One Syracuse family didn’t bury its past. They recreated it.

Evan Schoeberlein of Baldwinsville, New York passed away of a malignant cancer called Ewing’s sarcoma in 2008, bringing tragedy to his family. Years later, when his brother Marc Schoeberlein wanted to start a big project, Marc decided he wanted to do something that was close to his heart.

The result was Marc Schoeberlein’s new film, “My Brother and Me,” which tells Evan’s story and shows what it’s like to experience tumultuous cancer treatment. The film, which Marc Schoeberlein directed, is scheduled to premiere at the Palace Theatre in November.

The film’s proceeds will be donated to the Maureen’s Hope Foundation, which provides support for people who are going through treatment or who have family members going through treatment, and Paige’s Butterfly Run, which raises funds for pediatric cancer research.

Marc Schoeberlein spent roughly three months writing the script and began a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the film. His goal was $5,000, but donations amounted to $8,000.

“That’s when I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I could actually do this,’” Marc Schoeberlein said. “From there, I just kept working at it and put together the cast and crew, and at that point, it was kind of a real indie production.”

Finding the crew was a quick process because it was comprised of friends or mutual friends who had backgrounds in filmmaking, Marc Schoeberlein said. But casting actors took longer because it involved networking and holding auditions.

The Syracuse community was also involved in the production of “My Brother and Me.” Aside from making donations to Marc Schoeberlein’s Crowdfunding campaign, community members donated their time and resources to his film, from lending him a real ambulance to allowing him to film at a local hospital.

“The fact that these people wanted to get involved makes the production that much more professional and that much more meaningful,” Marc Schoeberlein said. “It was continuing that idea of the community supporting this — the community helped start it and helped create it.”

Warren Schoeberlein, Marc Schoeberlein’s father, was heavily involved in the production of the film. Warren Schoeberlein built a lot of the equipment that was used, including dollies and mounts for the cameras.

But Warren Schoeberlein did more than just build equipment. Marc Schoeberlein’s father said another role he held was being a producer — he was involved in the business aspects of the film. Warren Schoeberlein added that the cast and crew were fortunate to be able to enjoy the experience of working with each other and shooting around the Syracuse area.

“Because it was all volunteer cast and crew, it was a lot of fun,” Warren Schoeberlein said. “We had friends, a sense of community, sense of comradeship.”

For both Marc and Warren Schoeberlein, making the film was a healing experience. Marc Schoeberlein said he was initially unsure of how he would feel about the project, but described it as cathartic, giving him an opportunity to reflect on what happened.

Warren Schoeberlein said dealing with tragedy or catastrophe as it happens is overwhelming — it’s like a tsunami. But being involved in the movie allowed him to see the past from a distance.

“You come to grips with it a little better, having the distance and the slowed-down timeframe to deal with things,” Warren Schoeberlein said. “It was a kind of healing that takes that real edge off of having experienced the real events — to see them in a more controlled environment.”

Matthew Walker, who worked as part of the crew as a “grip,” said his role involved helping set up the equipment and filming the auditions. He called himself Marc Schoeberlein’s secondhand man.

Walker knew the Schoeberlein family through his brother and mother. He said he decided to participate in the project to gain filming experience and help out for a good cause.

“It was tremendously valuable, and I learned a lot,” Walker said. “It put me in touch with a lot of great people (and I) got a lot of friends out of it.”

Amelia Favata, who plays Marc Schoeberlein’s girlfriend in the film, was one of the first actors to be cast. She said this film was one of her favorite projects that she has been involved in, giving credit to the friends she has made and the experience she has had on set.

Favata added that as she learned more about the characters, she became more engaged in the film. By getting to know Marc Schoeberlein and his family on a personal level, she now considers them like her own.

“Everyone involved, for the most part, was emotionally attached on some level,” Favata said. “It kind of motivated everyone to really give it their all, to do their best, try to portray these characters and try to elicit an emotional response from people.”

Warren Schoeberlein also called the film “a very honest movie” that has the chance to illuminate and educate its audience. Even though the movie has personal elements for him, he believes that audiences can grow upon the message it sends.

“Sometimes tragedy pulls family apart, and in this case, tragedy pulled the family together,” Warren Schoeberlein said. “All those little messages wrapped up in what is a very real approach to this, I think, will have value for people.”

Published on October 20, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Clare: clramire@syr.edu