ON THE CALL with Ozzie Stewart

Paolo Pilladi, poet, producer, co-writer and director of Last Call, the movie he describes as a comedy with a heart, directs with heart and love of not only the storytelling by paper or camera, but also of actors. Paolo, successful in musical and art festivals, is a passionate award-winning filmmaker with a body of work under his belt and his production company – Goodie Goodie Productions, an independent company that produces large scale events: concerts, theatre, art and film. From a major in political science and writing, his film credits include Invisible Mountains, Fridays at the Farm, and Watermelon Magic and more, including ‘I can’t Breathe’ – ode to his keen sense of social justice. With all his successes, Paolo has not lost sight of the fact that he owes it all to his wife, who has been his support from the beginning. He loves being “Papa” to his children and cooking as a way to show love.

ANDRE LARGEN: Dancer, Teacher, Adjunct Lecturer at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad where he began his dance career. Later in the US he attended Martha Graham Dance School  and danced with the Alvin Ailey and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Andre keeps residences in Trinidad and the US, teaching at the Dance Foundation in London and at various institutions in London, Belgium, Guyana, Greece, Trinidad and the US, choreographing works to sold out shows happily, soon after he was on the mend after a fatal automobile accident. Andre lives with a deep love of dance and the stories it tells and fearlessly and unshakably faithful and thankful to his God.

VASHTI de VERTEUIL: Studied at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Vashti became a successful freelance designer of scarves, belts and jewelry for Yves St. Laurent and Parisian couture houses such as Yves St. Laurent, creating couture bridal accessories for Vera Wang and private clients, as well as having a clothing and accessory for years in the East Village. She has been a Professor at Parsons The New School for Design, where she’s known for her labor activism, for over three decades now, but jewelry has been her passion, creating her own handcrafted, unique pieces in sterling silver, gold, platinum, precious and semi-precious stones and pearls, which have been featured in Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and Womens Wear Daily. She exhibited and sold her collections at Accessories Trade Shows for over 17 years, with showroom reps in four states and Hong Kong. Her jewelry, belts, and accessories sold to department stores, specialty stores, and boutiques across the USA, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Caribbean. She founded and co-owned the retail store Gallery Vercon in the East Village until 2016.

GREG LINGO: With a BA in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell followed by an MBA in Marketing and Finance from Villanova, Ivy-League educated, husband and father of 3 girls, Greg Lingo began over 70 business partnerships and companies via his company cornellventures.com has been steeped in the Real Estate industry for over 20 years, as a Developer, with a concentration in the PA, NJ, DE areas. Through his company, Rockwell Development Group, rockwellcustom.com Greg builds unique custom homes, and loves giving back to the community with projects like Ventry, which is cognizant of open spaces, natural water features, meadows and woods. One of the other ways he gives back to his community is by helping Upper Darby High School students solidify their after-graduation plans, even developing several SAT and mentoring programs. One of his awards is: 2016 Upper Darby Arts & Education Foundation Acorn Award Honoree. Greg co-wrote and executive-produced the comedy, LAST CALL, the essence of which surrounds his own childhood story and friends, which hit the movie houses and circuit this year 2021. Though this is his first dip in this entertainment pool, he is already working on his next comedy. The LAST CALL has been racking up great reviews both in the US and Europe.

Mother, grandmother, educator, musician, pannist (steel pans) and fellow Trinidadian, Jennifer McIntosh is my childhood friend. I feel very lucky to have her in my life all these years, even with those times when we lost touch. As an educator, Mackey, as she’s also known by, has taught music, which has brought joy to her teaching years, a journey she has thoroughly enjoyed. Now retired, Jenny loves to travel and visit with family and friends. 

Returning to the garment industry left behind for many years filled with advocacy, civil, human and environment wise, voter empowerment, gun violence prevention, executive directing at the Bronx chapter’s National Action Network, teaching, mentoring, program development programs in schools, camping organization and more, Shanny Herrera’s passion for fashion will be seen this fall 2021 in stores through her clothing lines: Get Money Girl and Generation is still strong. Another item to be scratched off her bucket list, picked up after her experience with covid. A strong woman, strong in her faith.

