Award Winning, Monmouth County Film Stays True to Local Roots

For the last four years, Mark Nistico, 31, a resident of Old Bridge, has been capturing the life of blue collar working families through his film, "Blue Collar Boys". The family drama, based on true stories, tells the tale of a young man who is forced to take on the challenges of stepping into his father’s shoes in order to support his family - something many local families can easily relate to. 

Nistico attended The College of New Jersey and majored in Communications and English.  His “Ah-Ha” moment happened in his second semester of his freshman year. 

“In one of my classes we watched “Who's That Knocking at My Door”, Martin Scorsese's first feature picture and then it hit me so hard. It was almost like I was watching myself on screen,” recalls Nistico. “I said, 'This is it, I want to impact people on a personal level,' and that’s when I knew it was directing for me.”

Discovering his passion early on in his college career was extremely beneficial for Nistico. At the time, The College of New Jersey was working on adding a film major to the school. Although he did not receive the documentation for it, Nistico spent his college years taking any film class available and working in the field with production companies. 

“I went from company to company just getting the field experience needed, which is sometimes better than the paper degree,” Nistico said. “When you’re learning under somebody and you're watching them do it and you're seeing them have their trials and tribulations and seeing what works for them, you're able to visualize what would work for you.” 

Since graduating, Nistico has made short films (three went to film festivals) and produced a Bollywood film called “Born From the Foot”. His newest film, "Blue Collar Boys", is his directorial debut on a feature film, and it has won an award and has been featured in film festivals. 

Nistico found his main inspiration for "Blue Collar Boys" while working as a waiter. After talking to a couple who almost lost everything after the husband suffered a paralyzing stroke brought out on by stress, a son stepped up and was able to save the family’s business and keep them afloat. 

“The wife takes the next spoonful of what I think was applesauce or mashed potatos and she looks at me and says, ‘All my life he treated me like a queen and now he’s my king.’ I couldn’t write it down fast enough,” recalls Nistico. “That was everything to me, that was the moral and the value of everything that I wanted to communicate.”

After collaborating with a friend who had an idea of making a film about how gangs were formed during the depression, Nistico was on his way to making "Blue Collar Boys". 

Staying true to the film’s inspiration, Nistico shot most of the film in Monmouth County, including the and the in Freehold, a diner in Belmar, Ocean Auto Wreckers in Lakewood, the Waterfront in Keyport and numerous places in Howell. 

Nistico was the film’s director, producer, writer, and editor. It was a lot of work, but after four years, "Blue Collar Boys" was finished and was ready for its festival circuit. At the Toronto Independent Film Festival, "Blue Collar Boys" was named “Best Micro-Budget Feature” beating out films that cost nearly 10-times more to make. 

“It’s great working and being able to make films with a lot of money, but sometimes when you don't have a big budget you are forced to be more creative,” said Nistico. 

Earlier this week, "Blue Collar Boys" was invited to premiere at a NewFilmmakers Film Festival in New York. Although there were no awards given out at the festival, there was a highly selective process to get invited to the festival, something which Nistico is very proud of. 

With positive audience reactions, Nistico believes his film's success is from the legitimacy and connection viewers make with the film’s actors and story. 

“This film is inspirational. It’s entertaining, but it is going to hit you on a personal level and it’s going to inspire you because the people on screen are flawed just like the rest of us are," Nistico said. "Looking at something you lived, you will walk out with a smile on your face and feeling good about yourself. You are going to learn something about yourself.”

Currently, "Blue Collar Boys" is waiting to hear from 14 other film festivals where they will be airing next. To learn more about Mark Nistico and "Blue Collar Boys" visit the "Blue Collar Boys" Web site.