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MFL Takes to the Big Screen!

Music, Art, Podcasts, TV, and now, Music For Life is thrilled to present our newest creative addition to wide range of classes and opportunities we offer: Film-making!

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The venture began in 2022 when Music For Life received a grant to create our first original documentary, "Everybody Should Be In A Band," about our ever-growing band program.

 

Written, filmed, performed, edited, and scored by the students in our adult programs, we hope to bring many more films to the MFL film collection, starting with "Dr. D and the Monster," which began production in the summer of 2024, which premiered at the Nyack Center on January 10th, 2025.​. 

 

We have so many talented editors at Music For Life, all of whom have spent months working on special projects to showcase in at our annual MFL Film Festival. From horror films to travel vlogs to holiday ads, our participants have experimented with sound effects, music production, and editing existing material to tell a unique story.

 

We hope you will enjoy witnessing the creative minds of our participants through film and video editing.

 

For more information about how to get involved in our movie-making process, or ways to donate, email info@musicforlifecenter.com

Everybody Should Be In A Band

A film about the power of playing music together

We are proud to share our documentary, "Everybody Should Be In A Band," with you. This film not only highlights the power of playing music together but also shows the many skills, talents and wonderful personalities of our participants. While you can access the film for free, PLEASE help us continue to provide these types of programming by donating whatever you feel you are able ($15, $25, $100 or more!). ​

 

In January 2023 we received a Voices of Change grant from Arts Westchester to make a film about the many benefits of playing in a band to people with all skills, abilities and challenges. We wanted to raise awareness about how powerful it is to get to know somehow through their music and to play music together. We also wanted the project to be a call to action to others to offer these same types of experiences in their communities.

 

​Filmmaker, Pascal Akesson, joined us for 6 months, teaching our participants how to shoot and edit as well as filming interviews, rehearsals and performances. The film is about our musicians AND it is made by our participants. We think the resulting 45 minute film is pretty special!​

 

We need your help to continue to build our budding film program. Any contribution will help us continue to offer classes in film making and to make more films like this!

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Everybody Should Be In A Band

Thank you for watching! 

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Suggested donation: $15 but any amount is welcome.

NOTE: We hope to raise $10,000 to make a feature film with our actors, musicians, and filmmakers.

 

$100 will get you a Music For Life T-shirt

$500 will get you a credit as a funder of our film (plus a T-shirt)

$1000 will get you listed as a benefactor (and a T-shirt)

+$1000 will get you a huge amount of karma!!!​​​​​​

 

FILM FUNDERS:

This project was made possible by a grant from ArtsWestchester

Annette Hidary

Phyllis Dodge

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Dr. D and the Monster

A Music For Life Original Film 

A dentist at the height of his practice finds himself disillusioned by the hopes he had for his life--that is, until he is summoned to the past by a young girl trying to stop her uncle from taking over the city! Will Dr. D defeat the evil scientist's monster? Streaming now at Music For Life! 

"Dr. D and the Monster"

An MFL Original Film 

CAST 

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Dr. D  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris N.

Madeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grace R. 

Dr. Verruct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adam G. 

The Monster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milo F.

Rocky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jerome K.

Villager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shmuelie F.

Villager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .Vineet R.

Dancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jake P. 

Directed by

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Rick Apicella     Molly Gorman    Autumn Hill

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Produced by 

Jeffrey Friedberg 

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Written by 

Rick Apicella    Chris Nemesdy    Jacob Rapaport    Simi Stiener

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Edited by 

Leah Ehrenberg      Adam Gerard     Autumn Hill   

Chris Nicolaides    Dan Shannon

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Music by 

Milo Urra Fuller    Molly Gorman    Chris Nicolaides

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MFL FILM FESTIVAL

With the release of our first movie "Everybody Should Be In A Band," several participants discovered a love for video editing that MFL was able to foster through the medium of short-film projects. Pascal Akesson, a professional editor and filmmaker, has been working with our participants to create films using existing footage, photos, sound effects, and more. As our editors have a wide range of interests, you will see apocalyptic soundscapes, stop-motion animations, travel vlogs, pet videos, band edits, horror-inspired shorts, and ads for holidays, important people, and delicious foods, as well as clips from MFL TV Show and the Voices Are Heard podcast. Also featured in this festival is the debut of "Dr. D and The Monster," a movie written, performed, filmed, and edited by MFL participants, and a promotional video for the documentary "Night Out," created by Eva Friedberg about the talented performers at Music For Life. 

Please enjoy our short-film favorites from 2024, with videos created by Leni, Leah, Selina, Chris, Geoffrey, Milo, Adam, Jake and Dan. 

Featured Videos

Leni

Sound Effects - Creepy Building 

"Happy 4th of July" 

"Leni's Wicked Journey"

"The New York City Zoo"

"My Walt Disney Trip"

"The Wolfman"

"Hexter The Cat"

Chris 

"City Noises"

"Tappan Zee Bridge Is Falling Down"

"4th of July at Disney"

"My Electrical Water Pageant Video"

"Chris' Fantasmic Video"

"Polar Express Train Ride Video"

Geoffrey

"City Noises"

"Tappan Zee Bridge Is Falling Down"

"4th of July at Disney"

Selina

"July 4th, 2099"

"Shrek the Musical" Commercial

"Time To Get Energized"

"Thanksgiving Candy Corn"

Leah 

"Woman's History Month"

"Mother's Day" 

"London and Paris Trip 24

Adam

"Easy As Pizza Pie"

"Sarges Stunt Show"

"Eurotrip 2024"

Milo 

"Grand Opening: The Tappan Annex"

"Alex Richardson and Claire's Wedding"

Dan

"Up! Covered by: the AMPS"

Jake

"Happy Thanksgiving"

Cast of MFL TV Show

"Happy Mother's Day"

"Salsa Wallito"

Eva Friedberg

"Night Out 11.15.24" Film Preview

Voices Are Heard

"Nyack's Mayor Joseph Rand" Excerpt

Dr. D And The Monster:
A Music For Life Original Film

Music For Life Creative Arts Therapy, 2024

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