For Angela Martino, a dream career in the film industry literally fell into her hands, and skating also played a small part.
Martino currently lives in the Washington, D.C., area, but her skating career began at the young age of 2 in small Clinton, New York, with less than 3,000 people.
Martino’s grandmother Bertye was a former Clinton Figure Skating Club skater and introduced her to the sport.
“I have been told that I was able to skate better than I could walk,” Martino said. “From there, I never stopped. It became a part of my life that just never was a question. I would wake up, go to the rink, go to school. Go back to the rink. I quickly became classified as a figure skater before anything else in my childhood.”
Her passion for skating led her to her rink one special week during her high school senior year.
“I was grieving the loss of my grandfather, who was battling cancer,” Martino said. “Two weeks after his funeral, I found out there was a film called The Mountain shooting at our arena. Naturally, I was intrigued.”
Martino spoke to then Clinton Skating Club president Kevin Lloyd about interning on the set, and magically she was added on.
“I would skip four days of high school for an opportunity that would create the next chapter of my life,” Martino said. “I met the cast and crew, gave skating lessons and sobbed into actor Jeff Goldblum’s arms. Most importantly, I realized that I fit in somewhere professionally. I knew I always fit in with the ice, but the ice told me this was the chance to become the artist I needed to be.”
In April of that same year, Martino applied to and was accepted to The Montana Institute for the Arts, created by Michael Polish, Kate Bosworth and Travis Bruyer.
“I attended this program on a scholarship from Natgeo Wild,” Martino said. “I found my mentors for life and have collaborated on many projects with them since our first meeting.”
In February 2022, Martino moved to the Washington, D.C., area. She is continuing her work as a freelance filmmaker while working on various projects as both a director’s and office production assistant.
“Working side-by-side with Michael Polish and Kate Bosworth has taught me how to be a creator,” Martino said. “For years, Bosworth, Bruyer and Polish have guided me to my best self and mentors for life. When I worked on the Indie series Bring on the Dancing Horses set as Polish’s director’s assistant, I learned that every action has a lesson toward growth and every moment has magic.”
Besides the Dancing Horses series, Martino also worked on American Crime Story: Impeachment, an anthology series, and the movie Mending the Line.
Bring on the Dancing Horses led me to Pictureshow Productions with Kyle David Crosby, Producer, and Stephen Barrett, Production Supervisor and Locations Manager, two creators I work with side-by-side in Washington, D.C., ” Martino said. “Filmmaking has so many positions, and everyone can fit in somewhere. That is what I love so much about the field.”
During her first year at Ithaca College, she also met her now partner Joe Berardi. Together they created a film brand, Perennial Pictures, with Berardi as the director and Martino as the producer.
“In the past, we made short films that not only have been selected for festivals but have also won awards,” Martino said.
Their most recent In Loving Memory has been selected for three festivals. They are also preparing their current project, a short film that will begin production in the DMV area in June.
“The film Joe and I are currently working on, Wayne and the Wanderers, is about a young Joyce Daniels who challenges the 1960s norms by joining a local high school band,” Martino said.
Their goal for their film brand is to elevate artists who want to make their mark in the industry.
“It’s so challenging out there, and together we want to make sure that we can support our collaborators in how our mentors supported us,” Martino said.
Figure skating also continues to inspire Martino’s work.
“There is not a day when I do not think about that freeing feeling of being on the ice,” Martino said. “The sport showed me that there are careers out there where I can express myself freely. The mental toughness it takes to be a figure skater is the same that it takes to be an artist. We are all the same. We all throw ourselves in the air and hope we don’t fall, but when we do, we just get back up.”
