Rooskie Bahnahnie

How unusual is it for a Montrose area school junior to win international acting awards as a solo actress in her first movie? Elya Spolar, 17, received seven awards for her performance in Rooskie Bahnahnie (Russian Bananas), a one-minute, Mark Levy production. Levy is a patent attorney who lives in Binghamton, New York.

“Elya is a natural actress and a natural beauty,” said Levy. “Her eyes are so expressive, and her smile so contagious, that –- in all modesty –- I would have been surprised if the movie hadn’t shown well. Since these international contests include non-English speaking audiences, it was important that Russian Bananas be understandable in any language, so we chose music (Russian music, at that) to convey the emotions of a young girl while she created a tantalizing sundae. Some of the judges even admitted craving ice cream after seeing the movie.”

The movie won first place in the Canadian International Amateur Film Festival (CIAFF), music video category. Russian Bananas successfully competed with movie makers from Russia, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Syria, Australia, Slovenija, England, and Canada.

“It was fun making my first movie.” said Elya. “I had to catch a bowl of ice cream as it fell off a table. Hitting the mark was easy, ‘cause I’m used to pole vaulting. But landing on the floor just right, so that a cherry could drop on my head, was tricky. We shot that scene five times.”

The movie also won top honors in the Cotswold (England) International Film and Video Festival, the Guernsey Lily Festival (Channel Islands), the Long Island Movie Makers (LIMM) Contest, the Russian Film Festival, the American Motion Picture Society (AMPS) contest, and the Amateur Movie Makers Association (AMMA) International Movie Festival. The movie was also submitted as one of a handful of entries from the United States at the prestigious Union Internationale du Cinema (UNICA) film festival held in South Korea last year.

“In my 38 years of making amateur movies,” said Levy, “this was the first one that featured only one actress. I’m so grateful for Elya who helped me win the CIAFF award, my highest achievement.”