This
16mm short filmchronicles the story of four small
time, street-smart amateurs who are hired by a Mafia underling
to retrieve 500 Grand in cash that was stolen by street thugs
from the Mafia boss, The Nerd. After a well-planned
heist retrieves the money, the four street players, led by
Jake, decide to keep the money knowing that their lives would
now be in extreme danger. Street Players can be described
as a dramedy that combines surrealism, physical comedy and
suspense. This 20 minute film was shot in the Boston, Brookline
and Framingham areas during an intense 6-day period, during
the summer of 2000 with a local cast and crew. Some violence
and explicit language.
Directed and Written by: Drew Pearlman Cinematography: Scott Crawford Produced by: Rudy Hypolite
Allegations
An
American Film Institute (AFI) award winner, this short video
drama focuses on the relationship between the police and black
teenagers as a means of fostering better communication between
the police and young people. The story depicts a day in the
life of a black teen, Louis, who is falsely accused by a video
store clerk of stealing a video and is subsequently arrested
by the police. A surveillance camera video eventually reveals
the real thief. The drama shows that such an incident not
only affects the teen and the police officers involved, but
also many others, like Louis' parents and his friends. At
the climax of the drama, two life long friends, one white
and the other black, have an altercation because of the incident
as it relates to race. This production was co-produced with
Cambridge Community TV's Summer Teen Video Institute. The
Institute brought together 7 Cambridge teens, under the guidance
of Rudy Hypolite and Thomas Grimes, to participate in and
experience a production from its beginning stages of writing
a script, through the audition process, casting actors, rehearsing,
scouting locations, production and post-production. This project
was taped in Cambridge and Boston with a local cast.
Produced by: Rudy
Hypolite and CCTV's Summer Video Institute Directed by: Rudy Hypolite Cinematography: Richard Kaplan Written by: Thomas Grimes and Institute Students Music by: Bill Bias Winner: American Film Institute's Robert
M. Bennett Award forBest in Local Programming
Directed by: Rudy Hypolite and Jose Soares
Produced by: Rudy Hypolite of Polite Productions
Co-Producers: Lloyd Smith and David Foley
Playwright: Irma Askew
Screenplay: Jose Soares
Music: David Bunn and Anni Moss
Length: 58 minutes
Actors: Regina Newton, Thomas Grimes, Sheri Cole Bridgeman
Movin’ Up: A Helping Hand is an adaptation
from a play written by Irma Askew, a former social worker
with the Women’s Service Club. This story and historical
account chronicles the migration and exploitation of young,
black women from rural towns in the South to work as domestics
in cities like Boston and New York, during the turbulent times
of the 1960s. This one hour docudrama utilizes both the narrative
storyline of the Anderson family, the dilemma encountered
by these young women, the thriving night club life in Boston,
as well as archival material and interviews with members of
the Women’s Service Club, to advance this untold piece
of Boston’s history.
The Civil Rights Movement provides a backdrop
to the story, and follows the trajectory of an 18 year old
black woman, Julie Anderson, who responds to a radio ad created
by recruiting agencies to entice young black women in the
deep rural areas of the South to move up North for employment
opportunities as domestics for middle-class white ladies.
At this time, while the South is depressed, the North is a
window of hope to young blacks due to its industrial development.
After moving North in search of better job opportunities and
a chance to realize their dreams, some of the young women
find that the promise of the radio ads for domestics is a
lure to get them to work for cheap wages and long hours, in
total subordination to their employers. In Boston, the Women’s
Service Club, a community service organization for black women,
run by black women, come to the aid of these young women and
serves as a hostel to them, providing training, job referrals,
and a supportive environment. The story culminates with a
look into the thriving jazz club nightlife, and the lead character’s
interest and introduction into realizing her dream to become
a jazz singer.
Docudrama Description
This
narrative story is complemented by a series of interspersed
interviews with a jazz musician, club owner, a former domestic
worker and members of the Women’s Service Club, who
give an insightful, historical account of their experiences
with these young, black women and their plight during this
period. Under the leadership of Roxbury’s well-renowned
Melnea Cass, the Women’s Service Club move to help enact
legislation to address the many inequities endured by the
domestic worker. The documentary portion of the program ends
with the 85th anniversary celebration of this organization
and addresses the present status of this venerable institution,
the Women’s Service Club.
