Putnam Valley Filmmaker Uses Town as Backdrop in his Feature: Liars and Lunatics

Putnam Valley resident Roberto Munoz uses Putnam County as the backdrop for a Halloween party in his independent feature film Liars and Lunatics.

The setting is Putnam County. The place is a house decorated for a Halloween party. And the date? It's August 31st. Wait a minute...Halloween in August?

That's right. Filmmaker and director Roberto Munoz is sitting before his monitor screen watching the Halloween party scene unfold as directed. The crew, cameras, and lights are set up to film an array of costumed actors.

This was "Shooting Day Number Ten" of Liars and Lunatics, a feature film about an evangelist who admits himself into a mental asylum after losing his agnostic girlfriend in a car crash.

And the Halloween party? The scene flashes back to their relationship before her untimely death.

"It was probably one of the more relaxing days of the film shoot," says Munoz, "Up to that point, we had been filming in New York City and it never seemed like there were enough hours in the day to get the footage we needed."

The scenic and serene atmosphere of the Hudson Valley was a welcome change from the hectic shooting schedule of New York. The house, belonging to Steve and Roberta Velichko of Putnam Valley, was an ideal spot for filming. "The worst thing that happened was a chorus of barking dogs near the end of the day," recalls Munoz, "But our sound people were able to work around the disturbance."

Various local residents from Putnam, and even some from as far away as Dutchess County, filled the scene as background actors.

The feature film Liars and Lunatics is set to premiere just in time for Halloween: Friday, October 26, 2007 at the Helen Mills Theater in Manhattan. For more information on the film, visit the film's website at www.liarsandlunatics.com.