Room dedication at RIC honors memory of film studies student

By Kelcy Dolan
Posted 5/12/16

Kyle Cirelli loved film. Now, his memory will live on forever as part of Rhode Island College’s film studies program, with one of the viewing rooms having been dedicated in his name.

Kyle, a …

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Room dedication at RIC honors memory of film studies student

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Kyle Cirelli loved film. Now, his memory will live on forever as part of Rhode Island College’s film studies program, with one of the viewing rooms having been dedicated in his name.

Kyle, a Cranston resident and a 2008 RIC graduate, was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at six years old and was confined to a wheelchair by the age of 12.

Kyle would grow up to be fascinated with film, working at Showcase Cinemas and majoring in film studies at RIC. After graduating in 2008 he would continue to study film, writing his own scripts and even starting his own website, Morbidly Amusing Productions, writing movie and music reviews.

Even as Kyle’s physical condition deteriorated, his passion never did. He continued to write scripts, typing one letter out at a time with a mouse.

On April 7, 2014, at the age of 30, Kyle passed away as a result of complications from muscular dystrophy.

His parents, Vin and Annette Cirelli, wanted to see their late son’s dreams come true and set out to see some of his finished scripts come to life on the big screen.

The Cirellis would partner with Tom DeNucci, a director from Woodhaven Productions, a Rhode Island-based film company, to have the film produced.

The filmmaker had reached out to Kyle to review one of his films and the two began critiquing each other’s work, providing constructive criticism.

DeNucci had also been a friend of Kyle’s, with the two working together on one script together, “Slimbuck.” This ’80s-inspired movie – billed as “‘Home Alone’ meets ‘ET’” – followed the story of a young boy trying to protect a friendly alien from men seeking to destroy it.

Together, the team created a short of the film. There are still hopes of turning the script into a feature-length film. The short premiered at RIC in November of last year in front of 200 family and friends.

Last Friday, Kyle was honored once again by his alma mater, by having one of the viewing rooms in Horace Mann Tech Center named after him – the Kyle Cirelli ’08 Film Studies Screening Room. There was a brief ceremony during which friends and family expressed their gratitude and shared stories of their experiences with Kyle.

His father, Vin, said: “I think this is a perfect match. Kyle spent a lot of time in this room. He was just infatuated with film. This will help to keep his memory and legacy as a filmmaker alive.”

Vincent Bohlinger, an associate professor at RIC, was just starting out his career at the institution, and Kyle was one of his very first students. As a professor, he said he often feels teachers learn more from their students, and that was “especially true for Kyle.”

“Kyle made a considerable impression on me,” Bohlinger said. “He taught me the value of difference and the value of laughter.”

He believes having the room dedicated to Kyle will be a constant reminder of those lessons.

Mark Espinola, a classmate of Kyle’s, said it was a “privilege” to share a course with Kyle. He said Kyle was always a source of inspiration and even helped Espinola grow as a screenwriter.

Kyle’s passion helped revive DeNucci’s own and relit his creative spark.

“When you’re doing it day to day you can forget what first got you inspired, but Kyle relit that flame for me,” he said. “The lessons I’ve learned from him will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

For more information on Kyle Cirelli and Morbidly Amusing Productions, visit morbidlyamusing.com. For more information on “Slimebuck,” visit slimebuckthemovie.com or its Facebook page.

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