Vinyl Foote Productions
About Us
The story of Vinyl Foote Productions is filled with love, learning, and of course, Elvis. Founded in 2005 by actor, Jayce Bartok and make-up artist, Tiffany Bartok to produce a modest documentary on nine people changed by Elvis Presley. Altered By Elvis as it was called went on to wins awards at film festivals and sell around the world (iTunes & Amazon as well as TV channels internationally); and most importantly, there was no looking back for Jayce & Tiffany.
Next followed a personal story about a young girl with a disability (Friedreich’s Ataxia) that must find love called The Cake Eaters which Jayce wrote on legal pads at first. With the help of The 7th Floor, 57 & Irving, and director Mary Stuart Masterson, The Cake Eaters (Screen Media) became an internationally released film starring Kristen Stewart (in one of her favorite performances), the legendary Bruce Dern, Aaron Standford, and Jayce, himself. The Cake Eaters garnered awards and has loyal fans around the world. At this point, Jayce & Tiffany started to expand Vinyl Foote and dream about making a film A-Z. Along with their son, Jaxon, came the idea for Fall To Rise, a film about a new mom who is cut from her dance company and befriends a troubled former dancer to stage a comeback. Robert Redford said of the film, “Jayce Bartok beautifully captured the emotional difficulty of dancers coming to terms with age and identity.” Starring Daphne Rubin-Vega and legendary dancers Desmond Richardson & Katherine Crockett as well as members of The Martha Graham Dance Company, Fall To Rise (Panorama Ent/FilmRise) was selected at the prestigious Dance On Camera Festival at Lincoln Center, won the Bulleit Frontier Filmmaker Award, and is available everywhere.
At this point in VF’s story, art meets commerce (our company GROWS) as VF began using it’s honed skills to produce content for ad agencies (HOGARTH, GREY), brands (HERSHEY’S, DIFFERIN, AVON), companies (HADDAD BRANDS, CORE), and celebrities as well as short films, industrials, and music videos making very cool stuff on limited budgets as it had learned how the hard way.
In the midst of this, was born an idea to make a documentary (a decade to the year of Altered By Elvis) about the legendary make-up artist, Kevyn Aucoin. Along with Matador Content, VF produced Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story (The Orchard) which was released in 2018 to exceptionally positive reviews. The Hollywood Reporter said, “the film delivers a highly personal, warts-and-all portrait of its subject.” It was named one of the 5 top fashion documentaries of all time by The Evening Standard Magazine and is available everywhere.
Now, we are at the precipice of what’s next for VF – YOU TELL US.
The Team
The People of VF
Jayce Bartok
Actor
Director
Producer
Writer
Jayce began his journey as a filmmaker acting in numerous films and television shows, most notably Richard Linklater’s Suburbia, Sam Rami’s Spiderman, Tom McCarthy’s The Station Agent, and most recently, Ava Duvernay’s Central Park Five. Jayce’s first screenplay, The Cake Eaters (Screen Media), became a critically acclaimed film directed by Mary Stuart Masterson, which he starred in alongside Kristen Stewart and Bruce Dern. Following that, Jayce wrote, directed, and produced Fall To Rise (Panorama Entertainment) starring Daphne Rubin-Vega and legendary dancers Desmond Richardson & Katherine Crockett as well as members of The Martha Graham Dance Company. Robert Redford said of the film “Bartok beautifully captured the emotional difficulty of dancers coming to terms with age and identity.” More highlights for Fall To Rise include being an official selection at the prestigious Dance On Camera Festival at Lincoln Center and winner of the Bulleit Frontier Filmmaker Award. Most recently, Jayce stepped into the role of producer on the award-winning documentary, Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story (The Orchard). The LA Times called the film “a rich deeply dimensional documentary.” Other credits include co-director and producer of the award-winning documentary Altered By Elvis, and the short films: Suddenly… starring Terry Kinney and Elvis Nolasco, Sunburn, starring Jack Falahee and Damian Young, Cocked and Locked, Jack & Paul, and Stricken, starring Hayley Mills as well as the SXSW winning, Little Pumpkin. His next feature film, The Prince of Soho, will go into production in 2019. In addition, Jayce has been a juror for the Chelsea Film Festival & the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, a frequent moderator & panelist for SAG-AFTRA, a contributor to the book, Now Write!, a columnist for MovieMaker Magazine, and an instructor at the legendary Neighborhood Playhouse. He is also very proud of his role as ‘Dad’ on PBS’ animated series, Pinkalicious and Peteriffic.
Tiffany Bartok
Director
Producer
Tiffany has just completed her directorial debut, Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story. It is a feature documentary that focuses on the seminal American makeup artist, Kevyn Aucoin. Interviews include: Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Cher, Tori Amos and Christy Turlington. The film is distributed by The Orchard and enjoyed an exciting festival run including the prestigious Edinburgh International Film Festival, DOC NYC and Full Frame Documentary Festival. Tiffany received her BFA in theater from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Following a move to New York City, Tiffany worked consistently as an actress but soon discovered a talent for makeup artistry. She began to sharpen her skills on celebrities and film crews. Ultimately, the draw of the film world was contagious and Tiffany, and she made the decision to direct and produce original films, including her award winning documentary Altered By Elvis and the short film Little Pumpkin, which screened at the prestigious SXSW film festival. She was also selected as a finalist for the AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women. Her out of the box producing talents have been the subject of a New York Times Arts Section feature. She has been a past jury member for the Memphis International Film Festival, Chelsea Film Festival and the Vail Film Festival. Recent projects include producing the award winning films Fall To Rise, Jack and Paul and director May Elbaz's adaptations of Etgar Keret’s Suddenly…, and Cocked and Locked. Tiffany is a proud member of Film Fatales.