44398674
Family business is something the Raffas know well. The tight-knit clan still owns and operates Pop’s Water Ice, 1337 W. Oregon Ave. — an establishment that has been serving up sweet summer treats for more than 75 years. So when the eldest son, Joe Raffa, decided to produce his first feature film, it was natural to have his family on board.
“Ever since I was little, [my dad] would take me to movies every weekend. They were always behind me 100 percent,” Raffa said of his dad of the same name and mother, Florence. “My mom did all the cooking, my dad is a producer of the film. He gets a lot of things done. I never would have been able to do it without them. We turned our house — we had 20 young men living at our house during filming. We basically had a frat house. They deserve a lot of credit.”
Raffa spent last summer shooting his first feature-length script, “You’ll Know My Name,” which he wrote, directed, starred in and edited alongside younger brother Nicholas, 17, who played his on-screen sibling.
“It’s in the mold of ‘The Outsiders,’ ‘Rebel Without a Cause.’ It’s about teenage angst and the suburbs. The inspiration was really based on a lot of young people who aren’t looking to the future, not seeing the consequences of their actions,” the 20-year-old said.
The $30,000-budget film was shot with local talent in South Jersey and South Philadelphia. Though funds were tight, the cast and crew were paid, unless they opted to reinvest their earnings by waving pay.
“I’m really, really proud of it,” Raffa said. “I just can’t wait to show the rest of the world the film. We will be able to show the film at a very big festival.”
To be eligible for competition most festivals require that the film be premiering, so for now, the finished product has only been shown to cast and crew. Raffa has entered it in multiple festivals including South by Southwest and the Los Angeles International Film Festival. Acceptances will go out in February.
“It’s completed, it’s finished. But our job is only half done. The movie is only good if it’s seen,” he said.
Born on South Jessup Street, Raffa and his family moved to South Jersey when he was 3. Now, he makes the daily commute to the water ice stand to work the counter during the season.
“I like to say that my family’s water ice stand is my fake job, that’s the fun job: Make water ice, make a lot of people happy. Film is my passion, that is my career,” he said.
Raffa started as an actor at a young age.
“My family likes to say I started in preschool. I played Joseph in the story of Jesus in sixth grade in middle school. I was Danny Zuko in ‘Grease,’” Raffa said. “I was studying and learning, but the best way to learn is by going out and doing it. So whenever I get the opportunity to do that I take it.”
After graduating from Timber Creek High School in South Jersey, Raffa tried his hand at studying filmmaking at Temple University, but quickly realized his old methods were better than undergraduate classes.
“I went to Temple University for a semester, but I was learning so much more outside of class. I had momentum and I didn’t want to stop it,” Raffa said.
Unlike the storylines in his upcoming movie, the budding filmmaker found himself moving quickly toward a professional career in independent film and was working hard to make it happen.
“I started out as an actor, acting, but my biggest passion was always directing and writing,” he said. “I like creating something out of nothing.”
The most recent something created was “You’ll Know My Name.” Since it is based on personal experiences, it has shots in his hometown, including scenes at Fitness Works, 714 Reed St. Part of the motivation for keeping it local was keeping it real.
“It just screams suburb wasteland and I wanted to make a movie that doesn’t jazz up young adulthood. You either get teens living in the ghetto dodging bullets or living in L.A. or Miami — it’s not a realistic portrayal. I wanted to stay as true to the subject as possible,” Raffa said. “Hopefully we make our money back, but getting it the exposure it deserves and getting a foot in the door for another opportunity to make another film for [the cast and crew are the main objectives].”
Raffa is quite content working in the Philadelphia independent film industry and while he recognizes the possibility of future moves he doesn’t want to downplay his current advantages.
“I think eventually, once you hit a certain point, you have to move to L.A. or New York. But it’s such a small, tight-knit group here. We help each other and help on each other’s projects and that makes it stronger,” Raffa said. “I want to stay in Philly as long as possible. I love working with everyone and developing the relationships that are really important.” SPR
44398689
44398664
