Buffalo Boys

Overview

Buffalo Boys is the first feature film from director Ray Guarnieri, and has won several awards at film festivals in the northeast including “Best Coming of Age Film” at the 2013 Manhattan Film Festival, as well as “Best Crime Drama” at the 2013 International Indie Gathering Film Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. The film centers on two teenage boys and their troubled family lives in the suburbs of Buffalo, NY. Their anger toward their family problems causes self-destructiveness as the boys sell drugs to their friends and eventually become involved in a plot to murder the grandmother of their dealer, Maxine, so that they can collect her life insurance money and escape to a better life.

Plot

Inspired by a true story, Buffalo Boys follows the life of Ian, 15 (Paul Castro Jr.). After discovering the man who raised him is not his biological father, Ian's world is forever changed, as he becomes embroiled in a plot to murder an elderly woman.

His mother, Mary-Ann (Mckenzie Trent), refuses to name his real father, fueling Ian's desire to escape suburbia. His girlfriend, Lindsay (Ilana Mollick), urges him to stay and work things out, while his best friend, Daniel (Ro’ Mack), continues to lead him down a violent path.

Together, the boys sell drugs to make money- until their dealer, Maxine (Tilke Hill), offers an easier way to get rich quick- murder her grandmother and collect her life insurance policy. At first, Ian refuses to go along with the plan, but things get worse at home when his mother admits he is the product of a rape when she was in college.

Distraught and feeling betrayed Ian again turns to Daniel. The boys finally relent to Maxine's persistence and agree to commit the murder. Ian, who is to drive the getaway car, has a change of heart at the last minute, but when he runs into the house- it's too late. They are caught the very next day, and Ian is sentenced to two years in juvenile penitentiary at Ft. Tryon.

Two years later, Ian returns home and attempts to put the pieces of his life back together. His friends shun him at first, but eventually warm up to him when they see that he's changed. Just as everything is getting back to normal, Ian and Lindsay attend a Halloween rave party, where a miscommunication between the DJ and Ian causes a fight and in the mix, Ian is stabbed to death.

Cast

Themes

Buffalo Boys is a film that shows that the consequences of one’s actions can be much more far reaching than one ever would expect. It is a film about coming of age and the need to learn to live and love with family- no matter how complicated an individual’s situation is.

Production

In 2009, after the murder of the childhood friend from whose life "Buffalo Boys" is inspired, Director Raymond Guarnieri began revisiting experiences and writing the screenplay. Early in the process, fellow producer Mckenzie Trent and writer Elana Lott joined him and together they completed the screenplay over a 9-month period.

From the outset, The Better StirFry Team, consisting of Matt Tester, Jason Montalvo, Guarnieri and Trent, insisted on shooting the movie on-location in Western New York, both for the sake of authenticity and because of the richness of the region in resources. In July 2012, the "Buffalo Boys" project was pre-approved for the NYS Tax Incentive for Filmmakers, making it the smallest-budget film ever to pass the high standards of the program. The "Better" Team completed production of the film in 23 days in August 2012. Post-Production began immediately until the film was completed in late February 2013.

The film was completed in March 2013 and premiered at the 2013 Manhattan Film Festival where it took home “Best Coming of Age Film.” Since its premiere, the film has sold-out five screenings at various festivals including the 2013 Buffalo International Film Festival and the 2013 Indie Gathering International Film Festival.

Release

Awards