West Orange native wins at Sundance Film Festival

WEST ORANGE, NJ — From creating his first film, a parody of Jurassic Park on VHS for an English project when he was in seventh grade at Roosevelt Middle School, to winning at the Sundance Film Festival recently, West Orange native Matt Stryker has come a long way.
The 13-minute coming-of-age film, “When You Left Me On That Boulevard” which Stryker co-edited with Kayla Abuda Galang, the director, won The Short Film Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Stryker was also First Assistant Director on the film. The film, written by Galang, is about a moment in time in a young teenage girl’s life.
How did Stryker go from creating a middle-school project to winning at Sundance? He credits his parents, West Orange residents Dave Stryker, a professional jazz guitarist and Tynia
Thomassie who works for the West Orange schools, for helping him get there.
Once they realized his interest in film, they enrolled him in summer sessions at The New York Film Academy, Stryker said, and that is where he first “really started making movies” and has been “obsessed” with it ever since.
“We’re incredibly proud of him,” said Thomassie. “Our son has always seen my husband as an example of someone who followed his inner passion to pursue his creative passion as a professional, so how could we say no?”
After graduating from West Orange High School in 2010, Stryker continued studying film at the University of Texas where he met Galang, who was also majoring in film. The two became friends and have since collaborated on many projects together.
“Boulevard” just had its Austin, Texas premiere at The South by Southwest Conference and Festival which is taking place through Sunday and is where Stryker currently resides.
“Boulevard” which is considered a proof-of-concept film – a short film to prove the concept of a fuller-length movie the team hopes to make – takes place in 2006 in a Southern California Filipino community during the course of Thanksgiving Day.
Although it is specific regarding time and space, it is universal in the details it depicts – a teenage girl being embarrassed by her relatives, waiting for a boy to call her and secretly sharing a joint with her older cousins before the family’s Thanksgiving dinner.
“The film is very experiential and not heavily plotted,” said Stryker. “It’s about ruminating in spaces with this family and about getting into this girl’s emotions as she is waiting for a guy she likes to call her. “
How did it feel to be at the world-famous Sundance Film Festival?
After quipping that “It is the film festival your parents heard of.” Stryker said, “I was just trying to take it in stride, but it is pretty intimidating on its face … It was huge just to get in. Winning was even more surreal.”
At Sundance, Stryker and his team encountered filmmakers from all over the world, which inspired them.
“It was special and everyone on our team left motivated to gear shift into the next phase and maintain this feeling moving forward,” Stryker said.
Currently Stryker is free-lancing as an “editor-for-hire” so he has the freedom to work on special projects, like “Boulevard.”
“I take whatever comes my way so I can take the time to work on these passion projects,” said Stryker. “There is a freedom in that. Even though it is lots of work for me, it is nice to see the things I’m working on get recognized, and seemingly more regularly.”
What advice would Stryker give to other would-be filmmakers just starting out? His advice is three-fold, and the first part involves not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good, and embracing the journey.
“Don’t hold your value to any one project,” Stryker advises. “Whether it does exactly what you hoped for or not so much, they’re all just parts of you and it doesn’t define you. You can always try again and the process should be fulfilling on its own.”
And Stryker advises not to go it alone. “Pay attention to your peers and collaborate,” he said. “It’s way better to come up together than alone.”
Lastly, Stryker wishes new film-makers success – with some caveats.
“Good luck – this is some of the best highs imaginable and also about as taxing as it gets – it asks everything of you at various points.” Stryker said.
“Check in with yourself about your boundaries and what you’re capable of in any given moment.”
But despite the hardships, Stryker says, “It’s a field that’s unfortunately, just worth it.”
For updates visit @matt.r.stryker and @boulevard.shortfilm on Instagram.