Local director captures East Rockaway spirit in ‘Rockaway’

In March 2016, my good friend Anthony was visiting his family in East Rockaway from Atlanta. We talked about getting a couple of the guys together for some drinks and a good time. We coordinated a night out with his brother, John, and another friend, Frank. Anthony, Frank, and I graduated from East Rockaway Junior-Senior High School in 1998, and John did so in 1999. We reminisced a lot that night, thanks to John's unbridled enthusiasm for a movie he wrote. With plans to cast and direct it himself, he was also raising funds for it.

We wound up talking about it all night long.

We were all very excited for John and pleased that he wanted to film in East Rockaway because it would provide the perfect background for the story. I admit I was a little bit skeptical, though. I knew John to be a successful visual effects artist in New York City. He was behind the E-Trade commercials with the dancing babies and some popular music videos. But a full-length movie? Filmed in East Rockaway? This coming summer? He was going to call it “Life Now, Life Then,” a coming-of-age drama, set in the summer of 1994, that told the story of two brothers, their family struggles, and a group of boys from East Rockaway who helped them through those obstacles. A few months later, it was summer 2016, but in East Rockaway, it was the summer of 1994. 

When I learned of the name change to “Rockaway,” I wasn't sure what happened. I knew that John had the ears of industry professionals, and this name change meant marketability. I couldn't fault him for listening to those in the industry. A one-word movie title can be more memorable, more impactful. And Rockaway is certainty synonymous with New York. But would the "East" part be removed from the film? Would our quaint, sleepy suburb of New York City be lost after being filmed here last summer?  

I am here to tell you it's not. East Rockaway is a main character. It's not lost. We see it named: the high school, the Long Island Rail Road station. Our quaintness is captured along with our name, but while watching the film debut at the Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival earlier this month, it was the last thing on my mind. 

“Rockaway” is a drama. It's suspenseful, but it's also hilarious. It has some great visual effects, which I wasn't expecting, but I knew that John was really putting his stamp on things. The casting of “Rockaway” is spectacular, especially if you know the actual people that the characters are based on. The names are the same. While it is fiction, the film was inspired by true events. The group of boys mirror the actual boys that rode their bikes to Lister Park to play basketball one day and then played baseball at the Complex the next day. The childhood camaraderie among the actors is evident throughout the movie. I even saw them interact with each other after the premiere, and it is clear that the actors for those roles are developing a brotherhood bond very similar to the one the original boys have. This is what is going to make “Rockaway” such a special film.

I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to support my good friends and their family and see the movie’s premiere. I wish them the best of luck on Sept. 30, when they take this film west to the Catalina Film Festival in California. For updates on the movie and the independent circuit, follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/RockawayFilm/ or www.rockawaythefilm.com. 

Daniel L. Caracciolo is a resident of East Rockaway, President of the East Rockaway Education Foundation and East Rockaway High School Alumni Association. He works in commercial banking and can be reached at rikkisdad007@gmail.com.