"Our only snafu?" Maria Perfetto considers. "Well, we did run out of tickets." Now that it’s been over a month since the Hudson Waterfront Society’s first film festival: the Back East Picture Show, co-founders Anthony Costanza and Maria Perfetto have taken...no rest.

Even as the dust settles, the phones are still as vociferously ringing after April’s revelry as before, and the leaders want to make it clear that their organization does more than just organize a film festival – albeit a very successful film festival. They have no regrets. The Back East Picture Show went "above and beyond" their expectations. In addition to sold out showings, the festival boasted a turnout of "thousands" of people, and films from as far away as Spain. At Saturday’s Gala Awards Dinner at Liberty House, which has a limit of 350, they had to turn people away. Terri Miller’s film "My Femme Lady" received the Grand Prize of 5,000 feet of Fuji film on Saturday night. Publicity coverage included The New York Times, Variety, Vanity Fair, Hollywood Reporter, and New York Magazine. Celebrities who stopped by included Danny Aiello and Vinnie Pastore.

What Costanza and Perfetto are most excited about, however, is what went on when the movies weren’t on. The amount of "A-List" attendees, from writers to distributors, made this event profitable, as well as can’t-miss for its filmmaker participants. At least two films have been picked up by major outlets; "Three Weeks After Paradise," a documentary written, directed, and performed by internationally acclaimed playwright/screenwriter Israel Horovitz has been picked up by Bravo. And Anthony Caldarella’s film "The Father The Son" was snatched by United Artists. In addition they have been playing matchmaker with some of the Festival’s directors and Sony Pictures Classics.

Costanza stresses that this combination of talent and the right people in the right place at the right time is what allowed the Back East Picture Show to become such a success. He emphasizes also the importance of utilizing the Hudson shoreline as a vital resource for the filmmaking community. Even the Hampton film festival, he says, doesn’t involve the New York Metro Area.

It is this commitment that is spurring the future activities of the Hudson Waterfront Film Society. Key is making next year’s Festival (yes, it’s already in the works) "bigger and better." Costanza and Perfetto believe next year’s festival will be twice as competitive, and plan to make it more Hoboken-centric. While they have had support of businesses from Tutta Pasta to the Hudson Street Cinema, another primary goal is to "penetrate Hoboken more," relying on Hoboken’s extensive public transport system and small-town feel in the midst of a big city.

Something that’s also a priority is funding. Since the Hudson Waterfront Film Society’s long-term plans are to provide a source to local filmmakers, offering education, editing facilities, and Web design, among other services, all this is going to cost money. The Back East Picture Show "met financial expectations," according to its founders, but they are actively soliciting funds. They are targeting New Jersey-based corporations, and Costanza articulates that the 2003 Back East Picture Show needs "real money."

All in all, the festival’s co-founders are satisfied with what their efforts have reaped, and believe that the Hudson Waterfront Film Society’s influence and programs will soon spread in and out of Hoboken.

As Costanza puts it, "Filmmakers are their own best publicists."

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