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Where We Began

Overall Rating

Total Runtime 14:04

Two lovers torn apart by addiction confront each other one more time at the spot where they met. Sweet memories clash with painful realities in this heartbreaking short film.

Marc Saltarelli

With the rise of new digital cinema technologies, Marc Saltarelli gathered creative partners to form Line 9 Productions in 2005, with a focus on creating high quality short and feature films utilizing the emerging technology to its fullest.

Marc's short film Where We Began won the 2007 PlanetOut Short Movie Award (4th Runner-Up) as well as being selected for the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film festival in April of 2007. The film premiered in 2006 at Image+Nation, the Montreal GLBT Film Festival.

Marc's first short film, Wingtips, a black and white homage to classic hollywood cinema has played in several festivals around the world and recently was among 20 films shortlisted for the 2007 Planet Out Short Movie awards. It will be streamed on the PlanetOut website to an audience of 4.5 million. Both short films have also been selected for the prestigious 2007 London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, presented by the British Film Institute. They will screen in London's National Theatre at the end of March.

Also in 2006 Marc directed the feature film Dead Boyz Don't Scream, a hilariously campy send up of the homo horror genre. Produced by Jerry Goldberg (Leather Jacket Love Story) the film premiered in Montreal in November 2006 and has so far been selected to screen in Brussels and two festivals in Australia.

Marc also co-produced, wrote, shot and edited the feature documentary film, GDog and the Homies (currently in post-production), which profiles the lives of former East Los Angeles latino gang members. Marc is developing a short film based on these real-life stories that will ultimately become a dramatic feature.

Marc began his career working in the art and post-production departments for Cannon Films, including several low budget films starring and written by brat-packer John Stockwell.

Saltarelli has a film degree from Loyola Marymount University with additional training from USC School of Cinema.

Q: Is there any specific reason you chose to make your film? How did inspiration strike?
Marc: I've wanted to make a movie that addresses the scourge of crystal meth addiction in the gay community for a long time. My friend and screenwriter Tom O'Leary came to me with a beautiful script that focused on the devastation of meth on one relationship. In its deceivingly complex simplicity, it gets to the raw emotion associated with the cycle of addiction and its destruction of relationships. The most haunting element, is the collateral damage addiction yields on people close to the addict... a damage that can last a lifetime.

I've always seen the characters of Timothy and Christian as a metaphor for the toxic relationship that the gay community has taken up with the drug, and the strength and courage it takes to run away from it. It's interesting that Tom's original play dealt with a straight couple who were torn apart by infidelity. In a way, the movie is a love triangle between the two guys and the drug addiction.

Q: What did you hope to convey through your film?
Marc: I realize that many people will relate to the sadly "all too common story"... many having had personal experience that they can bring to the movie. If it can move one person who still suffers, whether it be the addict or a loved one, then I will be thrilled. The great news is that many people have woken up from the nightmare... but it takes a lot of courage and an ability to recognize the problem... and then the willingness to ask for help.

Q: Who are your favorite filmmakers?
Marc: I admire Gus Van Sant's career tremendously. He's an openly gay filmmaker, but his films don't fit into the box of "gay films" specifically. I admire his choices to break barriers and make films that push the limits of style and content. One of the first gay films I saw was "Parting Glances" by Bill Sherwood, and I remember going to see it 5 times at the Beverly Center in West Hollywood. It was the first time that gay characters and situations were portrayed in a truthful way for me, and I have to say that it inspired me to want to do that myself. Martin Scorcese is the greatest living director today... he's a cinema god to me.

Q: Anything else you'd like to share about your film or your careers?
We were fortunate that Park Walkup, Tom's uncle, fell in love with the script and became the executive producer. Without his generosity and creative partnership the movie would never have been made.

Both Tom O'Leary and I have full length screenplays that deal with meth addiction. Tom's screenplay was inspired by the short, and he has added the new character of Timothy's mother who happens to be an aging, ballsy, movie actress and a recovering alcoholic. She takes on a role in dealing with Christian's addiction, based on her own experience with addiction. It's really fantastic, and will have a live staged reading this June at the Provincetown Film Festival. I have another script on the subject that takes a more edgy, gritty approach as it follows the downward spiral of a "boy next door" who hits town in search of his own Hollywood dream.