SKY BLUE COLLAR
Running Time: 8 minutes

SYNOPSIS:
A businessman and a carpet installer enjoy a wild and playful friendship, but when their class-conscious bosses pressure them to steer clear of each other, the Romeo and Juliet of the workaday world must decide what's more important: how we make a living, or who we're living for.

TAGLINE: Mutiny on a forklift

CREDITS:
Starring Matt Amadio, Tim Flanagan, Steve Kuzmick and Gil Damon
Directed and Produced by Derek Frey
Written by The Minor Prophets
Cinematography by Derek Frey
Edited by Derek Frey
Featuring the song "Little People" by The Fleeting Ends

DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY:

SKY BLUE COLLAR marks my fourth collaboration with Philadelphia's premiere comedic troupe, THE MINOR PROPHETS. It's been a creatively inspiring and rewarding relationship these last 7 years. Our previous endeavor, THE BALLAD OF SANDEEP, proved a huge success, appearing in over 30 film festivals around the world and winning over a dozen awards. We've been hard at work this past year creating a feature film screenplay based on that short. I had the itch to get back behind the camera and felt a break from writing would be a healthy exercise for The Minor Prophets. I asked if they had any ideas that could be shot quickly in a contained environment. They dusted off the screenplay for Sky Blue Collar which they wrote a few years ago, but never got around to filming. My goal was to create a lean short under 10 minutes considering the 30 minute running time of The Ballad of Sandeep proved too long for some short film festivals. Once we compared schedules there was really only one date that worked for us to shoot and it fell just after Christmas which proved challenging considering commitments around the holidays. We pushed forward with the plan. In the days leading up the shoot the forecast called for a rare December snowfall, which I secretly hoped for but doubted would materialize. As I loaded up my vehicle the morning of the shoot snow began fall lightly. By the time we were rolling camera at Ascot Carpets in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania the snow began to pickup considerably. Knowing it wouldn't last long we quickly reordered our shooting day and grabbed the shots needed to capitalize on the scenic conditions. We filmed at that perfect time in a storm - when the snow on the ground is untouched and the flakes grow large before tapering off. Driving a forklift on suburban streets was always going to be a challenge but driving a forklift on a slick snow covered road was a whole other level of insanity. The result is blissful. It was a challenging and physically demanding marathon shoot but everything came together without a hitch. Sky Blue Collar continues the twisted social commentary with a beating heart that one would expect from The Minor Prophets/Derek Frey production.. I hope you enjoy! Also, we're happy to announce that the feature screenplay for The Ballad of Sandeep is complete and we're now in the process of finding funding for a 2014 shoot.