Super/Heroes

Super/Heroes is a 2011 Production Lab film written by Carrie Ferrante and directed by Joshua Paige under the production banner NJCThree Films (in association with Galatea Films, MMP Films and Front Paige Films). It stars Brian Edelman as Edward Prince (also known as the superhero Brainstormer), Lindsay Hicks as Edward's fiancee Eileen, Steve White as Brainstormer's nemesis Mr. Cutting, and Robert Klein as television reporter Reid Knox.

The film tells the story of Edward Prince, a retired former superhero once known as Brainstormer, living in New York on the day of 9/11, and coping with the grief of not being able to help those lost.

The film debut at the 2011 C.W. Post Student Film Festival to near unanimous positive reception, particularly for it's exceptional cinematography and score (both of which would recieve the award in their respective categories at the 2nd Annual Loomings Awards for the C.W. Post Student Film Festival), and is generally considered one of the highlights of the 2011 festival from both nights.

Cast
Brian Edelman as Edward Prince, the true identity of the former superhero Brainstormer.

Lindsay Hicks as Eileen Prince, Edward's fiancee whose assault at the hands of Mr. Cutting became the excuse for Edwards retirement.

Steve White as Mr. Cutting, Edward's arch-nemisis.

Robert Klein as Reid Knox, a television reporter doing a profile on Edward when the news is recived about the World Trade Center.

Costa Giannakopoulos as Roman Candle, Edward's former partner in the superhero team The Vindicators, who dies in 9/11.

Yaseen Al-Saladin as Child, a young boy who lost his firefighter father in the aftermath of the attack.

Henry Gonzalez and Luke Paige (the film's composer) appear as two teenager's harrasing the child of a fireman.

Carrie Ferrante, Alan R. Holloway, Joshua Paige and Robert La Rosa all appear in the film as Reid Knox's crew.

Promotion
Super/Heroes built up a great deal of buzz for their film by releasing a "teaser poster" and three teaser trailers, on filmed at their Jamesport location, utilizing their crew in place of actors, as they had yet to assemble a cast, as well as two subsequent teaser trailers, "Redemption" and "Accusation", and finally a full-length trailer. This promotional tactic had both positive effects, as Super/Heroes was the most talked-about film in the days leading up to the festival. However, as Mike Natale pointed out in his review, "The public perception of all this pre-production promotion was that it veered into the area of self-indulgence, with the filmmakers promoting it as if there were a huge public anticipation, perhaps in an effort to build up said public anticipation."

Reviews
Super/Heroes debut as the last film of the first half of Night 2 of the C.W. Post Student Film Festival, and was met with almost universal praise. In particular, praise was given to its special effects, its score, and its cinematography. Critic Mike Natale said of the cinematography "Marc Riou’s cinematography has never been shy from praise within my reviews, but Super/Heroes is Riou at his finest. Working with the Canon 7D belded with Marc’s eye for shots and his unparalleled color-correction make Super/Heroes the undisputed most visually pleasing film in the festival, and indeed of all the films I’ve seen in my time at Long Island University."

Natale went on to speak highly of the performances of Lindsay Hicks and Steve White (who won Best Supporting Actor in a Non-Thesis for his perfomance), as well as the ending song "Tilling" by Luke Paige, but was not completely positive. He makes critical observations on the films pacing, and the understated nature of Edelman's performance in scenes with Hicks and White.

The main issue that has been raised against Super/Heroes has been historical accuracy. In his review, Natale states "The film seems to pay little attention to actually getting the facts of 9/11 right, making the even feel more like a plot device than a historical event. Unfortunately, this makes the film potentially take on the same offensive tone as Remember Me, wherein the viewer feels as if 9/11’s memory is being evoked more to elicit emotion from the audience than to express the filmmaker’s own emotions. If you’re going to tackle a major historical even, especially one still so fresh in people’s memories, you had best get it right, and Super/Heroes utterly fails in that one respect (even though that is the only respect it fails in)".

However, Super/Heroes proved to be many people's picks for one of the best of the night (including Natale himself, who put it as fourth on his Must-See Films list, the highest ranked Non-Thesis). The review concludes by saying "If you’re looking for a film about 9/11, Super/Heroes is not for you. But if you’re looking for a brilliantly executed film, from script to shots to finished product, look no further than Super/Heroes. One of the best of the night."

Awards
Super/Heroes was nominated for 15 Loomings Film Awards, winning 4, including Best Director for Joshua Paige.