Corrales filmmaker's production selected for the Venice Film Festival
Sep. 22—Bob Belinoff wanted to create a project that is meaningful and has purpose.
At 76, the Corrales resident decided to put together a short film called, "Almost a Masterpiece."
The film was part of the Albuquerque Film and Music Experience which wrapped up a week ago.
"It's great to have the film being seen," Belinoff says. "It's being honored and I appreciate."
Belinoff is five years and nine films into his post-career career as a maker of short art, documentary and fantasy films.
His nine-minute, mostly silent movie, "Almost a Masterpiece" is also selected to screen at the Venice Film Festival in Los Angeles.
The whimsical nine-minute film follows the trials of an aging filmmaker as he swings for the fences in his final film — he can see it, he can feel it, he can almost taste it — but can he make it?
After working with others for years in the advertising and communication business in New Mexico and California — Belinoff decided to work completely on his own and mostly in his Corrales backyard.
Though hardly a digital native, he taught himself enough to wear all the hats in his one-man productions. He is writer, director, editor, producer and on-screen star of most of his films. His crew is a tripod. Sound is a specialty he has never mastered, so there is none, save for lighthearted classical music.
"At a certain age, the end becomes visible somewhere and I wanted to make something about finding meaning and purpose," he says. "I didn't want to be serious and I wanted it to be lighthearted. I wanted to deal with the issue."
Belinoff wanted to tell a story about a guy, himself, who late in life, starts on a new adventure.
"I had a vision in my mind and I think I pulled it off," he says.
Though the film is nine minutes, it took Belinoff six months to complete.
He takes his time because he is a crew of one.
"I'm a digital idiot," he explains. "I know about only 11 moves in editing. Everything else I have to wing it."
He wanted to show that no matter the age, you can have fun.
"It's important to have fun at every point in your life," he says. "If you are my age and having fun and discovering something about yourself, it's a great thing."
Since 2017, his short films have played in festivals from Moscow to Brooklyn, New York. His primary interest is the art of aging and the creative process.
His 2017 production "Georgia O'Keeffe & Me" won Best Comedy of the Year from the New Mexico Film Production Office. Most of his work leans comedic, though his 2020 solo production, "A Night in the Shelter" is decidedly not, as Belinoff embedded-himself Albuquerque's West Side homeless shelter for several weeks.
"I'm fascinated with learning something new every day," he says. "These are the goals that I have right now."
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