Filmmaker Christine Stoddard went to Newark, NJ aka Brick City to ask residents what they love about their home. Assistant editor: Aaron Gold. This is a non-fiction piece shot on location in Newark, New Jersey using real people.
Director’s Statement:
I’ve been coming to Newark for art and culture events for years. It left such a strong impression on me that I considered studying at the Rutgers campus there. While that didn’t happen, I find more reasons to visit as more artist friends leave New York for Newark. During the filming of this video, I passed by the former space for Gallery Aferro. I had taken part in their closing show, so I knew the space was gone. Still, I was sad to be reminded it shut down after 20 years. It’s a surprise when so much is blooming in Newark. Creativity and spirit are alive in Jersey’s biggest city. And the people are vocal about it!
Director Biography:
Christine Stoddard is an American-Salvadoran artist, filmmaker, and one of Brooklyn Magazine’s Top 50 Most Fascinating People. She graduated from Columbia Journalism School, where she directed a documentary on the activist puppetry of the Village Halloween Parade, and earned her MFA from The City College of New York-CUNY. Her short “De Colores (Chorus of Melancholy)” won Best Experimental Project at the Latino Film Market, while her short “Bottled” was nominated for Best ‘Short’ Short at the New York Long Island Film Festival. Recently, she collaborated on the narrative short “5 Ways I Didn’t Marry You,” with Tom Dunn. The film premiered at the New York Shorts International Film Festival and won an editing award from the NYWIFT/iWomanTV Festival. Her feature-length video art piece, “Sirena’s Gallery,” is distributed by Summer Hill Entertainment and streaming on Amazon, Tubi, and other platforms. Her films and videos have also been shown at Index Art Center in Newark, the Puffin Cultural Forum in Teaneck, NJ, the New York Transit Museum, and beyond. She runs Quail Bell, a multimedia storytelling studio, from her production space in Ridgewood, Queens.
Leave a Reply