We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ben Gonyo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ben below.

Ben, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

We are creating a feature film titled Strait Undercover, which features an actor with Down syndrome as the lead hero in the film. We’ve been working on the film for 3 years and it should be ready for release in 2024. Everything is professionally produced and we’re very proud of the film.

Typically actors with special needs are cast as sidekicks but we made Race Eberhardt the hero. Also there is no mention of his special needs in the film. It’s important for us that he doesn’t have to identify with his special need just to be the hero of the movie.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a filmmaker based in Rochester, NY. I own a small production company called Fish & Crown Creative. I came up creating documentary films and many of our clients ask us to help with tell their stories, which feature a lot of documentary style storytelling for their businesses.

I’ve been a professional in this field for about 15 years. Client’s like our laid back, easy going nature while maintaining high technical skill and attention to detail.

I’m most proud of the projects that challenge us creatively like Strait Undercover or that help people. Our short film, “Desiree’s Story” was used as a case study in NYS Legislature to help change a law which over penalized individuals unable to pay off motor vehicle tickets.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think Honesty has been a great asset for myself and my business. With my clients and with ourselves. Occasionally we have to tell prospective clients we’re not the best fit for their need. Or we have to tell them we don’t agree with the approach but ultimately it’s their call. Internally we have to be honest in knowing who we are and what we do best.

No small business can do everything for everyone. The more they try, the more diluted their core focus becomes. Starting out we struggled to get going. We’d perform work that was not the best fit for us because we needed to make payroll, gain clients, etc. It’s something all successful businesses do. After time, it’s helpful to reassess and stay as focused as you can to your mission and your goals.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Referrals are key for us. People like the work we do and they tell others. We’re fair with our pricing. Easy to work with and know what we are doing. We try to be valuable for the client because in the end of the day that’s a win for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.straitundercover.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/straitundercover/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/straitundercoverfilm
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@straitundercoverfilm