Long Island Filmmaker Brings Latest Film To LIMEHOF

WESTBURY, NY — A Long Island-based filmmaker is getting honored with a screening of his latest movie at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF).

Stevan Mena has been making movies for 25 years, "but I've been doing it since I was a kid," he told Patch.

Mena grew up in Westbury and now calls Mount Sinai home.

Mena calls his fifth film, his latest, "The Ruse," a psychological thriller,"very similar to the old Agatha Christie movies. It's also reminiscent of the old "Columbo" show."

He said the ending of "The Ruse" will resonate with those fans.

"The older community really seems to be responding well to this movie. That's what they grew up on," he said.

In his first film, Mena went with the horror genre in "Malevolence."

"It was shot really low-budget, so we wanted something that would sell worldwide," he said. "With a horror film, you don't need name actors. So it just made our lives easier."

Making it even easier for distribution, Mena started his own production company —Mena Films — a decade ago.

"All of my films prior to that were distributed through Anchor Bay and Lionsgate," he said. "When we became a distributor, I took back ownership of all those IPs and rereleased them through my company."

But as a boy from Westbury, it all started when he was just 11 years old.

"I always knew I wanted to get into it, but I didn't know anybody in the industry, and I had no idea how to get into it," Mena said.

Although he went to college for film, he dropped out because he "didn't like the way it was structured." He transferred to communications instead.

Mena kept active on movie sets, working as an intern to gather experience.

"I finally stumbled upon the realization that if I wanted to do this, I needed to actually write a script and then make it," he said. "I couldn't wait for somebody to give me the green light. I had to do it myself."

After the 1 p.m. screening of "The Ruse" at LIMEHOF on Sept. 27, Mena will appear for a Q&A emceed by LIMEHOF Vice Chairman Tom Needham.