In conclusion, Movin’ Up: A Helping
Hand is a hopeful, but realistic story of the journey to freedom
and prosperity that thousands of Southern blacks made during
the 1960s. It emphasizes the grit and determination necessary
to overcome the handicaps of prejudice and ignorance. The
hopes and dreams of blacks to finally enter the mainstream
of American life are portrayed in the struggle of one young
woman.
Movin’ Up: A Helping Hand Key Project
Themes:
• Women’s Services Club contributions to Boston
neighborhoods
• Melnea Cass accomplishments as President of the WSC
• Story about women set during the Civil Rights Movement
• Influence of jazz music in Boston and Wally’s
Jazz Club’s role
• History – migration of young black women from
rural Southern towns to northeast cities like Boston and New
York - domestics
• Legislation – domestics exploitation
• Locally produced docudrama
• Premiere on cable access stations in Boston and Cambridge
An
African-American family deals with a complexity of issues
of: Homosexuality; AIDS; Race and Sibling Relationships. After
5 years of estrangement, the youngest son of the Davis family,
Redmond, comes back home to visit at his brother's invitation.
He returns with his white, male lover. The movie depicts the
crisis that this creates for the family. This drama was shot
on Beta SP in the city of Los Angeles utilizing a cast from
the Los Angeles area.
Produced by: Anthony Henderson Directed by: Rudy Hypolite Written by: Thomas Grimes Videography: Richard Kaplan
This
16mm short film chronicles the story of four small
time, street-smart amateurs who are hired by a Mafia underling
to retrieve 500 Grand in cash that was stolen by street thugs
from the Mafia boss, The Nerd. After a well-planned
heist retrieves the money, the four street players, led by
Jake, decide to keep the money knowing that their lives would
now be in extreme danger. Street Players can be described
as a dramedy that combines surrealism, physical comedy and
suspense. This 20 minute film was shot in the Boston, Brookline
and Framingham areas during an intense 6-day period, during
the summer of 2000 with a local cast and crew. Some violence
and explicit language.
An
American Film Institute (AFI) award winner, this short video
drama focuses on the relationship between the police and black
teenagers as a means of fostering better communication between
the police and young people. The story depicts a day in the
life of a black teen, Louis, who is falsely accused by a video
store clerk of stealing a video and is subsequently arrested
by the police. A surveillance camera video eventually reveals
the real thief. The drama shows that such an incident not
only affects the teen and the police officers involved, but
also many others, like Louis' parents and his friends. At
the climax of the drama, two life long friends, one white
and the other black, have an altercation because of the incident
as it relates to race. This production was co-produced with
Cambridge Community TV's Summer Teen Video Institute. The
Institute brought together 7 Cambridge teens, under the guidance
of Rudy Hypolite and Thomas Grimes, to participate in and
experience a production from its beginning stages of writing
a script, through the audition process, casting actors, rehearsing,
scouting locations, production and post-production. This project
was taped in Cambridge and Boston with a local cast.
This
narrative story is complemented by a series of interspersed
interviews with a jazz musician, club owner, a former domestic
worker and members of the Women’s Service Club, who
give an insightful, historical account of their experiences
with these young, black women and their plight during this
period. Under the leadership of Roxbury’s well-renowned
Melnea Cass, the Women’s Service Club move to help enact
legislation to address the many inequities endured by the
domestic worker. The documentary portion of the program ends
with the 85th anniversary celebration of this organization
and addresses the present status of this venerable institution,
the Women’s Service Club.
An
African-American family deals with a complexity of issues
of: Homosexuality; AIDS; Race and Sibling Relationships. After
5 years of estrangement, the youngest son of the Davis family,
Redmond, comes back home to visit at his brother's invitation.
He returns with his white, male lover. The movie depicts the
crisis that this creates for the family. This drama was shot
on Beta SP in the city of Los Angeles utilizing a cast from
the Los Angeles area.
