SHORTHANDED
Written and Directed by Jack Martino
SHORTHANDED
Written and Directed by Jack Martino
Jack martino - writer & director
Hailing from Washington D.C., Jack grew up as the only redhead in his Italian and Mexican-American family. This unique situation inspired him to express himself through writing stories, beginning with comedic and satirical pieces. A lifelong athlete who embraced challenges head on, Jack currently writes screenplays across a range of genres, focusing on themes exploring the value and consequence of human connection. His feature screenplay, Supernova, advanced to the Second Round in the Drama Feature category of the 2024 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition.
Jack is actively submitting his debut short film, Shorthanded, to film festivals across North America. This independently financed drama that he wrote and directed is based on his experience playing ice hockey and his Latino heritage.
Jack is a recent graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the John Wells Division of Writing for Screen and Television, where he earned Summa Cum Laude honors and was selected as the 2023-24 Jack Oakie Fellow for the USC Comedy Program.
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Jack is currently pitching a number of projects for screen and television. He's available to meet virtually with interested producers and developers.
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SHORTHANDED (2024)
About the film:
"Shorthanded" follows a Hispanic hockey player battling through an injury as he tries to secure the last spot on a highly competitive team under the command of a coach with questionable ethics.
Filmed on a micro budget in August 2023 at three ice rinks in the San Fernando Valley in under two days, the film's production included a period in which Director of Photography Stephen Magiera wore a camera rig while on ice skates to bring a level of authenticity and vitality to the on-ice scenes.
This short film has had private, closed screenings at USC School of Cinematic Arts, Lionsgate Entertainment, and the American Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival, and is currently in consideration for selection at multiple film festivals in North America.
Written, Directed, Edited and Executive Produced by Jack Martino
Produced by Miles Salzgeber
Starring Alejandro Escamilla, Jonathan Fishman, and Nick Privitera
Running time: 00:12:06
Director's Statement:
For my directorial debut short film, I chose to focus this story on two deep-rooted aspects of my life: competitive ice hockey and the experience of being white-passing Latino. As I lay in bed recovering from shoulder surgery in March 2023 after a hard hit in a USC hockey game, I envisioned the through-line between ethnicity, racism, and physical injury: it's not always visible to the naked eye.