Award Winning “Blue Collar Boys” Up for 9 Awards at Northern Virginia International Film Festival

FAIRFAX, Va. - April 6, 2015 - PRLog -- Blue Collar Boys, a self-financed independent film written and directed by New Jersey small business owner Mark Nistico (Silent Sea Productions), has been officially selected to screen at the Northern Virginia International Film Festival on Thursday, April 16 at 6 p.m. in Auditorium 6 of the Angelika Film Center and Café at Mosaic, located at 2911 District Avenue in Fairfax, Va.

The Northern Virginia International Film Festival has nominated Mark Nistico for Best Director of Blue Collar Boys and the film has been nominated for Best Feature Film, Best Editing, and Best Art Design. Two of the leading actors in the movie, Gabe Fazio (The Place Beyond the Pines) and Bruce Kirkpatrick (The Wire) are nominated for Best Actor; Kevin Interdonato (The Sopranos) is nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Sonja Stuart (Everybody’s Fine) and Julie Bersani (Lust for Love) are both nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The film festival’s award ceremony is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 18 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Angelika Film Center.

Designated “a searing reflection of our times” by Brave New Hollywood, Blue Collar Boys won the Best Micro-budget Feature award at the 2011 Toronto Independent Film Festival and Best Screenplay at the 2012 Hoboken International Film Festival.

The critically acclaimed action/drama Blue Collar Boys was dubbed “the most politically appropriate film in theaters” by LA Weekly during a limited city theatrical release in 2012 by Leomark Studios.  The film stars Gabe Fazio (The Place Beyond the Pines) as frustrated construction worker Charles “Red” Redkin whose father, played by Bruce Kirkpatrick (The Wire), is forced into debt by ruthless developers played by Ed Setrakian (Zodiac) and Lev Gorn (The Americans).  As the pressure of a foreclosure threatens the Redkin family home, Red and his friends are propelled into a life of crime to get cash fast.

Mark Nistico was born and raised in New Jersey. Nistico wrote, produced, directed and edited the feature length film with the foresight of exposing the stark reality of the fading American dream and how it has become nearly unattainable for the average working class citizen. Nistico received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Communications and English from The College of New Jersey and has worked on an array of productions throughout his career. Blue Collar Boys’ selection into the Northern Virginia International Film Festival and its nominations are a supplement to his flourishing foray in the film industry.

Blue Collar Boys is available for purchase and rental on iTunes, Hulu, and Amazon. The fully-loaded DVD, which includes the documentary An American Story, is available on http://amazon.com and walmart.com (http://www.walmart.com).

About Northern Virginia International Film Festival
This is the first annual Northern Virginia International Film Festival; a sister festival to the Action on Film International Film Festival which is in it’s 11^th year in Monrovia, Ca. The Northern Virginia International Film Festival is taking place from April 13-18 at the Angelika Film Center and Café at Mosaic, located at 2911 District Avenue in Fairfax, VA. There will be film screenings, seminars, social events, and an awards ceremony on Saturday, April 18. The festival aims to bring filmmakers and art to the Washington, D.C. area and celebrate their diverse works. For more information, please visit www.novafilmfest.com.

About Silent Sea Productions
Silent Sea Productions is an award winning Old Bridge, NJ based video production company that has served clients all over New Jersey for over ten years.  Silent Sea’s owner, Mark Nistico, financed Blue Collar Boys under the Silent Sea name and it has been his passion project for the past four years.

About Leomark Studios
Leomark Studios is a boutique film production and distribution company with a catalog of 40+ titles. Leomark is co-producer and US distributor of the upcoming sci-fi feature Star Leaf starring Russell Hodgkinson and Julian Gavilanes of SyFy’s Z-Nation; as well as co-founder of MovieMaze Ltd., the company behind the popular MovieMaze™ Interactive Movie App for mobile devices. Leomark Studios is based in Los Angeles.