TEAM

FILMS

EVENTS

CONTACT

 

EFP also has GOVERNORS OF GREED in production. It is an in depth look at the past sub-prime mortgage crisis and the financial shock to Wall Street and Main Street.

ERRANTE FILM PRODUCTIONS

is a film production and distribution company

located in New York City, founded by entrepreneur John Errante.

EFP will focus on investigative documentary films. EFP's first foray into the marketplace was ARTICLE 32: RULES OF ENGAGEMENT.

EFP has released their latest film, BMF: THE RISE & FALL OF A HIP HOP DRUG EMPIRE. It is a crime drama surrounding the true story of a drug cartel that laundered close to 300 million dollars in proceeds before being brought down by the D.E.A.

TEAM

JOHN ERRANTE

PRESIDENT

DON SIKORSKI

DIRECTOR / WRITER

John Errante is an entrepreneur, writer and producer who formed Errante Films Productions in 2007.  He aspires to create and produce controversial and investigative documentaries, as well as feature films.

 

On  his first project, Errante wrote and produced  GOVERNORS OF GREED,  a documentary  detailing the collapse of the United States financial system and depicting it as the greatest financial crime every orchestrated.  The architects of the crime each contributed and benefited from a system that had no oversight and was run like a Las Vegas Casino with no house.

 

Errante is also the Executive Producer of a documentary titled ARTICLE 32.  Errante worked with Don Sikorski to create this documentary which features the story of seven Marines and a Navy Corpsman who are accused of stripping an Iraqi civilian from his home in the middle of the night and brutally murdering him in a road-side ditch.  The film was featured at a premier and is currently being distributed by Larry Meistrict and NEHST STUIDOS.  Meistrich has produced the following films:  Sling Blade, New Jersey Drive, Henry Fool, Illtown, and Running America.

 

From 2009 through 2011, Errante  worked again with Sikorski  to produce BMF: The Rise & Fall of a Hip-Hop Drug Empire.  The story describes the 15 year period in which the Black Mafia Family or BMF as they were called made close to $300 million trafficking cocaine from Atlanta to Los Angeles.  Two brothers, Demetrius “Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, ran a drug enterprise that had 200 members and was connected to one of the major Mexican cartels.  In the Hip-Hop music industry, they created a front company called BMF Entertainment, which was a perfect mix of drugs, violence, and street credibility that makes their story Hip-Hop’s version of The Godfather.

 

Currently, Errante and Sikorski are developing their latest documentary which focuses on the epidemic of Autism titled - SCHOOL FOR ONE – Educators & Autism.  School for One is a 90 minute, feature-length documentary that will explore, educate and debate an issue that will define public schools, educators and the journey of families who has autistic children.

 

As the President of Errante Film Productions, Errante handles day-to-day operations, investment opportunities, and strategic growth.  Errante Film Productions and Errante have various projects in production and development and are actively looking for new talent and distribution opportunities.

Don Sikorski broke onto the scene with his feature-length documentary RA SHEET: Hip-Hop and the Cops.  The film was brought by Universal/Screen Media Ventures and was released on July 31, 2007.  Sikorski spent three years writing, directing, and producing the project that traces the story of an NYPD-FBI intelligence unit that had the Hip-Hop industry under surveillance.

 

Upon completion of RAP SHEET, Sikorski started research on his next Film ARTICLE 32.  The documentary tells the true-life tale of seven Marines and one Navy Corpsman that were charged with murder in Iraq.  The group were coined the Pendleton 8.  The film is currently distributed by Larry Meistrict and NEHST STUDIOS.  Meistrich has produced the following films:  Sling Blade, New Jersey Drive, Henry Fool, Illtown, and Running America.

 

In the summer of 2008, Sony Music contracted Sikorski to direct a documentary on pop sensation, Sean Kingston.  Sony released the film, SEAN KINGSTON: KINGSTON’S ROAD in 2009.

 

Sikorski directed and wrote BMF: The Rise & Fall of a Hip-Hop Drug Empire.  The story describes the 15 year period in which the Black Mafia Family or BMF as they were called made close to $300 million trafficking cocaine from Atlanta to Los Angeles.  Two brothers, Demetrius “Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, ran a drug enterprise that had 200 members and was connected to one of the major Mexican cartels.  In the Hip-Hop music industry, they created a front company called BMF Entertainment, which was a perfect mix of drugs, violence, and street credibility that makes their story Hip-Hop’s version of The Godfather.

 

In 2011, Sikorski was named Manager of Development at Big Fish Entertainment, which is based in Washington, D.C.  Currently, Big Fish Entertainment has Cupcakes on TLC.  In the summer of 2011, a ground-breaking, new series Bomb Patrol:  Afghanistan will air.  The cameras will follow an explosive Ordnance Disposal Combat Platoon’s training in San Diego, and actual missions in Afghanistan via an exclusive United States Navy Access Agreement.

