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Meet the Filmmakers: Tyler Borkowski and Trae Beneck, “Family Heirloom”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
T&T: We love film because there’s beauty in every aspect of creating stories, from the big scripted moments on-screen to the quiet moments behind the camera. It feels amazing to bring a team together to tell a story, and see how those voices come together.

Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
T&T: The film you’re about to see is called “Family Heirloom,” which is a short film that follows a family heirloom vase that acts as a silent observer to three generations of family trauma. The film exclusively centers itself on the vase and its immediate environment, and the audience eavesdrops on quiet moments that occur out-of-focus or outside the frame as we watch how these affect the family tree.

This film will be premiering for the first time at EFP! We’ve submitted it to a handful of other film festivals across the country and are hoping for it to be seen by as many people as possible because we believe its message is a very important one.

Q: What else are you working on?
T&T: Tyler Borkowski and Trae Beneck co-own a film production company based here in Denver called Wasteland of Wonder. WoW works with a wide array of clients on commercials, narrative shorts, documentaries, and brand development. The goal is to use the funds generated by the business to pursue passion projects and develop their portfolios so they can one day produce narrative film at the highest level.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
T&T: We’re a bunch of sellouts, and this our only passion project this year in a sea of corporate content. We justify it by telling ourselves that we’ll use the money from the commercials to fund the passion projects, but the truth of the matter is we really like money. Damn the corporate machine! Down with the man!

By the way, if you’re looking to hire us for your company’s advertising needs, please email us at wastelandofwonder@gmail.com! Long live capitalism!

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
T&T: www.wastelandofwonder.com is our production company’s website. It’s got our entire portfolio on it along with all of our contact info and socials!

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
T&T: EFP is so important for filmmakers in the Denver area because it can be such a disparagingly difficult place to gain experience. There’s a lot of commercial and reality TV work in Denver but as far as narrative work is concerned it’s a very limited market. EFP allows people making narrative-driven film a place to showcase their work and have it shared with other like-minded creatives in a fun and safe environment.

Family Heirloom will screen during The Emerging Filmmakers Project on Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at The Bug Theatre.