By Ben Taylor, Junior, Eldorado High School
For the Albuquerque Journal

    Mikey Rempen and Dominic Riccobene have six films, four awards and work on a New York indie film under their cinematic belts.
    What got the Bosque School seniors so far? Ambition, creativity, vision?
    Yes, and action figures. Star Wars action figures.
    "We started making films in the sixth grade using action figures in stop-action animation," says Riccobene.

    After drifting apart in high school, yet continuing to make films individually, Rempen and Riccobene reunited in the summer of 2003 and began tossing around the idea of working together again.
    "We wanted to see if there was a potential for our films that we hadn't previously thought of. We knew that movies today are so bad because there's no real character, and no real love. We wanted to market to another audience," Rempen says.

    Today, under the name Vanishing Point Pictures, Rempen and Riccobene write, direct and produce stories that range in topic from life-changing experiences and chilling revelations to heartbreak and writer's block.
    Now they're working on a short film called "White," which is a look into the afterlife and a vision of what hell could be like.
    " 'White' is different from other films we've done because it was shot in a studio, not just outside," says Riccobene, who was director of photography on "Reflections," which he made with New York filmmaker Gabriel Paez in July and August. "I was able to apply the experience I gained from working on that film in New York, and that made things run a lot more smoothly."

    "White" stars 24-year-old UNM student Brian Holmes as Will Vintage, who wakes up in a completely white room with one white door. He soon finds that just by asking for it, he is given absolutely anything he wants without any work or effort. But eventually his delight rots into horror as he discovers he gets no satisfaction out of things he has not worked to receive. On the door behind him appear the infamous words from Dante's "Inferno," "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
    "I don't know if there's an afterlife," Rempen says, "but I feel that appreciation is acquired through work, and that when you are just given what you want, like when you win the lottery, you are truly in hell."

    Of Vanishing Point's work thus far, Rempen still prefers the first film, "La Niña del Desierto," or "Child of the Desert."
    "Choosing my favorite film out of those I've made is like picking between your children, but I really like 'La Niña del Desierto,' '' he says.
    It tells the story of an old man who travels into the Sonora Desert to bury someone he has apparently murdered, and he is haunted by the apparition of a young girl who keeps repeating two words to him, "Yo se" ("I know"). After arguing and pleading with her, he rethinks his life and leaves the desert willing to improve it.
    " 'La Niña del Desierto' is so honest," Rempen says. "There's no hiding— it's just telling you what it's telling you. It's out there, real, and in the end, you really care about these believable characters."

    Others apparently agreed. In November 2003, "La Niña" took second place at the PMF 5-Minute Film Competition, a now-defunct monthly competition that was hosted by Madstone Theatres.
    PMF would offer Rempen and Riccobene more than just awards and encouragement— it would also give them Patrick McElwee, a major actor in Vanishing Point Pictures' next production, "Irretention."
    "In October of 2003, we were at a PMF competition and at the end of the screening, Patrick, who was sitting in front of us, turned around and asked if he could borrow a pen. Dominic and I agreed he would make a perfect actor for our film, and he was more than happy to help," Rempen says.

    "Irretention," inspired by the short story "Waiting Room," by Enrique Anderson, retraces the thoughts of Costa, a burglar who is betrayed and shot to death by his partner, Wright, after they rob a house. Costa replays the episode in his mind, fantasizing about how it should have turned out. The film is shot without dialogue, punctuated by ominous lighting and chilling sound effects created by Rempen and Riccobene.
    " 'Irretention' is my favorite film," Riccobene says. "It took us nearly seven months to complete, and it was our first real production."
    It is also Vanishing Point Pictures' best received film to date. The movie won first place in the Southwest Student Film Festival at the University of New Mexico in April and May.
    "Awards show that the work has paid off. It is what grandparents and Disney movies always say, 'Work hard and good things will come your way.' Awards let me know that the work has paid off and that I can continue to make films, and do it successfully," Rempen says.

    Rempen awaits notice from Chapman University in Orange, Calif., where he hopes to continue his path to a career as a director and screenwriter. Riccobene has been accepted into the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., where he wants to continue making films and become a director and producer.
    "Film is the only media where you can tell a story using all other forms of art," Riccobene says. "It incorporates everything I love into one type of media, and it is a great way to make people think and discuss, which I feel is my responsibility as an artist."

    For more information about Rempen, Riccobene and Vanishing Point Pictures, visit www.vppictures.com.