banter of Superbad (2007), and the intense rivalry and nostalgia of My Brilliant Friend (2018-2024).

THE TEAM

John DiGiacomo - Watch video at the top of the page or see him dance in his underwear in "Johnny Centipede" (2024)

Tyler Markovich - Tyler's ranked among the top 50 in the world at Settlers of Catan. He plays soccer, surfs, and makes crazy fat fluffy cinnamon rolls. Depending on the day, he's either watching Tarkovsky, The Incredibles, or Surf's Up. For his film work, check out https://tylermarkovich.com/dp

Kayla Avitabile - Kayla's a musician turned video editor who met John back at the Tufts University film "cage". There they bonded over weird and violent movies, and being Italian-American. She likes to drink cappuccinos while listening to Sleater Kinney. For her film work, check out https://www.kaylaavitabile.com/

Tim Leong - Tim's a corn popper at a struggling independent cinema in his hometown. He loves to cook, but is not above eating an entire bag of Takis for breakfast. He met John coming out of the dark days of the pandemic, on a project that had them scrambling through Somerville, Cambridge, and Chinatown without sleep and without permits. For his film work, check out https://tleong.com/

Anthony Catino - Anthony's a field service engineer who just ran the Boston Marathon. He has been friends with John since 4th grade, but the two may have met as early as preschool. Whether it be listening to his story ideas or performing in front of a camera, Anthony has always helped in John's creative endeavors. He also always helps finish John's leftovers.

Yuta Belmont - Yuta's a programmer who used to lift weights. Now he spends all of his time in front of a computer screen, occasionally interspersing his typing with a long walk (headphones in). He needs to try Tyler's cinnamon buns, but with his taste the home cooking might be wasted. Was seated next to John in 9th grade because of their last names.

THE CAST

Anthony Peluso | Oscar Winter | Demitri Lopez | Sofia Capua

THE BUDGET

We are already HALFWAY towards reaching our anticipated budgetary needs!

The production expenses can be divided roughly into thirds. One third will go toward Cast and Crew (we're fortunate that more than half of the team will be volunteering their unpaid time), another third will go toward Living Necessities (we are going to be shooting in a small town in New Hampshire -- living and working together at the filmmaker's cottage and another house on the lake), and the last third toward Production Equipment (we have crew generously volunteering personal equipment to help reduce costs, but we have a costly special effects project in the works that will elevate the story beyond the typical ultra low budget indie film).

CHALLENGES

The film takes place over the course of one long summer day -- but we are shooting over the course of four weeks! And so one of the challenges will be maintaining a consistent look with the weather, set decor, talent's wardrobe and hair, etc.

We have worked to mitigate these challenges by doing extensive pre-visualization and cushioning our schedule for flexibility. We are afforded this by having unlimited access to the location during pre-production and while shooting.

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