Press
Call This Land Mother ; Podcast Discussion 2025
A podcast with Excuse The Intermission talking all things Call This Land Mother and filmmaking during it’s Crowdfunding Campaign and Pre-Production.
Listen to the full discussion here.
The magic of filmmaking often lies in that sweet spot between meticulous planning and creative spontaneity. Andrew "Ducky" Dutkiewiczz embodies this balance as he joins us to discuss his upcoming short film "Call This Land Mother" – a story about an Irish immigrant recalling his first summer in America and the mysterious girl who can speak to his dead mother.
Ducky pulls back the curtain on his crowdfunding journey through Seed&Spark, revealing both the struggles and unexpected joys of this process. "Crowdfunding alone is a career," he explains, describing the constant anxiety of outreach while still needing to function as director and maintain a day job. Yet despite these challenges, he's found a beautiful camaraderie with other filmmakers in similar positions, all "trying so hard to scrape together pennies" for their art.
Call This Land Mother ; Interview $5 Fridays 2025
An interview with Short & Film’s “Five Dollar Fridays” talking about Call This Land Mother during it’s Crowdfunding Campaign.
An Abridged Excerpt:
Q: “What inspired you to write Call This Land Mother?”
A: “My goal ultimately is to balance a realistic world with the unknown, and Everything Happens was my effective take on the real world, but I really wanted to start dipping into the mystery, the things we see in the corners of our eyes.
I saw this young couple enjoying summer and a tree of bones and a man compiling these memories from a bar top... and then I got to writing. And maybe it was that [first] draft or the next that I realized the connection to my mother and her immigrant story and finding my way of telling that story with what I know, being delicate with it while not sacrificing the film's narrative integrity.
That's the beauty of art to me, those things that intrigue you for who knows what, that sweep you away, and once the ashes and wood chips settle you get to look over it and see yourself 1000 times over. And maybe that's just you finding your connection to it and having the privilege to leverage and explore and change things - but that's also your job as an artist, is to make space in your work for the viewer to do this. To find themselves and their feelings in your specifics. It's a balance. And like the search for that spark, it's something that you don't plan on. You just have to let it go.”
Everything Happens ; Review from Belgrade 2025
A written review for Andrew Ducky Dutkiewicz’s short film Everything Happens from Belgrade International Film Festival - where it is currently a Quarter-Finalist for Best Short Film:
“Everything Happens is a raw and intimate exploration of family dynamics, blending moments of humor and tension with a poignant look at suburban life. Directed by Andrew Ducky Dutkiewicz, the film offers a personal perspective on the complexities of family, highlighting the quiet struggles and unspoken bonds that define them. Yolanda Messina Dutkiewicz, playing the mother (and real-life mother to the film's director), delivers a standout performance, bringing warmth, strength, and authenticity to the role. Her chemistry with Tyler Zaccagnini, who portrays her son, feels natural and deeply emotional, capturing the essence of a mother-son relationship with subtlety and depth. This is all accompanied by the film’s editing which is tight and effective, balancing moments of stillness with rapid-paced dialogue, piling on to the tension and realism of the narrative. Overall, the film’s exploration of family, dysfunction, and connection resonates deeply, making it a compelling, heartfelt, and natural piece.”
Everything Happens ; Interview at WSFF 2024
Andrew Ducky Dutkiewicz (left) and Ash Black (right) of Blackheart Media at the West Sound Film Festival in Bremerton, Washington.