Chris Merola Talks “Lemonade Blessing,” Tribeca Film Festival, and Filmmaking

CinemAddicts hosts Bruce Purkey and Eric Holmes really enjoyed “Lemonade Blessing,” a coming of age comedy directed and penned by Chris Merola. Holmes interviewed Merola in preparation for its Tribeca Film Festival run (first screening is June 5). For more insights on the film, check out Merola’s interview below.

“Lemonade Blessing” centers on John (Jake Ryan), a naive boy who becomes infatuated with a young girl named Lilith (Skye Alyssa Friedman). Life at a private Catholic high school is no easy business, and John’s attempts at a relationship with Lilith has its share of challenges.

Filmmaker Chris Merola aimed to bring a “truthful” approach to his film. “When I was making ‘Lemonade Blessing,’ I was trying to have empathy for all the characters and just try to see things for where they (stand) so that I could give all of my actors notes,” said Merola. “So that they’re never judging their characters (and) they’re always in the moment. These are people (who) are trying their best. And yes, they totally do things that I would not do myself.”

Along with his passion for filmmaking, Merola aims to foster a nurturing environment at the workplace, thus “upholding the happiness and health of the cast and crew.” The director admits that when he was working on film sets, some people were just “so f**king mean.”

 

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Next up for Merola and his crew is the Tribeca Film Festival, where he has high hopes for his movie, which is entered for the fest’s US Narrative Competition. “I would love to land with a distributor who’s going to do a limited theatrical release and really cares about the film as much as we do.”

Check out Lemonade Blessing filmmaker Chris Merola’s full interview (podcast and YouTube versions: