Frank Ferrante is a 54 year old Sicilian from Brooklyn living in San Francisco. A lover of life, great food, beautiful women and a good laugh, Frank is also a drug addict, morbidly obese, pre-diabetic, and fighting Hepatitis C. He’s estranged from his daughter, single, and struggling with depression. Frank knows that life can be better than this, and is looking for a way out.
May I Be Frank documents the transformation of Frank Ferrante’s life. He unknowingly stumbles into a local restaurant in San Francisco, Café Gratitude, a raw, organic and vegan café. As he becomes friends with the staff, he keeps returning to the café where he feels welcomed and free from his collapsing personal life. On one such visit, Frank is asked by Ryland, one of the servers, “What is one thing you want to do before you die?” Frank replies “I want to fall in love one more time, but no one will love me looking the way I do.”
Inspired by the possibility of helping Frank, Ryland invites him to come into the café everyday for the next month. Armed with a camera and a wide open heart, Ryland soon enrolls his brother Cary, and Conor, his best friend, to participate in supporting Frank’s transformation. The final agreement is made that for the next 42 days, Frank will turn his life over to three twenty-something young men committed to his healing and prepared to coach him physically, emotionally and spiritually. Frank will eat only raw food, practice gratitude, visit local holistic practitioners, and get a weekly colonic. Ryland, Conor, and Cary get to support and witness Frank’s miraculous transformation. Frank gets a new body, a clearer mind, and most importantly, a soaring spirit.
Over those 42 days, the four men go on the ride of their lives. Setting out to help Frank lose weight and get healthy, no one anticipated the profound impact this journey would have on the lives of countless others. Through Frank’s story of love, redemption, and transformation, the viewers witness the power of change for themselves and the world. May I Be Frank documents the essence of the human condition and what it truly means to fall in love again.
About the Filmmakers
Cary Mosier, Ryland Engelhart, Conor Gaffney
Directors/Producers/Camera
Cary Mosier, Ryland Engelhart, and Conor Gaffney are first time film‐makers and best friends. All three men were working for Café Gratitude, a local San Francisco restaurant owned by the Engelhart family. Cary came from a film making background, having studied at San Francisco State. Ryland and Conor both came from the music industry, working as a recording studio owner and musician, respectively. All three men have an interest in creating impactful and progressive works of art and media that carry a positive and inspiring message. May I Be Frank is their debut project in the film medium.
Gregg Marks
Director/ Editor/Camera
Gregg Marks is a filmmaker from New York City, with a 24 year background in music/composition, 12 years in design & motion graphics and 6 years in filming and editing. After honing his skills on shows like Styleyes, Treehugger.com, and various television commercials, he was inspired to move to San Francisco and to make a documentary film.
Upon arrival he met Ryland Engelhart, Cary Mosier and Conor Gaffney, who had just finished the initial filming of a powerful 42 day project about human transformation. After viewing the raw footage, Gregg knew this was it. After shooting an additional 50 hours of footage and 5 storyboards later, May I Be Frank was complete.
This is Gregg’s first full length feature documentary as a director and editor, which has inspired many in the film community, Alanis Morrisette, Jason Mraz, Woody Harrelson, Alice Walker, Dan Millman and many more who’ve reached out to help spread the word about this powerful film.
