Portfolio
They told us it wasn’t possible.
So we did it twice.
Despite being told we’re too ambitious each year, we just can’t help ourselves. In Chameleon Film Studios’ first year, we wrote, shot, and produced five short films. In our second year, we wrote, shot, and produced one short film and two feature films, including our first fully funded project, The Scars of Our Hands.
The Scars of Our Hands
Inspired by Arthurian legend, this modern western thriller wrestles with arsonists, betrayal, and the quest for purpose. Where do we go when we are confused and directionless? To find these answers, we may have to climb over the Rockies or brave the eye of the inferno.
LIFE AND DEATH
Jordan has a unique career, he is both a wedding officiant and a eulogist for funerals. Most of the time he can’t tell the difference between the two. As his apathy and alcoholism grow, his life unravels as he spirals deeper into depression, picks fights with his priestly brother, and desperately tries to manage a budding new relationship.
Director/Writer: Matthew Smaldone
PRODUCERS: Matthew Smaldone, JT Melaragno, Jason Potter, Maddi Lucas, Tom Svaldi
Sound Mixer: Phillip Wallace
Cinematography: Jason Potter & Matthew Smaldone
Location Scout: Tom Svaldi
Art Direction: Maddi Lucas
Jordan: James Alejandro Corso
Mark: Tony Schumacher
Amelie: Olivia Hendrick
INK
Bernese, Wallace, and Rachel are senior partners at one of the biggest start-ups in the region. However, they didn’t earn their success above the boards. When their illegal scheme is uncovered and their blackmailer threatens to reveal their secret to the CEO, they have to scramble to come up with a solution, all while navigating an emerging complication: the new senior partner.
Director/Writer: Matthew Smaldone
Sound Mixer: Phillip Wallace
Cinematography: Jason Potter & Matthew Smaldone
Location Scout: Tom Svaldi
Art Direction: Maddi Lucas
Bernese: JT Melaragno
Wallace: Jason Potter
Rachel: Maddi Lucas
Nelli: Hannah Vail
Kevin: Tom Svaldi
SAINT JOHN
Ed Zursky is a quiet and quirky employee at the local greenhouse. To him, the plants aren’t just plants; along with his music, they’re his escape. However, when his estranged brother reappears, Ed will have to face his past and the demons he is so desperately trying to escape.
Director/Writer: Matthew Smaldone
Sound Mixer: Phillip Wallace
Location Scout: Tom Svaldi
Set Assistance: Jason Potter
Ed Zurksy: Tom Svaldi
Mark Zursky: JT Melaragno
Grace: Hannah Vail
Anthony: Fernando San Miguel
Shot as part of the 2022 Yes We Cannes Competition
LUCIDITY
Nanotics are the future of hallucinogens. They give your mind complete autonomy, but not without side-effects. When a girl walks into a world she isn’t prepared for to use this drug in her search for closure, she will learn just how deep the rabbit-hole goes and how hard it is to climb out of.
Director/Writer: Matthew Smaldone
Sound Mixer: Phillip Wallace
Sweetie: Hannah Vail
Zeke Westwater: Tom Svaldi
Gabriel: Jason Potter
The guy: Fernando San Miguel
Shot as part of the 2022 Denver 48 Hour Film Project
THE WITCHING HOUR
Director/Writer: Matthew Smaldone
Sound Mixer: Phillip Wallace
Katie: Autumn Silva
Borthusala: Matthew Smaldone
Abigail: Hannah Vail
Greta: Kaitlin Kennedy
Director of Photography: Nick Biewer
Camera Op: Brandon Blanc
Production Assistant: Bekah Martin
Katie is joining a new coven! She arrives at her ceremonial initiation eager to join a sisterhood of spiritual growth and astrological values… or so she thinks. Her new “sisters” may have something else in mind.
WE
Dr. Alex J. Anderson has been kidnapped and restrained in an unfamiliar basement. He awakes to meet Seymour, an oddly child-like man who carries an unnerving innocence. With the still unsolved murder of a young girl hanging in the back of his mind and a mysterious captor before him, Alex must decipher Seymour's true intentions and find a way to escape.
Director/Writer: Matthew Smaldone
Sound Mixer: Phillip Wallace
Dr. Alex J. Anderson: JT Melaragno
Seymour: Tom Svaldi
Production Assistant: Bekah Martin
