Massena girl co-stars in independent film

MASSENA - Shaylena Mandigo spent Wednesday learning multiplication and taking standardized third-grade reading tests at Nightengale Elementary School.

Last month, she took a break from school to walk on the red carpet of the Sundance Film Festival for the premiere of the new independent film she co-stars in, “For Ellen.”

The movie, which was filmed over an 18-day period in Massena two winters ago, also stars Paul Dano (“Little Miss Sunshine,” “There Will be Blood”) and Jon Heder (“Napoleon Dynamite,” “Blades of Glory.”) Mr. Dano plays a struggling musician who rethinks life after finding out divorce meant losing custody of his daughter, Ellen (Mandigo).

Director So Yong Kim found Miss Mandigo while scouting at a physical education class at Nightengale, according to principal Shannon K. Jordan. Shaylena was in first grade at the time.

“(The director) needed a connection, and she felt it with Shaylena,” Ms. Jordan said. “She just said she was perfect; she was Ellen.”

Shaylena said she had thought about becoming famous even before Ms. Kim found her when she was 6 years old.

She didn’t know how that would happen, though.

“I live in Massena. Not very many people know this place,” she said. “I used to think I would be a regular, normal girl but my life has changed. They picked me as a movie star.”

She said her favorite scene in the movie is while she is picking out a doll in a store with her estranged father.

“I love that scene because I walked slow, slow, barely even moving,” she said.

Miss Mandigo said she ad-libbed many of her lines. In one scene, the director whispered her lines from underneath a nearby piece of furniture.

Miss Mandigo said she did not mind the grind of filmmaking. She’d like to star in her next film as soon as possible and likes stardom because it’s “really sweet” and “a lot of people know me.”

After filming, life returned to normal for Miss Mandigo for two years until the Sundance premiere last month, for which she and her family flew out to Utah. She used the cursive skills she picked up in second grade to sign autographs, and adjusted to the festival photo shoots.

“It was hard to see because everyone is flashing and flashing,” she said. “You don’t know what cameras you should look at.”

Miss Mandigo’s mother, Tammie, said she was surprised her daughter was chosen for the role and wasn’t seeking stardom for her children.

“I think that’s maybe something all little kids want. We didn’t look into that or anything,” she said. “I was just shocked.”

She would support Shaylena if her “For Ellen” role led to more movies. Of mother and daughter, it was the former who was nervous at Sundance, she said.

“She wasn’t nervous at all. She loved every minute of it,” she said of Shaylena. “She couldn’t wait to get up on stage. She couldn’t wait to be interviewed ... When they called the cast and crew down when the film was over, the audience applauded extra hard for her.”

The film’s producer, Jen Gatien, is a cousin of retired Massena Police Department Sergeant Douglas E. Kassian. He recommended the town for the film and helped the director scout out locations. Delmar Sportsmen’s Tavern, Pappy’s Bowlmor Lanes and Mr. Kassian’s house were among the shooting locations.

Mr. Dano came over to Mr. Kassian’s house for Super Bowl XLIV.

The actors and crew stayed at the Blue Spruce Motel during filming.

“Everyone associated with the movie was fantastic,” he said.

Miss Mandigo is not the only film character with a Massena connection. Mara R. Pelifian, a Nightengale fourth grade teacher, played a small role as Mr. Heder’s mother. Filming also took place in her daughter’s room at her house.

Mrs. Pelifian’s lines were also ad libbed. She was able to tap into her experience as a mother for the role, she said. A couple-minute scene took nearly three hours of filming.

“It was a good learning experience. I really have an appreciation of how they make films,” he said. “I’m excited to see the film because I’m going to recognize my own home and my daughter’s room.”