Bread Turns Green at Film Fest by Lauren Jones


 Joe Puleo, a.k.a JP Light,
is a film maker, and his short
film will be showing for the first
time at the Gasparilla Interna-
tional Film Festival on Satur-
day, February 28 at 4:05 p.m.
 He grew up in Tampa and
said his upbringing is part of
what inspired him to come
up with the idea of his film
entitled, The Day the Bread
Turned Green.
 "It's a small film with a big
message," JP said. "And the
message is we are all one."
 JP was in the fourth grade
when schools were first inte-
grated during the civil rights
movement. He became friends
with the first black kid put
into his white elementary
school.
 "We were too young to know
that there was supposed to be
a difference between us. That
started to shape me into being
a little more tolerant of others.,
I didn't see this kid as a black
kid. He was just my friend.
And that has stuck with me
throughout my life. And that
is what this film is about," JP
said.
 The film consists of a multi-
cultural cast, with seven dif-
ferent languages being used.
 "Bread is the analogy: that
no matter what it looks like on
the outside, it's all grain and
water on the inside. And with
people, we're all flesh and


blood," JP said.
 He said his friendships
made with likeminded people
are partly what gave him the
,idea to write a movie script.
 "I got invited to a European
 cameraman's union meeting.
 We had a great time and we all
 realized we all had the same
 kind of values and beliefs. We
 came up with a mantra. 'If
 cameramen ruled the world,
 there would be no wars.' So
 we all left with a good feeling
 and I left there saying to my-
 self, 'How can I get this feeling
 to other people?'"
 After he graduated from
 Robinson High School, he
 worked for Channel 13 for
 seven years. That's what first
 got him to pick up a camera.
 "What do I want to tell other
people that they don't know?
But it's not really something I
have to tell people. It's some-
thing that I observed and I
think life could be so much
simpler and easier if we all
worked together instead of
against each other," JP said.
 It is a low-budget film with
 over 150 extras. All of them
 worked for free. He said the
 film is uplifting, unlike others
 that are dramatic and beauti-
 ful, but aren't happy.
 "I think people will smile
when they are leaving my
movie. It's a simple story."
 He hopes for it to be shown


TI ITi THE ii f~tfrlr


Tunrr rtem


 The Day the Bread Turned Green by J.R Light debixtes
on Saturday, February 28 at 4:05 p.m. at the Tampa The-
ater. J.P.'s upbringing is the inspiration for the making
of the short film.


in high schools by teachers
who make their students ac-
tually think.
 Born in 1954, he is the
grandson of Joseph and Petro-
na Puleo who came to Amer-
ica on a boat straight from
Italy. His other grandparents


are Salvatore and Stella Marie
Napoli. He went to NYU after
graduating from Robinson
High School in 1972. He re-
ceived his first Emmy in 1980
and went on to win five more
for various works.
 He has met presidents and
celebrities shooting for differ-
ent jobs and says it was ex-
citing and all, but what's re-
ally exciting for him is making
short films.
 "You take a piece of your
life or thoughts and you try
to make something that other
people can understand. And
it's interesting to see what
other people get from it be-
cause everybody has a slightly
different take on it. And that's
where it is fun. But on the
other hand, it's a little nerve-
racking because you think,
'What if people don't like it or
what if they boo?' It's hard be-
cause it is a piece of you. But
my wife used to tell me that
anything good doesn't come
easy."
 His wife was his motivation
to finally shoot the movie and
get it out there. He wrote his
screenplay in 1990 for a class
exercise at NYU and put it
away for a while.
 "One of the first and fore-
most things I think a movie
should be is entertaining,
more than the message and
the big stars. One of my fa-
vorite movies is The Day the
Earth Stood Still, because of
the message and the way the
director put that message
out," JP said.
 He said he is still working
on ideas for films with a simi-
lar message.


 URRY CLIFTON C. CURRY, JR.
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