Hitting it on the head

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When the Philadelphia CineFest 2009 winners were announced earlier this month, one local had reason to cheer when "The Nail: The Story of Joey Nardone" walked away with the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. Sandwich purveyor/writer/actor Tony Luke Jr. is the man behind the project, along with screenwriter Jason Noto and director James Quattrochi.

The film, which was screened before a sold-out crowd last month at the Prince Music Theater, tells the story of Nardone, a former heavyweight prize-fighter (played by Luke) back from an eight-year prison stint. He returns to his former South Philly stomping grounds looking for a simple, violence-free life, but things don’t go as planned.

The 90-minute drama, which had two additional showings during the festival, registered high marks, as its near-perfect rating helped it defeat more than 100 other films for the Best Feature Film crown. Tony Danza makes a brief appearance as Nardone’s chief antagonist Chickie. The film was one of only 14 movies to be honored during CineFest, which concluded April 6.

The next step is finalizing "The Nail’s" distribution. Producer Leo Rossi said an offer is on the table from Fox Foreign TV to release the movie overseas, but nothing has been signed. He also noted discussions are taking place with Showtime, and added there may be a DVD release.