Our living room on Jane Street.
When Ted and I had to move out of our Jane Street apartment and were thrown unexpectedly into the height of the New York real estate market, our friend filmmaker Josh Kletzkin made an 18 minute movie about it called "Change of Living." I wrote about it before; you can read about the plot and watch a clip here. On Tuesday the film was presented at the opening night of the Big Apple Film Festival!
I was anxious about it. The film is personal and emotional. We have shown it to some family and friends on the dvd player, but I was unsure about seeing it with 150 strangers on the big screen. Plus, what to wear on the red carpet?! Seriously, I was nervous.
Josh is in England filming another movie so we met his charming family before the screening and had dinner at Lucky Strike on Grand Street which was good. Then we tottered on to the Tribeca Cinemas on Canal Street where we found a typical New York scene of mobs of people jostling to get in. We squeezed our way into the theater and settled down. Three films were to be shown in the program; ours was the second. There were some other guys we knew who were there to see the third film. I thought, "They are going to know more about us than they ever expected!"
The first film was shown – a heart breaking piece about homeless children in South Africa. After that, honestly, our moving dilemna did not seem so serious. There was a brief pause and then our movie started. I don't think I breathed through the entire 18 minutes. But despite some uncomfortable emotional onscreen moments, it was fun to see the movie again. I think Ted and I went through that stressful move pretty gracefully, considering. And Josh tells the story well, tying in different threads and using a clever narrative scheme; the film received enthusiastic applause.
There was to be a Q and A at the end of the third movie, but that one was pretty long. Josh's family was driving home so we all snuck out in the dark and repaired to the opening night reception next door for a couple of cold Stella Artois. I felt a sense of relief. On the way into the reception two women stopped Ted to tell him how much they liked the film. Later, on the sidewalk we passed someone checking his Blackberry. He looked up from the blue light and said, "Hey, you're the guys from the movie!" And then, "How do you like your new home?"
4 comments:
First of all, that photo is achingly gorgeous. That room has such soul it's crazy. Second, how/when/where can I see the film??? xx
Lisa, thanks so much. It was a beautiful room to begin with – high ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, marble fire place, wood floors. With the big windows, it was to me like a "garden room." (But the new owners have put a big flat screen tv over the fireplace --ug!!) The movie next will be in the Portland Film Festival where the director Josh lives. I know, we need a "wider release"!
hi bart- been reading your blog for a while and really enjoy it- i was moved to write because your film clip reminded me so much of my (italian) family history- my dad was born in the village on mott st 90 years ago and my grandmother lived on carmine st. til the 70's - we went there every sunday for homemade pasta when i was growing up and my sisters and i played in the little park on the corner. my maternal aunt lived in a rent controlled apartment with a courtyard on barrow st for 40 years til her death last year- i'm a transplanted new yorker living in san francisco and every summer i visited her in that charming apartment. her brother, (my uncle), also lived on barrow and owned the store "the soap opera" on grove st. til his death from aids in '89- i have watched the slow "gentrification" of the village through the years and it saddens me to see how all but the very wealthy are being pushed out and the new york we knew and loved is disappearing. your film clip is very touching; i would love to see the entire film.....take care robin
Robin, Thanks for the stories about your family – your memories go way back and the changes in New York must seem especially strange. Under Bloomberg, the city has been re-zoned, over-developed and commercialized. A bank on every corner. It really is too bad.
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