Filmmaking Brothers Return to Stony Brook to Screen Award-Winning Debut ‘Best Man’

The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) welcomed filmmaking brothers Anthony Famulari '11 and Ryan Famulari '09, MFA '13 back to Stony Brook for a screening of their debut feature film Best Man, followed by an in-depth Q&A moderated by LIMEHOF Vice Chairman Tom Needham.

The screening, part of LIMEHOF's Local Filmmaker Series, drew family, friends and community members to the venue, not far from where the brothers grew up.

"Our roots are football fields away from this building," Ryan said during the Q&A; both brothers attended Stony Brook University and later worked and volunteered in the community. "Stony Brook is very much a part of who we are and why we are who we are."

Best Man follows John Giordano, a 30-something New York-born actor who has spent a decade in Los Angeles trying to build a career. The film intercuts scenes from acting classes, casting workshops, agent/manager interviews, John's struggling relationship with his girlfriend Olivia, and his bond with his younger brother Drew, who lives back home.

The central conflict revolves around John landing an audition he's been working for his whole career on the same day as Drew's wedding in New York. The film tracks John's escalating financial stress and growing disillusionment with an industry that demands sacrifice.

He eventually has his breaking point in his acting class, calling out the system around him:

"If I don't [have what it takes], tell me so I don't waste one more second in this stupid class pretending any of this matters…The rest of us show up here week after week so you can keep the lights on. That is predatory."

During the Q&A, Needham praised Best Man for its realism in depicting a creative career path.

"I honestly think this is one of the best films I've ever seen about this particular topic of people pursuing their dreams and the choices that they have to make," he said.

Anthony and Ryan explained that while Best Man is fictional, it is heavily informed by their lived experiences in the film and television industry.

Anthony, who stars as John, said he initially resisted writing about actors at all.

"It's so navel-gazing… But if there was ever a feature we'd actually be able to produce ourselves, this world that we knew, the water we were swimming in, seemed like a good idea," he said.

Despite its polished look, Best Man was produced on a microbudget and shot over 13 days in Los Angeles with a lean crew.

"We made this movie for $20,000, which is a ton of money to us and nothing in the realm of any movie," Anthony said. "Most days, including Ryan as director, were five people."

Cinematographer Henry Power was singled out as a key collaborator whose work helped the film achieve a look far above its budget.

"We know we really kind of hamstrung Henry because we didn't have many resources," Ryan said, noting that Power was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Long Island Cinema Festival, where Best Man also won two awards - Best Feature and Best Actor in Feature for Anthony. "It was nice to see his work recognized, because that nomination was really a recognition of resourcefulness."

With limited time and money, the filmmakers prioritized performance, writing and casting over elaborate camera moves, focusing on simple coverage that allowed them to shoot up to 14 script pages in a single day.

Audience members remarked on the film's mix of comedy and emotional weight. The brothers said that balance was largely shaped in the script phase.

"There were points where it was maybe a little too funny, and some scenes that were too dramatic," Ryan explained. "We worked to walk that tightrope so it felt consistent and true to what we were trying to tell."

During the Q&A, an audience member praised the final audition monologue, which ties John's emotional journey to his performance.

"We shot that at the very end," Anthony said. "We did three takes. That was take two. Having all of that 12-day sprint behind us and channeling it into that last scene was really helpful."

When asked what they would tell young filmmakers or actors facing the same dilemma that John faces in the film, the brothers offered complementary perspectives.

"If I didn't go to L.A., I'd spend my life wondering 'What if?' Now I know the answer," Anthony said. "I experienced the city, I lived 3,000 miles from home, I met my future wife. Even if you don't 'make it,' that life still has value."

Ryan, meanwhile, stressed the importance of financial stability as support.

"From my experience, get the 9-to-5," he told the crowd. "Don't put a deadline on your passion, like, 'If I'm not making it by 30, I'll quit.' If you're really passionate, do it. Do it on the side. Your 9-to-5 can be the side gig that funds your creative work. Don't crush yourself with timelines."

Best Man has drawn strong audience reactions, and the brothers said they are now focused on distribution and discoverability.

The homecoming screening marked a full-circle moment for the Famulari brothers as they shared their debut film with the community that helped shape them, while looking ahead to what's next.

-Lily Miller