Filmmakers plan fundraiser and video shoot at local pizza shop

Frank Cavone is calling on friends, family, teachers and anyone else whose life has been touched by Nico Scoggy to gather at the Lake George Pizza Jerks on Iroquois Street this Thursday, Feb. 8 to “Say Something Nice About Nico Scroggy.”

Nico was 20-years-old when he died in April 2015 while undergoing treatment for addiction in a Florida detox facility. Cavone and his partners at Mirth Films are creating a film to capture positive memories of this friend lost too soon. The event is also a fundraiser for Nico’s House, an organization founded by Nico’s family to raise awareness of the disease of addiction, offer support for victims and remove the stigma surrounding drug addiction, which isolates those who suffer and affects the efficacy of treatment.

Cavone, with partners Doug Quimby and Ramon Sanchez, recently launched Mirth Films. “Nico’s birthday was coming up,” says Cavone, “and we wanted to make a video dedicated to him. So, me and my friend Doug Quimby got together — he’s also a Lake George local — and we pitched the idea to Nico’s family … did a rundown and asked for permission before we went ahead and did something, They were totally onboard.” Cavone contacted the owner of Pizza Jerks and was able to secure the venue for the project.

The idea is to compile video clips of people reminiscing about Nico and speaking about the positive aspects of their relationship with him. “There are so many good things me and all my friends experienced with him that it’s just incredible,” says Cavone. “He just made a bad decision; some of us didn’t want to deal with the things he did, but who are we to judge? We just want to highlight what impact he left on people.” Cavone believes the film will help with the Nico’s House mission to remove the stigma of addiction by showing there is so much more to their friend than the circumstances of his death.

The final product will be a Mirth Films original and will be posted to the Mirth Films YouTube channel and social media platforms. The planned release date is early March to coincide with Nico’s birthday.

Cavone describes Mirth Films as a “media hub where people can create.” He and his partners plan to produce a broad range of content, including documentaries, original stories, travel videos and blog posts. They have an original scripted web series launching in 2019 and have a long-range goal of producing a feature TV show.  Another Mirth Film project in the works is a tour of the United States while following the band Phish. They plan to document the journey and throw light on the sub-culture surrounding the band.

“We don’t want to get into all politics and crap like that,” says Cavone, “There’s a lot of things where we’d like to speak up, help support, that are good things, like Nico’s House, and that’s where we’d like to put our efforts.” Cavone says they want to avoid showing bias in the portrayal of divisive issues, “In a world where media is frowned upon, we want to take that out of the way.” Cavone says they want to “make stuff” that won’t be identified with particular political movements.

The Nico’s House fundraiser/video shoot will be held 5 – 8:30 p.m. and includes raffles and a donation jar. A portion of pizza sales will benefit Nico’s House. Pizza Jerks will be offering its Thursday night all-you-can-eat slices special. Anyone who wishes to contribute a video clip to the film, but is unable to attend, may contact Cavone at (518)683-5334.