Al Carretta

Director at Nightpiece Media
Director, Producer and Actor

Gillingham, United Kingdom

Member Since:
October 2018

Last online:
3 days ago

Invites sent:
0

About Al

Never afraid to experiment, Al Carretta is a trailblazing British filmmaker. Never funded and working tirelessly with ingenuity and the resources available, he has delivered 22 multi-genre indie feature films since 2010. His content is now widely released on streaming platforms across the World.

With original soundtracks produced for every film an enviable catalog of intellectual property has been created that comes in on a total spend of around £80k. Throw in the development of Nightpiece Film Festival, launched in the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe (reaches it's 11th year in 2024) and you have a producer who defines the spirit of modern independent production.

With so many ideas proven and executed Carretta's stage background and acting skill set is often forgotten. In 2010, only after a decade of stage performance built around countless productions in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the full transition into filmmaking considered with mafia crime drama 'What You See Is What You Get' , on stage in the 2009 EdFringe as 'The Tears of A Clown', coming together as his first feature.

In Autumn 2010 he delivered the 1990s set romantic tragedy 'The Length Of Spring' whilst 2011 saw the production of 'Africa In Her Blood'. Originally produced on stage in Edinburgh in 2008, the film dealt with the concerns of John Smith, a farmer desperately trying to escape a collapsing Zimbabwe. In 2012, a revised version of 'Wysiwyg' was delivered. 'The Devil Made Me Do It' saw Carretta reprise the DiMaggio role in a re-imagination of the original stage script. Moving to Canon DSLRs and higher production values, the film proved to be a marker point and in 2021, nine years after it's original production, an Amazon Prime release and the coincidence of title alignment with 'The Conjuring 3:The Devil Made Me Do It' helped it surpass all expectations by recouping it's meagre £2k production budget and more.

In Summer 2013, the film 'Super Tuesday', about the controversial 1960 US Election was produced for simultaneous release on stage in the Edinburgh Fringe and VOD (Video On Demand). Immediately following the 'Tuesday'production 'A Mass For The Dying' was made in Autumn 2013 as a companion piece to 'Africa In Her Blood', sticking much closer to the original stage script.

In Spring 2014, after eighteen months in production alongside other projects, Carretta delivered 'Automatically Sunshine', a genre piece set in England dealing with the issues of human trafficking and the pressures of undercover policing. This was his first 'screenplay only' production with no prior stage version. In the same Summer, Carretta launched the Nightpiece Film Festival in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He also began work on the feature 'The Madness Of Tellaralette Seville', which debuted under the radar in the Edinburgh Fringe. Concerning the lives of drone operators scarred by PTSD, the project was shelved for three years until filming finally took place between October 2017 and April 2018 with a May 2018 streaming release to become Carretta's 11th feature. With a cast of largely unknown performers, bar a unique cameo from 'Legend' actress Annabelle Lanyon, 'Madness' was his first total experiment in visual style.

Continuing to explore previously produced stage material, Carretta turned around the emotional drama 'Tara Reata', on the rebound from 'Madness'. An unofficial screen test to align key female roles for 13th feature 'th'dread rattlin' the entire production was shot and edited in May 2018. Post Fringe, th'dread rattlin', Carretta's third feature of 2018 - took everyone by surprise. The experimental psychological horror, complete with a million in jokes and designed as a framework test to see what might potentially work in a horror, gained massive traction across the internet. The film exceeded all distribution expectations for a sub £1k film.

Across 2019, Carretta slowly worked his way back to more traditional filmmaking structure. Delivering the feature short 'Homeless Comforts' in April on a deliberate budget of zero, shooting overlapped with the dark psychological thriller 'Princess in the Castle' and the the crime drama 'Cocaine.Gangster.Talk.' Originally shot as a standalone film, CGT looked to overlap too many thematically similar set-ups so the decision was made to use the best sections of CGT to create a definitive version of 'Automatically Sunshine' and 'Precious Little Things'. With scratch re-edits of all previously filmed material, a full remaster and a chronological order the re-imagined, now epic 3hr film - shot from 2012 onwards - was released online on 31st December 2019 to reflect Carretta's first decade in indie filmmaking.

