Sky high

Sparta director debuts her first film Sparta - After years of writing, planning, casting, shooting, and editing, two Sparta residents are bringing the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to northern New Jersey. At 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 21, “Just Another Romantic Wrestling Comedy,” a local feature-length motion picture, will have its world premiere at the New Jersey International Film & Screenplay Festival. The event will be a culmination of a labor of love by Sparta residents Kim Sky and her husband Dariusz Uczkowski, who two years ago began the effort to bring Sky’s first-ever screenplay to life. Originally written to be shot as a short film as a way to promote her children, actors Dariusz and Jan Uczkowski, the project grew into a full-length piece that uses wrestling and humor to tell a tale of true love. In the movie, a small, young man falls in love with a woman from a larger-than-life family of wrestlers. He stops at nothing to prove he has what it takes to compete. In real life, Sky and Uczkowski have their own underdog true story to tell. Not having the blockbuster budget of today’s features, the couple assembled the movie cast that included accomplished actors, wrestlers, and body builders from volunteers. The couple did the shooting and the editing as well as produced the film. The entire movie was shot in New Jersey including various Sparta businesses. “My husband and I came to this country from the Dominican Republic with nothing more than a suitcase and the American Dream,” said Sky in an interview last week. “You can fulfill any dream as long as you work hard.” Sky, who works in the hotel industry, and Uczkowski, a plumber, describe themselves as everyday people. However, their film is making this Jersey couple rub elbows with some Hollywood stars. Last month, the couple was invited to the Beverly Hills Film Festival where they won the Golden Pond Screenplay Competition Award for their second script “A Broken Child.” Sky said people get a kick out of the fact that Uczkowski is both a plumber and an award-winning screenplay writer, and feels that their story should encourage anyone with a dream to fulfill their passion. “Every person has a movie in their head or a story to tell,” said Sky who credits the movie’s cast and crew, as well as her family and the community support, for the movie’s successful completion. “Not everyone gets a chance to tell it.” Sky believes the movie will be a “cult sensation” and plans to have the movie released to DVD in the near future. With their first project completed, Sky and Uczkowski continue to “plunge” forward. In addition to shooting the “A Broken Child” script and the sequel to “Just Another Romantic Wrestling Comedy,” they have three additional movies on the horizon, as well as a 12-episode television pilot written by Sky. The New Jersey International Film & Screenplay Festival is sponsored by Fairleigh Dickinson University. The “Just Another Romantic Wrestling Comedy” premiere screening will be held at the Teaneck campus. More information can be found by visiting www.filmfestivalnj.com. Tickets for the premiere will be sold at the door for $8.