 

Currently, Sikorski is working with Errante Film Productions to develop their latest documentary which focuses on the epidemic of Autism titled - SCHOOL FOR ONE – Educators & Autism.  School for One is a 90 minute, feature-length documentary that will explore, educate and debate an issue that will define public schools, educators and the journey of families who has autistic children.

RYAN J. WALKER

MARKETING DIRECTOR

DOUGLAS G. STEWART

EFP EDITOR

Walker is an independent film producer and marketing executive, specializing in sales and distribution.  Since co-founding, The Raven Film Company with Malik Thomas; Walker has produced multiple documentaries and independent feature films.  The first of which; a documentary entitled Pains of the Game... A Hoop Family Documentary featuring Jeff McGinnis, LaMar Odom, Coach John Chaney, Damar Johnson, and Pat Riley – chronicled the trials and tribulations of dominant collegiate basketball players who struggle to make it as pro players in the National Basketball Association.  After completing Pains of the Game, Walker went on to produce another documentary, The Diary of Player, however he found his true passion to be producing narrative features.

 

Walker’s most recent production, BMF: The Rise and Fall of a Hip Hop Drug Empire (2012) is feature length documentary that follows the DEA, FBI, and the crack drug task force known as the HIDTA during their intense, 15-year-long investigation of the Black Mafia Family (aka BMF). The BMF is a group of drug traffickers who netted nearly $300 million by transporting cocaine from Mexico to the United States. Walker’s other credits include A Jury of Our Peers (2008), starring Bryce Wilson, Dorian Missick, Angell Conwell, and Drew Sidora; was an official selection at the American Black Film Festival.  The Codeblack/Universal Pictures’ releases, Blood Of A Champion, starring Deborah Cox and Bokeem Woodbine, released in February 2006, and Confessions of a Call Girl, starring Lynn Whitfield, Roger Guenveur Smith, Clifton Powell, Tamala Jones, and Bokeem Woodbine, released in fall 2007.

 

In Marketing, Walker serves as the lead consultant for Media Star Promotions, in the New York/New Jersey Metro area, where he manages approximately five million in company assets and resources.  He has successfully launched five new products into the market place in three years increasing his regional market share by 4%.  Specifically as a motion picture marketer, Walker served as the Executive Director and Co-founder of The Urban Film Alliance; developing the highly praised 2006 Axe Black Filmmakers Series – a 10-city tour of three African American independent short films. His success with this program as well as his accomplishments managing the Black Cinema Café franchise and serving as the Sponsorship Manager for the American Black Film Festival, made him highly sought after as a liaison between filmmakers and studios.  He created deals and forged strategic partnerships, enabling him to successfully broker distribution deals for Civil Brand, Love Sex and Eating the Bones, Love Chronicles, Skin Deep, and Big Ain’t Bad.  Walker’s work also brought him to the attention of Will Packer and Rainforest Films, for whom he helped develop and implement the niche release strategy and marketing plan in the Carolinas for Pandora’s Box and Lockdown, precursors to their mainstream box office successes Stomp the Yard & This Christmas.

Douglas Stewart served as Editor and Producer of the feature length documentary BMF: The Rise and Fall of a Hop Hop Drug Empire, produced by Errante Film Productions and distributed by Image Entertainment in 2012, and was the Co-Director, Co-Writer, Producer and Editor of Article 32, a feature documentary telling the true life story of seven Marines and one Navy Corpsman charged with murder in Iraq. The film was Spirit of the Independents award winner at the 2009 FT Lauderdale International Film Festival, and a finalist in the 2010 USA Film Festival National Film and Video competition.

 

Stewart's other works include music videos for Sony and Epic records recording artists as well as corporate videos for Stage/Ryan Partnership clients including Dewars and Heineken.

ERRANTE

FILM PRODUCTIONS

ERRANTE

FILM PRODUCTIONS

FILMS

BMF: THE RISE & FALL OF A HIP-HOP DRUG EMPIRE

ON SALE NOW

In 15-years the Black Mafia Family or BMF as they were called made close to 300 million dollars trafficking cocaine from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Two brothers Demetrius “Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory ran a drug enterprise that had 200 members and was connected to one of the major Mexican cartels. In the Hip-Hop music industry they created a front company called BMF Entertainment, which was a perfect mix of drugs, violence, and street cred that makes their story Hip-Hop’s version of the Godfather.

 

BMF is a 80-minute documentary that explores the story of the 15-year investigation by the DEA, FBI and an elite drug task force called HIDTA that resulted in 41 defendants across the country being charged in one of the largest drug conspiracy cases ever. The film is a tale that combines the story of a criminal syndicate that lived on a code of honor and conduct that rivaled any of the five Mafia families, and ended just as dramatically under a hailstorm of government informants, wiretaps and surveillance that ultimately caused the downfall of the Hip-Hop Drug Empire.

