Seven nominations and six wins for New Jersey filmmaker at prestigious AOF Megafest

LAKE HIAWATHA, N.J. - Aug. 9, 2021 - PRLog -- Parsippany filmmaker Bob Messinger received multiple film and script awards at last week's annual AOF Megafest. The week-long, Las Vegas-based film festival combines 13 niche events in a single Megafest.

Messinger's most-recent project, a one-hour documentary about the emotional impact of COVID-19 and quarantine, won three awards, including best documentary at two of the events and best documentary editing in another. The film was also nominated for best overall film editing at AOF.

Titled "LOCKDOWN: The Emotional Impact of COVID-19 and Quarantine," the film delves into the short- and long-term psychological consequences of the pandemic and resulting shelter-in-place orders.

"According to the Well Being Trust, an additional 75,000 people could die due to what they call coronavirus despair," says Messinger. He believes that the emotional impact on individuals and families is an exceptionally under-reported aspect of the pandemic.

The film includes interviews with noted mental health professionals such as nationally recognized psychophysiology expert and TED speaker Dr. Kim Gorgens; president of the Eastern Psychological Association Dr. Amy Learmonth; and a host of people weathering the crisis.

Backed by an abundance of documented research and interviews, the film explores the categories of people who are most apt to be affected emotionally by the pandemic and quarantine. Not only does the film chronicle the anticipated emotional effects of the crisis, but it also provides professional recommendations on how to handle the resulting anxiety.

Messinger researched, wrote and produced the film from his home office in the Lake Hiawatha section of Parsippany while in quarantine, conducting interviews over Zoom. The film has screened at numerous festivals worldwide, including the Garden State Film Festival in March.

Messinger's short scripts, "Tiger Mom" and "Another Time, Another Place," also took top honors in two Megafest screenwriting events.

His music video, "Hey You," also won the best music video award in another Megafest event. Written and performed by Lake Hopatcong singer-songwriter Jenni Spiro, the tune is the closing song in another Messinger film, "Over the Line," which is currently completing its festival run. http://www.wheresthelake.com