“We’re Just Stony Brook Kids.” How SBU Helped Shape the Famulari Brothers’ Film Careers

Growing up in Stony Brook, graduating from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and now being honored at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame — it’s a surreal, full‑circle moment for independent filmmakers and brothers Ryan Famulari ’09, MFA ’13 and Anthony Famulari ’11. “We are Stony Brook. Stony Brook is us,” said Ryan. “It is such a huge part of who we are. It was such a special moment for us to screen our film and be honored by the Hall of Fame — which is literally a stone’s throw from where we grew up.”

That film, Best Man, is the brothers’ first independent feature. The pair, who lived in Los Angeles for several years, have also produced several short films, including The Switcheroo, which was featured in the Stony Brook Film Festival in 2022. “We had played that short at other festivals, but to be a part of the Stony Brook Film Festival — something that we went to when we were younger — was such a cool experience,” said Anthony.

Before they were filmmakers — wearing all the different hats of writer, director, actor, editor and producer — they were Seawolves navigating the paths that led them to these moments.

From Seawolves to Storytellers

Being the eldest Famulari brother, Ryan was the first to attend Stony Brook, with his brothers Anthony and Kevin ’12 following in his footsteps. “I’m sort of the guinea pig in the family,” Ryan said. “I get thrown out there to see how it works out. And I really enjoyed my time at Stony Brook, so it made sense for my brothers to attend after me.” 

He had initially imagined going away to college, but Stony Brook quickly became the natural fit — a place where he could continue playing football while finding his own path. “I had dreams of making it to the NFL,” said Ryan. “I remember attending the first game at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium as a teen, so it was very cool to play on that field as a quarterback.” Alongside football and sticking with his journalism track, Ryan joined SBU-TV. “I had aspirations to be a sideline reporter when I realized that I might not be playing professionally after Stony Brook,” he laughed.

Two years later, Anthony joined Ryan at SBU‑TV. “I knew I wasn’t going to walk onto the football team like Ryan, and later Kevin, did,” said Anthony. “But I played rugby and got involved in the theater department.” He was enjoying his time auditioning for plays with the Stony Brook Pocket Theatre so much that he switched his major from journalism to multidisciplinary to focus on both equally. His first role was in Sailor’s Song by John Patrick Shanley. “I was always interested in acting, and Stony Brook gave me the space to develop those skills and feel comfortable and confident doing so,” said Anthony.

Ryan recalled being nervous seeing him up on stage. “He was so good! I believe that was a pretty pivotal moment,” he said. “Seeing him as an actor for the first time really opened our eyes to what he could be capable of in the future.”

Those acting skills came in handy when Ryan headed out to Southampton to earn his MFA in creative writing and literature. As he became involved in the writing community, Anthony would often act in the short films Ryan was writing with other students. “That sort of evolved into a side hobby for the two of us,” Ryan said. “We started making short films on our own when we moved to New York City, and then eventually Los Angeles.”

Bringing Best Man to Life

Ryan moved back to Long Island with his wife, Kara, in 2021, while Anthony stayed on the West Coast for a few more years before returning with his fiancée, Kelsey, in 2025. “There was always sort of a tug while we were out there from our family in New York,” said Ryan. “Anthony wrote Best Man about the experience of being a New Yorker trying to make it in Los Angeles and deciding if he should move back home.”

The pair had written many scripts over the years, but Best Man felt like the right story to tell for their first feature‑length film. “I wanted to tell a personal story in a meaningful way,” said Anthony. “Ryan and I passed the script back and forth until we had it right.”

With only 12 days to shoot in a handful of Los Angeles locations, they had to get creative — and hands‑on. Working with a small budget meant handling numerous roles: casting, set decoration, directing, editing and everything in between. They recruited their friend Henry Power as cinematographer to round out their five‑person crew. “Anthony and I work really well together,” Ryan said. “He was the one to push us out of our comfort zones for this. And we were able to hold ourselves accountable throughout the entire process.”

Building a Creative Community

The film has been screened at festivals across the country, including the Playhouse West Film Festival in North Hollywood, California, the Lighthouse International Film Festival in New Jersey and most recently at the inaugural Long Island Cinema Festival, where they brought home two awards — Best Feature and Best Actor in a Feature for Anthony. The response has been energizing. “We love talking to people at festivals,” said Anthony. “Hearing how they relate to the film is a rewarding experience and makes us want to keep getting the movie out there and chasing that high.”

Following the debut of Best Man at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame as part of its Local Filmmakers Series, the brothers sat down with the organization’s vice chair, Tom Needham, for an in‑depth Q&A. “We’re really proud to share this film with the Stony Brook community that we grew up in,” said Ryan.

Click here to read more about the screening.

As they continue to screen Best Man and look for distribution, the Famulari brothers are already brainstorming their next feature — a possible adaptation of a play Anthony wrote as an undergraduate at Stony Brook. “We’re independent filmmakers in the truest sense,” said Anthony. “We both have full‑time jobs and full‑time families, but this is our passion.”

They’re also focused on building a filmmaking community on Long Island, drawing on the collaborative network they built in Los Angeles. “There are so many people on Long Island making films and telling stories,” Ryan said. “We want to add our experience to that and help it grow.”

Their advice for young filmmakers and journalists is simple: Start with what you have. “Pick up your phone and just do it,” Ryan said. “Be persistent. Make something you’re proud of. If the work is good, you’ll find momentum.”

“Community really is everything,” said Anthony. “Find your people, collaborate, stay scrappy. Surround yourself with others on the same path — that’s how you build a career.”

-Christine McGrath