 

With over 11,000 government documents and close to 5,000 photographs and taped conversations the BMF is a documentary that will deconstruct the story of BMF from both the law enforcement angle and from members inside BMF that had intimate knowledge of the operation. The film will include interviews with: informants, DEA Agents, District Attorney’s, FBI, Atlanta Police and rare insights from Hip-Hop heavyweights, Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane, Rick Ross, Fabolous, and many others. While many articles have been written in the press about BMF, BMF is a film on two brothers that were able to fuse an organized crime network, with a company that purveyed Hip-Hop hype, the ultimate gangster tale.

ARTICLE 32: RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

ON SALE NOW

In the early morning hours of April 26th, 2006, an Iraqi man was shot dead on the side of the road next to an IED hole in the small Sunni village of Hamdania, Iraq by seven Marines and one Navy Corpsman, members of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines Regiment. Differing accounts as to the exact details of the man's killing fueled a full-blown NCIS murder investigation. Soon, the seven Marines and one Navy Corpsman faced life in prison for their roles in the Iraqi man’s death.

 

Article 32 is a documentary film that uncovers the truth of what happened that night in Iraq and the subsequent NCIS murder investigation. Shot in Hamdania, Iraq and the United States, Article 32 explores the morally brutalizing environment of the Iraq War and shines a light on the gray area between the established rules of engagement and the basic rule of “do what you have to do to come home alive.”

GOVERNORS OF GREED

IN PRODUCTION

The collapse in 2008 of the United States financial system is the greatest financial crime ever orchestrated. The architects of the crime each contributed and benefited from a system that had no oversight and was run like a Las Vegas Casino with no house. GOVERNORS OF GREED is a 90-minute documentary expose that will put on trial the ten GOVERNORS OF GREED and explain the complex narrative that ultimately pillaged trillions of dollars and brought the global financial system to it’s knees.

 

In the fall of 2008, the United States financial system imploded and around the globe a wide panic set it. In two weeks the Federal Reserve and Treasury nationalized the country’s two mortgage behemoths, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; took over AIG, the world’s largest insurance company, temporarily banned short-selling in over 900 mostly financial stocks and finally pledged to take up to 700 Billion of toxic mortgage-related assets on its books. Wall Street was in chaos. The independent investment bank was now extinct, Lehman Brothers bankrupt, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch were swallowed and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have become commercial banks. The credit markets were frozen and the American taxpayer was left footing the bill and shaking his head in awe and anger. Unethical and immoral practices ravaged the mortgage industry as companies used any means necessary to dupe the American homebuyer, and paralyze the world financial system.

 

How did this happen? Who was responsible? And where do we go from here? GOVERNORS OF GREED will answer these questions and uncover the truth behind the largest financial crime ever orchestrated.

IN DEVELOPMENT

SCHOOL FOR ONE: EDUCATORS & AUTISM

IN DEVELOPMENT

“The way we treat and educate children with autism is a national disgrace.”

 

L. Vincent Strully/Founder & CEO of the New England Center For Children

 

More Children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes, and cancer combined.

 

*Currently, 1 in 88 children will be diagnosed with some form of an ASD.

 

*Boys are affected at a rate 4x great than girls. Presently, 1 in 54 boys are   diagnosed with Autism.

 

*Our nation currently spends $137 billion on Autism related costs and services annually.  However, Autism receives only 5% of all research funding.

 

*Autism remains the fastest growing developmental disability, with no specific test for identification or cure.

There may be no greater challenge facing public schools today than the staggering increase in children diagnosed with autism.

 

Even though the law requires school districts to provide a free “appropriate” education to every student, school budgets are not growing nearly as rapidly as the number of children classified as having special needs. Parents are increasingly demanding more than basics; they want intensive, expensive services that offer the best chance to rescue their child from a lifetime of disability.

 

Experts disagree on the most effective approach to teaching children with autism, and many school districts cobble together a mishmash of methods that changes with each new fad, source of funding, special education director, or classroom teacher. Too often, good intentions collide with limited resources, and overloaded bureaucracies clash with parents driven by hope and anguish.

 

SCHOOL OF ONE is a 90 minute, feature-length documentary that will explore, educate, and debate an issue that will define public schools, educators, and the journey of families who have autistic children.

 

While the cause of Autism continues to be debated, there is no doubt about the impact on the public school system. Administrators face growing pressure from vocal and sophisticated parents who insist on state-of-art instruction, highly trained teachers, staff to student ratios as low as 1 to 1, and extensive support services such as speech and occupational therapy. When districts do not deliver the programs or pay for private school alternatives, families are increasingly willing to fight in administrative hearings and court.

 

These parental mandates have made this issue much larger than an educational challenge for many districts; it has become a legal minefield. Autism is now a major problem in schools and a leading source of lawsuits.

