A group of video production students led by Pascack Valley seniors Matthew Mugno, Steven Murno, and Jeremy Monge have announced that they are to release their film mini-series “Sapienza: True Events” on May 13. This will be after AP exam testing and before seniors have their laptops taken away. “Sapienza: True Events” is based on a mystery that takes place in Sapienza Gardens by the PV tennis courts.

“I think we have a pretty good story,” Mugno said. “I brought in a lot of pieces that relate to PV and the school. People from different grades are involved, and it has a far reach.”

The mini-series will be a follow-up on last year’s production of “Cropsey” and will feature PV seniors Andrew Demboski and Kevin Conrad.

“The whole point of ‘Cropsey’ was to inspire kids to do something themselves, and that’s why I’m really proud of what Matthew did with ‘Sapienza: True Events,’” said Michael Sherman, the PV video production teacher. “This is all him, he has dedicated a lot of time to it, and he has put his blood, sweat, and tears into it.”

Mugno was inspired by the production of “Cropsey,” but “Sapienza: True Events” was created when Mugno had to make a movie trailer for his advanced video production class.

“We have so much fun on set, it’s worth all the work we put in,” Mugno said. “Brick by brick, we build this house.”

After Mugno posted the trailer on his YouTube channel in October of 2018, he said a lot of seniors have been waiting for the release of the mini-series.

“’Sapienza: True Events is one of several bangs we are giving Pascack Valley before graduation,” Conrad said. “It is filled with nothing but success, purity, and the true meaning of life. The cast and crew have become family and I wish them all nothing but the best.”

The “Sapienza: True Events” team has worked for over 100 hours on the project. Mugno said on a typical day, he goes to school, track practice, and then films for about two hours until Monge and Murno have to go to work.

“A lot goes into a mini-series that people don’t really think about,” Mugno said. “We’re putting a lot of work into this one.”

Mugno said that he hopes he creates a film that most of the school will enjoy.

“It’s brotherhood — we definitely have our hardships,” Monge said. “Someone doesn’t make it on time, someone keeps messing up, and injuries we have to work around.”

Mugno came up with the saying “Roll Sap,” which refers to “Sapienza: True Events,” after an instance with his brother.

“For Alabama, they would do roll tide, and I would make fun of my brother, who went to Penn State, saying roll state,” Mugno said. “It annoyed my brother, so I kept doing it. When I was trying to think of a new phrase for the mini-series, it was a no brainer. That’s when I came up with the slogan ‘roll sap.’ Random people just come up to me and say ‘roll sap.’”

Mugno said that the mini-series is a way to honor the history of the school while appealing to the student body.

“Matt, Jeremy, and Steven have all been an absolute pleasure to work with,” Demboski said. “They have all sacrificed so much time and faced a lot of adversity in this process. This project has really brought us all together and I’m thankful to be a part of it.”

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Contributed by Matt Mugno

Matt Mugno films at Sapienza Gardens.