PETER PATRIKIOS: Fluent in #Greek, excelling in #mathematics and #science #biologist at heart, majored in biopsychology before studying #neuroscience, Peter took to acting easily, eventually winning a Best Supporting Actor Award in 2019 from @Philadelphia Independent Film Festival. for ‘Offstage Elements’. A lover of all #animals and #insects, he recently gained his own action figure, from one of his portrayals and after a resume of 40 #plays and 60 #films and #television #productions such as: @LastCall_movie @21Bridgesmovie @Zeroesfilm @NotForNothingmovie Law & Order Criminal Intent, Boardwalk Empire #nbcBlacklist and Gotham to name a few. Peter has now added #writer to his bio, with a children’s book to be published this year. What a life!

BETTY LEIGH: Mother of 2, Betty is a Former Runway Model and Radio Personality, Boutique Store owner, Haute Couture handbag manufacturer, owner of the Black Poodle Granola Company, Food Network and Shop at Home Host and Spokesperson, Sailor, Reiki Practitioner and Meditation Guide, 3 time Cancer Survivor, gaining the 1996 ACS Courage Award for her work with the American Cancer Society. Today Betty continues to enjoy a career as a Commercial and Print model and Voice Overs as well as selling her paintings and publishing her podcast ‘Dessert Course of My Life’ found: @dessertcoursepodcast and on apple, spotify, iheart and more. As she says about her life and all that she’s accomplished and still is, “I just keep trying”……….and yes she has!

PHIL PENMAN: British #editorial and #portrait photographer and New Yorker, has won prestigious @awards, labeled one of -52 Most Influential Street Photographers- alongside industry legends Sebastiao Salgado and Henri Cartier-Besson. His captivating 9/11 photos of the Terrorist Attacks are memorial archived. His debut book “Street” became the number 1 Amazon best seller for street photography, and has been featured @MOMA, NYC, with his -”Box Set of PHOTOS”. His work has been featured in: @GQ @Vanity Fair @Frames @Tempus just this year! He has sat and photographed legends such as: @ChristopherReeves @BillGates @DannyAiello @GeorgeForeman @JenniferLopez to name a few, while experiencing serious industry #hate and #danger at gun point several times. His clients have included New York Review of Books and The Guardian. His love of black and white photography has made him renowned #worldwide and he uses that to bring attention to his  issues that impact his #humanity and #heart, such as the #homeless during 2020’s pandemic. Whether shooting in the #rain #snow #darkness or #light as he put it “I tend to be more attracted to the average person on the street. I love pictures that are a little gritty, ones where not everything has to be perfect. I would rather convey the #emotion I feel when I am taking the pictures and hope that the viewer can see and feel the same. Dream projects? I have to say I am living it! New York City is a constant hive of #energy and #activity and it keeps me driven to shoot everyday, be it seeing someone walking around in a spacesuit in #Soho or snow storms on the #EastRiver. Check out the man, the heart, the #career: @Penmanphoto www.philpenman.com @philpenman #streetportraits #blackandwhitephotography #streetphotographer #leica https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bDOAzlwSy8

GARRY PASTORE: With over 70 television and feature films under his belt since 1985, Garry has no intention of stopping. As an ACTOR, some of his television appearances have been in the HBO series “The Sopranos” and later on “The Deuce”, “Blue Bloods”, “The Flight Attendant”, “High Intensity”. Some of his film credits are “The Last Call”, “The Irishman”, “Shooting Heroin” for which he won Best Supporting Actor Award, “Goodfellas” working with Martin Scorcese and “Carlito’s Way” working with Brian De Palma. Garry has also written 10 screenplays for tv and film under his Willowcreek Entertainment production company. His 1998 published book “You’re Not in Mom’s Kitchen Anymore” is a cook-book for college students, with a second “Destressed” due for publication this 2021. His body of work also includes: STUNT WORK for “Do The Right Thing”, “The Dark Knight Rises” for which he was nominated as an ensemble member for a SAG Award; PROPERTY PERSON; DRESSER; DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER for “Waiting For…Budd, which garnered awards for Best Director, Best Producer and Best Film. With all his successes, the bottom line for Garry is his love of family and being around his four children. Couple this with his love for fishing, golf and cooking and you have a very happy man, who gives back by raising money for POAC which provides recreational and support-services to children with autism and their families, as well as the Autism Shield Program, to train law enforcement and first responders in dealing with missing autistic children, with a100% success rate to date. Check out Garry’s work at www.garrypastore.com IG: garry_pastore and Facebook at: garrypastore