Meet Whiz Kid: Giovanni Tortorici

Name: Giovanni Tortorici, 12

School: Renfroe Middle School

Accomplishments: This young filmmaker is one of 16 finalists in Atlanta Short Cuts Film Festival sponsored by Creative Loafing. His entry [1,368] Frames of Decatur was filmed with an iPhone and is inspired by one of his favorite spots in the City of Decatur, . “I go there to buy all my books — it’s a key part of the square in Decatur,” said Giovanni. To qualify for the contest, filmmakers had to be Georgia residents, produce their entries in the Atlanta area and convey local color. Films also had to be shot with a cell phone, a point and shoot camera or a Flip camera and no longer than five minutes. Giovanni created the storyline, directed all the shooting, put the film to music using GarageBand and spent five, 12-hour days editing the film. He made his first film at the age of seven, said his dad Vincenzo, a performer and educator who said he is always looking for ways to stoke his son’s creative interests. From the time he was very young Giovanni was exposed to film and video sets and seemed to soak up everything around him. “He grew up kind of marinating in the arts.”

The young producer explains techniques he used such as stop motion filming on his blog in a video series “Behind the Scenes.” His goal is posting at least one film a week to his website GTProductions98 and he’s constantly experimenting with different styles of film making. Voting for the Creative Loafing Viewers Choice Awards ended April 15. A panel of local film aficionados will select a "Critics Pick" and a runner-up and the winning entries will be shown at the Atlanta Film Festival, April 28 to May 7.