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Cozzarelli is honored
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‘Joker’ comes to Belleville
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Bucs off to great start
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MAY 2023
VOL. 35 NO. 49
Belleville based film attracting attention By Joe Ungaro Editor A new movie filmed mostly in Belleville and written and directed by a township resident was featured in two film festivals including the prestigious New York Shorts International Film Festival. Renzo Montoya, a Belleville High School graduate, is the writer/director of “Greylock,” which draws on his own experiences as an Army veteran to tell the story of a man’s attempt to adjust to civilian life once his military career is over. “The movie is about a man who just got out of the Army and is working as a waiter,” Montoya said. “He is really sick of his daily routine and is searching for purpose in his life. He wants to go back to the Army but he doesn’t want to leave his wife and she doesn’t want to go back to that life.” The film is named “Greylock” and portions of it were shot along Greylock Parkway. There is also a scene at an isolated bus stop bench in Nutley between Union Avenue and Centre Street. 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.” 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-
Photo Courtesy of Renzo Montoya
Actor Prentice Myles, who plays the lead character in the film “Greylock,” is seen here walking on the median of Greylock Parkway in Belleville. 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