 

At the heart of this huge and landmark debate is Applied Behavior Analysis or ABA.  ABA is the best-known educational strategy for autism and has the strongest evidence supporting it. ABA, which grew out of the work of psychologist B.F. Skinner, uses reinforcements in structured environments to encourage learning.  Some ABA programs for young children claim that almost half the students do so well that they eventually are able to function, and even thrive, in a regular classroom; however some have questioned those statistics. Additionally, there are thousands of lawsuits across the country among parents, the boards of education, and insurance companies. Educators are fighting against providing ABA therapy by limiting resources and constructing bureaucratic obstacles.

 

In the SCHOOL OF ONE, the documentary will go inside the issue of ABA therapy and the fight for resources, diagnosis, and funding in what will soon be a hot-button topic that cannot be ignored. Many public schools use a combination of methods by offering the best of each. However, this approach makes it hard for parents to know exactly what treatment a child is getting, and ABA proponents say it causes other problems as well.

 

As parents press for evidence-based educational strategies, will educators finally realize that it might be cheaper to enhance autistic programs, than to continue to fight lawsuits?  And how does economics play into the equation? It is essential for parrents to have the best knowledge based on research, so that they can have their day in court. What do single-parent homes do, and is the system against them?

 

With the development of THE SCHOOL OF ONE, the film will be a springboard to educational resources, a foundation, and interactive web component that will be a resource for parents, educators, and psychologists. A forum to share information and stories that have changed family dynamics across the world will be available.

WE WILL BE ACCEPTING DONATIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SETON FOUNDATION FOR LEARNING. A NON-PROFIT CORPORATION, THAT HAS BEEN PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL AND SUPPORT SERVICES TO DEVELOPMENTAL DISABLED CHILDREN FOR OVER 25 YEARS.

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EVENTS

BMF:

THE RISE & FALL OF A HIP-HOP DRUG EMPIRE

RED CARPET PREMIERE

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

COBBLE HILL CINEMAS

265 COURT STREET

BROOKLYN, NY

BENEFIT FOR THE

SETON FOUNDATION

AUTISM AWARENESS

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

COBBLE HILL CINEMAS

265 COURT STREET

BROOKLYN, NY

Members of the Seton Foundation, from left-to-right: Donna Jennings, William Gault, Diane Cunningham and John & Stacey Errante at the premiere for "BMF: The Rise and Fall of a Hip Hop Drug Empire."

When John and Stacey Errante discovered their daughter had a form of Autism known as Pervasive Developmental Disorder, they joined the ranks of people who often find themselves alone and adrift in a sea of confusion. Like many others, they set about on their own personal journey that would inform them and give them the tools necessary to make decisions to best benefit their daughter.

 

Errante Film Productions had been a dream of John’s for some years and he recalls that he found a new purpose in life to go with it upon discovering his daughter’s condition.  “It came to me as an

epiphany what I should do,” recalls John. “What started as a dream of financial and artistic success turned into a vehicle to connect others with information, support, and services related to Autism.”

 

The documentary premiered on Thursday, September 27, at Cobble Hill Cinema in Brooklyn, in the heart of a neighborhood Errante and his wife spent their childhood.  “We were so fortunate to have an immensely supportive community of family and lifelong friends so it made perfect sense that we would offer them a chance to join the premiere and support this cause,” says Errante.

 

“BMF: The Rise and Fall of a Hip-Hop Drug Empire” is the second in a series of films that Errante’s company has produced.  Proceeds from its premiere will benefit The Seton Foundation, an organization that sponsors programs for developmentally disabled children ages three to twenty-one. The Errante's choose to honor The Seton Foundation for Learning because their daughter attends the school’s Therese Program which helps educate children impacted with Autism.  More information on the Foundation can be found below.

 

 “Part of the proceeds from this film will support the completion of our next documentary which will be focused entirely on Autism and children with disabilities,” explains Errante.

ARTICLE 32:

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

RED CARPET PREMIERE

RED CARPET INTERVIEW

JOHN ERRANTE

PRESIDENT

ERRANTE FILMS

ARTICLE 32:

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

Photography By Whitney Ellis

Photography By Frank Kiss

OCTOBER 1, 2009

COBBLE HILL CINEMAS

265 COURT STREET

BROOKLYN, NY

Downtown Magazine NYC Review

56 W. 45TH STREET

3RD FLOOR

NEW YORK, NY 10036

JOHN ERRANTE   PRESIDENT

RYAN WALKER   MARKETING DIRECTOR

CONTACT

jerrante@errantefilms.com

rwalker@errantefilms.com

ERRANTE

FILM PRODUCTIONS

DON SIKORSKI   DIRECTOR / WRITER

dsikorski@errantefilms.com

 

  ©2013 Errante Film Productions, All Rights Reserved