A Filmmaking Dynamic Duo

​Travel through time with the first public screening of “When I Was Your Age,” a short film conceived by Bill Persky and Finny Dianora-Brondal, based on a concept from Persky’s career as a five-time Emmy Award-winning director, writer, and producer.

The film will be screened at The Church in Sag Harbor on Friday, December 16, at 5 p.m. as part of the Knowledge Friday series.

The pair first met at The Church in 2021 during a Knowledge Friday that featured Persky. Persky, age 90, and Finny, age 14, formed an unlikely friendship with an age difference of 80 years. The two immediately clicked, and their friendship led to this month’s joint Knowledge Friday at The Church featuring the two film/TV buffs. The documentary-style film revolves around their friendship, what they’ve learned from each other, and how Persky’s childhood experience differs from Finny’s in today’s world. The film includes interviews and conversations with people of all ages. It leaves viewers with a positive outlook for the future through learned mistakes, victories, and the undeniable truth that “We are all in this together.” The evening will conclude with a Q&A.

Bill Persky is a five-time Emmy Award-winning writer, director and producer. After receiving two Emmy Awards for “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” Persky and his partner, Sam Denoff, created “That Girl” for Marlo Thomas. Persky went on to specialize in directing television pilots. From 1975 to 1982, Persky directed 22 pilots, of which 16 were put on the air, the most memorable being “Who’s the Boss?” During that time, he also directed five television films and the Paramount feature “Serial” before moving to New York to produce and direct 100 episodes of the series “Kate and Allie,” for which he won an Emmy.

Persky is also a contributing writer to USA Today and the Huffington Post. He can often be found as a guest lecturer at NYU Film School and Yale University and teaches comedy writing at The New York Film School. His memoir, “My Life Is a Situational Comedy,” was featured in the Top 25 Comedy books on Amazon. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Writer’s Guild of America, A Giant of Television Award from The Radio & Television Executive Society, and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of New Haven.

Finny Dianora-Brondal is a filmmaker/videographer in training. He lives with his brother, parents and dog Benji in Sag Harbor and is currently interning at LTV studios, where he films, edits and helps with various shows and productions.

Tickets to the Knowledge Friday talk with Bill Persky and Finny Dianora-Brondal are $15. The Church is at 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor. For details, visit thechurchsagharbor.org.