In 2020 - amidst the restrictions of the Covid-19 lockdown, Carretta still managed to deliver 2 more indie features and made a long desired switch into 4K production. 'Set Roaring War' was filmed in late June as UK lockdown eased. Prepped for an August release as part of the Virtual Edinburgh Fringe, SRW is a UK focused drama about a student's unorthodox method to evict her troubled flatmate. By Autumn, with block availability of a venue in sight, the opportunity was seized upon to build a full set and shoot 'The Judge of Harbor County' just days before the UK entered another lockdown. Originally on stage in the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 'Judge' was delivered as a March 2021 release and continues to post strong streaming figures on the back of another nominal £2k total spend.

Filmed on another purpose designed set in April '21, 'Saint Cecilia of Spiralence' - about a troubled English Nun with premonitions of the JFK assassination in 1963 - was another stage to screen transition. First seen at the Etcetera Theatre, Camden in February 2020, 'Cecilia' was released in November 2021. Overlapping in the Autumn, production began on 19th feature, Working Title: 'Earwigger'. Originally slated for 2020 production, the pandemic collapsed the original film. Completed as 'Killahurtz', Carretta's 19th indie feature debuted streaming services in July 2022.

Summer 2021 saw Carretta debut mafia crime drama 'Eight Hundred Dollar Value' in the Camden & Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. These stage runs were repeated in 2022. About the troubled son of convicted mafia associate 'Donnie DiMaggio', 'Eight Hundred' is a direct sequel to his 2012 'The Devil Made Me Do It' project and after an Edinburgh Festival Fringe premiere in Nightpiece Film Festival hit streaming services in Autumn 2022.

2023 saw two more features delivered by Carretta. In March, the psychological horror 'The Chant Of July' was released and in October, missing persons drama 'Twenty Two Presence', inspired by the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, launched to a strong response on Amazon Prime despite a nominal budget.

Unique traits: 22 independent feature films written, produced, directed and distributed since 2010.

Gender:
Male

Height:
6'

Weight:
200

Body type:
Athletic

Hair:
Receding

Hair color:
Brown

Eyes:
Blue

Ethnicity:
Caucasian

Badges

Photos

Videos

Luke Dalton - The Drunken Sailor from 'THIRST' (Dir: Al Carretta, 2024, 3m)

What You See Is What You Get (Dir: Al Carretta, 2010)

Twenty Two Presence (Trailer, Dir: Al Carretta, 2023, 2m20s)

