off to great start

Montoya moved from Peru when he was 12 years old to Belleville, where he lived with his mother and an aunt and uncle. He graduated from Belleville High School where he developed an interest in filmmaking while he and friends made videos of events at the school and around town.

“We started doing video projects for the school, recording football games, a play,” Montoya said. “We also recorded some community events, like a festival that happens every year in Belleville. We did a safety video with the police.”

— See Page 26

After graduation in 2018, Montoya joined the Army where he was culinary specialist but he never lost interest in filmmaking. In his down time, he wrote narrative stories and scripts. He left the service when his three year term was up and got together with old friends and got back to filmmaking.

Montoya and some of his former class- mates and others have established a Belleville-based production company called "Senior Cat Pictures," which produces films and video content for social media around the NJ/NYC area.

He made one other short film which got some attention before the current project that he created with more than a dozen people, including six friends from high school.

He named this film “Greylock,” after one of the best known streets in the township. The name has some symbolism because the street goes uphill and at the top of the hill are some power lines and electrical towers.

“It seemed like a perfect place to do a shoot,” Montoya said. “It’s uphill and it’s very well known. There are electric towers that connect the whole town.”

Montoya is 22 and single. He said his goal is to become a producer and director of full length films.

“My approach incorporates symbolism and a unique vision to create self-driven

See GREYLOCK, Page 2