They're twins, they're driven and they have big plans for the cinema department at SF State.

Brothers Phillip and Joe Matarrese, both 20 years old, revived the department's Cinema Collective, a group devoted to everything cinematic. Both are also fighting for increased student involvement within the department - a feat they claim can bring them closer to unifying trained film makers and interested outsiders to work together on projects.

“Nothing is impossible,” said Phil, the more reserved of the two brothers, who enjoys directing films.

“Everything works out for us,” interjected Joe, semi-seriously. He prefers acting and writing narrative and documentary style scripts. “What if we're too naive?” he said with a light-hearted laugh.

The San Francisco-based brothers, who hail from Alameda, are not naive, according to friends; they are just extremely optimistic.

Both brothers charismatically admit that they believe their efforts, inside and outside of the world of filmmaking, are creating positive changes within the department and that despite the challenges they face, nothing will stand in their way.

In 2004, the brothers, along with Cinema Collective President Sam Messe, brought the collective back to life following two years of minimal activity.

The collective began in 1995, but plummeted to non-existence in 2000 when those involved graduated and dispersed. In 2002 it again became a recognized club but not an active one, according to the brothers.

“So we did everything in our power to get it up and running,” Phil said.

The brothers worked for months to get access to the Cinema Collective Web site, which they now run, and took on formal roles in the group. Joe became the collective’s vice president and Phil became the advertising officer.

To raise money for the collective, they held a barbecue fundraiser that made over $600. When word of their efforts reached Christopher Seiwald, a family friend of the Matarrese's and owner of an Alameda-based computer company called Perforce, he decided to donate $1,000 toward the collective.

"I was fascinated by their high speed chit-chat centering around their love of movies and filmmaking. It sounded like one of the hurdles for their cinematography club was money, and that's just the kind of problem we like to solve with the Perforce foundation - those where a relatively small amount of money can make a big difference," Seiwald said.

Under the supervision and care of Messe and the Matarrese's, the collective has become an active group gaining over 300 members that meets every Monday, provides film nights and puts on film festivals.

Rebecca Seinerman, 20-year-old SF State fashion major and friend of the brothers, said that she feels inspired to join in on such activities.

“They’re just so into it that it inspires me to want to do cinema and that’s not at all what I ‘do’,” Seinerman said. “They do it all.”

The brothers said they believe that part of doing it “all” includes taking part in improving the campus in order to create a sense of pride among members.

“It seems like a small task, but one day we fixed ten broken chairs,” Phil said.

Joe explained the relevancy of doing so.

“The point is to make it so that people identify with the department,” Joe said. “It will become their department, not just the department. See the difference?”

Many of the active members are freshman.

“We've made it so that freshmen can get production experience even though classes are so compacted that they would have to wait much longer to start producing,” Joe said.

“It's working great and everyone’s been supportive," Phil said. "We just need to get people to be proactive.”

The brothers are the epitome of proactive, according to their friends and family.

In 2003, they created a film that raised $22,000 for an El Salvador village in need of a church.

“We wanted an 'Indiana Jones' style adventure, so we spent $50 on tapes, went to El Salvador, and shot some stuff,” Joe said. “We ended up raising money for this village that lost a church in a 2001 earthquake.”

This summer the brothers plan to return to document the history of the village. They see no need to stop while they’re ahead, which is the case for them in many aspects of their lives, according to their mother, Kris Matarrese.

“They’re awesome young men and I know they will be very successful,” Kris said. “My husband and I want to support them in every way possible. We just completely believe in them.”

Their father, Frank Matarrese, wants to go into partnership with them in the future.

Both brothers admit that they fully trust each other’s judgment and that they love working together.

“We don’t plan to stop,” Phil said. “The film industry is reviving and we’re right on top of it together.”