Credits

Killahurtz (2022)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Thriller) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor A shy young woman facing potential deafness happily customises and repairs headphones until rejection drives her to an extreme form of sabotage.
Eight Hundred Dollar Value (2022)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Crime) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor Living in the shadows of his father's notoriety as the prime suspect in a New York mafia rub-out, a gangster with an identity crisis seeks to find out who murdered his wife on New Year's Eve, 1999.
Saint Cecilia of Spiralence (2020)
Film (Drama) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor November 1963, London. An East End slum landlord with a reputation for protecting the morally abhorrent is assigned the unenviable task of chaperoning a vision-plagued Catholic Nun to her mission in Paris.
Cocaine. Gangster. Talk. (2019)
Film (Crime and Drama) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor The true identity of 'Carl Hart' is the mystery no government department can unravel. After 19 years the purpose of his operation becomes apparent as his true motive is revealed.
Princess in the Castle (2019)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Drama) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor In 2007, a young actress fresh from social media fame sees her life implode. Re-emerging into the public eye a decade later with a tale of captivity and murdered parents, the enigmatic Connie Castille has a story to die for.
As the Frost Glistens Or: The Envious Temptation of Redemption by Forgiveness (2019)
Film (short) by Nightpiece Media (Drama and Short) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor In 1952, in an unnamed southern US state, an institutionalised prisoner on death row eats his final meal and delivers his last statement to a lawyer, oblivious to what is coming next.
Homeless Comforts (2019)
Film (short) by Nightpiece Media (Drama) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor In an effort to learn more about the disappearance of her brother, Alana, a young woman with money and means, befriends Martin, a purportedly homeless man. As their relationship develops Martin's complex situation unravels.
The Executioner Inside (2018)
Theater by Nightpiece Media (Drama)
Tara Reata (2018)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Drama) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor With the manipulative Tara Reata a destructive force in many lives, relationships collapse as secrets unfold in a complex emotional drama about life, loss and reconciliation.
Th'dread Rattlin' (2018)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Drama and Horror) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor University students investigate a noise phenomenon in haunted woods known as 'th'rattlin'.
Remote Working (2018)
Film (short) by Nightpiece Media (Sci-Fi and Short) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor A man peddling a virtual reality concept explains the deal he struck with aliens to remain alive.
The Sorcerer of the Mists (2018)
Film (short) by Nightpiece Media (Drama) Director / Producer / Writer Inspired by the biblical story of Bathsheba. David, a military officer, sends the husband of Bathsheba to his death in order to claim her as his own.
The Madness of Tellaralette Seville (2018)
Film (Drama) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor Under the command of the mysterious Colonel Bracco, military drone operators Marcy Braccante and Daniel Denham succumb to the pressures of life 'in the box'.
Dark Horse (2017)
Film (short) by Nightpiece Media (Drama and Short) Director / Writer / Producer / Actor A pill consumed in milk takes users on a dark fantastical trip that always requires a taxi journey home.
Precious Little Things (2017)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Crime and Drama) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor Intelligence operative Carl Hart (Al Carretta) returns to the operation he instigated to extract compromised police officers. He hasn't come back out of choice; the answers behind the kidnapping of his former girlfriend have been unearthed.
Tomorrow's Yesterday (2017)
Film (short) by Nightpiece Media (Sci-Fi and Short) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor In May 1998, a precocious teen (Gabriella Montrose) attempts to make a short science fiction film with her sister and friends.
The Sliver of Truth (2017)
Film Director
The Realm Beyond (2016)
Film Producer
In the Ashes (2016)
Film Producer
The Shadow Season (2016)
Film Producer
Bad Caller (2016)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Drama) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor With Super Bowl 50 stealing the attention of regular late night fans, Taryn Spring, a sassy English live call show host is harassed by a 'bad caller'. A hostage in her own studio, the only way to get help is to get people watching.
The Arcade Incident (2015)
Film Producer
Sos (2015)
Film Producer
Carbon Foxes (2015)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Drama) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor Marcus and Tia are long established confidence tricksters riding out their luck selling worthless 'Carbon Credits' to vulnerable clients. As the financial investigation into them unravels, their ruthless world implodes.
Automatically Sunshine (2015)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Crime, Drama and Thriller) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor When authorities step up the hunt for a disavowed intelligence operative and human trafficker, the scale of his operation becomes apparent.
Happy (2014)
Film Producer
Smart Water (2014)
Film Producer
The First Dialogue (2013)
Film Producer
Conditions (2013)
Film Producer
A Mass for the Dying (2013)
Film Producer
Super Tuesday (2013)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Drama) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor Fictional account of the 1960 US Election. As the results pour in Presidential candidate Jack Cassidy faces the reality of vote rigging, corruption and a wife whose going to do everything she can to sabotage his efforts.
Malifaux Tales Part II: The Witch Hunter Sonnia Criid (2012)
Film Producer
Malifaux Tales: The Arcanist Rasputina (2012)
Film Producer
House on the River (2012)
Film Producer
Blank Space (2012)
Film Director
The Devil Made Me Do It (2012)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Crime and Drama) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor Manhattan, New York, 1973. All low level mafia associate Donnie DiMaggio (Al Carretta) wants to be is funny until he finds out he's the main suspect in the murder of underboss Jimmy De Luca.
7.45: Seven-Forty-Five (2011)
Film Director
Africa in Her Blood (2011)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Drama and Thriller) Director / Producer / Writer / Actortortor Maggie Carter, the young wife of a white Zimbabwean farmer struggles to come to terms with the horrific events that surround her estranged family as they remain in the country. The victim of a brutal attack months previously she attempts to find comfort in England, the country she was born in and has been pulled between. Slowly accepting her husband Peter back into her life problems mount as the couple are harassed by inefficient bureaucracy. As the situation develops, Peter finds himself going back to a scenario he thought he'd escaped...
The Length of Spring (2011)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Drama and Romance) Director / Producer / Writer / Actortor For Charlotte Reata, life is a stage. For Sam Butler, faith in life and faith in love is all he he has. An emotionally charged tragedy 'The Length Of Spring' takes us on a journey of choices and their respective consequences.
What You See Is What You Get (2010)
Film by Nightpiece Media (Crime) Director / Producer / Writer / Actor Manhattan, 1974. An intense journey of revenge, this is the story of Donnie D, street smart hood, wannabe entertainer and unofficial manager of the Carousel Club, the backstreet dive that will host Donnie's biggest show to date.
Dock Road (2009)
Film Producer
Dirty Girl (2004)
Film Director