Former Newtown resident Nate Hapke will be winging his way back from his day job as a production manager on the set of General Hospital to debut his award-winning short film Thom & Gerry at the New Haven International Film Festival.

According to the young filmmaker, Thom & Gerry is an official selection of the festival. It is scheduled for a 3 pm screening on Thursday, November 12, and Friday, November 13, at 1:15 pm, depending on final scheduling by the coordinators.

The screening is being held at Gateway Community College.

In a brief chat with The Newtown Bee November 4, Mr Hapke said that he has shown the film at Cannes in the Short Film Corner.

“It did really well, an incredible honor to have it there,” Mr Hapke said of Thom & Gerry, which had its primary work done late last year in Newtown. While the audience in the boutique screening room was small, Mr Hapke was gratified by the applause that rang out as the film concluded.

Thom & Gerry also premiered at Camden International Film Festival in Maine, as well as Trinity International Film Festival in Detroit last August, where it captured the Best Short Film honor.

Since the film was completed, the filmmaker has set his sights on turning Thom & Gerry, which features veteran character actor Richard Herd, into a full-length feature. The project also spawned an ongoing relationship between Mr Hapke and Mr Herd.

The pair recently wrapped up work on their second collaboration,  a dual narrative short film based on a true story that hits close to home for Mr Hapke. The film deals with the themes of predestination, the inevitability of death, the phenomenon of self-imposed guilt, and the inevitability of old age and everything that comes along with it.Zeide,

The dual narrative, inspired by Mr Hapke’s own grandfather, revolves around Benjamin, an 82-year-old man played by Mr Herd who has lost his ability to be self-sufficient and also the love of his life, his wife Hannah. Enter Delilah, his 24-year-old granddaughter who has taken it upon herself to be Benjamin’s connection to the real world outside of the constraints of his hospital room.

The Hapke/Herd partnership will extend to a third, feature-length project.

“It’s a completely original story with Mr Herd supporting,” Mr Hapke said. “It’s about a 30-something guy who’s trying to figure out what relationships mean to him in terms of how much value you should put into any relationship. It’s title is Guests, and the tag line is: We are all just guests in each other’s lives.”

Before he headed back to the GH set, Mr Hapke shouted out inviting all his Newtown friends and neighbors to the New Haven screenings.

For more information on the New Haven International Film Festival, visit ctfilmfest.com/Newhaven.