Rochester native, reality TV star releases new film with nod to hometown

LOS ANGELES, C.A. (WROC) – A Rochester native turned reality TV star is adding a few more titles to his resume: film writer and actor.

Joey Sasso brings his passion for film to the big screen with a new movie entirely shot and based in Rochester.

You might know him as the winner of Netflix’s first season of The Circle, one of the streaming service’s first reality shows in 2020. Sasso then went on to star in Netflix’s dating series Perfect Match. Now, the Aquinas grad is breaking away from the reality scene with a new movie he wrote and stars in, Young Lion of the West.

News 8’s Natalie Kucko spoke with Sasso Friday for a broader conversation on his career and the project, which is over a decade in the making.

As a nod to his hometown of Rochester, the movie tells the story of a club promoter based in the 585 who tries to find his own way. It spotlights some local businesses, including the East End, Comedy at the Carlson, and Vertex Nightclub.

Sasso plays the lead and had been working on the film for 12 years. It only carried a budget of $13,000, and despite casting changes and financial hurdles along the way, he’s finally been able to see his longtime dream through.

“I do have so much hometown pride. I always rep Rochester so proudly because I would not be the man I am today without my city. It was something I obsessed about for so many years with my partner Josh, trying to figure out how to make sure this film is established in Rochester and that the city is a character in the film. It has such a prominence over the characters and where the film ends up going. Seeing the reception to the film, I think we were really able to pull that off, which is staggering given the fact we had literally next to nothing to make this film come to life,” said Sasso.

Young Lion of the West is now streaming on Amazon Prime. The film is rated R.

The full interview with Joey Sasso can be viewed in the video player above.

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