I recently sat down with producer, and longtime Lower East Side resident, Marc Perez, to talk about his  real life war movie, “Severe Clear.” After a successful festival circuit run, the documentary is opening at the Angelika this weekend. It was directed and edited by his partner (and cousin) Kristian Fraga. It’s based [...]]]>

I recently sat down with producer, and longtime Lower East Side resident, Marc Perez, to talk about his  real life war movie, “Severe Clear.” After a successful festival circuit run, the documentary is opening at the Angelika this weekend. It was directed and edited by his partner (and cousin) Kristian Fraga. It’s based on the memoir by First Lieutenant Mike Scotti, and uses actual video footage shot by him and other members of 1st Battalion, 4th Marines on the outset of the 2003 invasion of Iraq:

Producer Marc Perez

TLD: So how did you get involved with the project?

MP: Years ago (2004) we were finishing up “Anytown USA” and an intern of ours was working in the video department at NYU and one day this marine (First Lieutenant Mike Scotti) walked in with all this videotape from the war and asked if someone could help edit it to show his family. So we called him in and saw his footage, really intense stuff, not shot for the purpose of making a movie, really just to show his friends and family. And we came up with the idea to take what he had and make this movie about the war, just from his point of view.

Marc said it took years to make because they decided to keep the film solely in Scotti’s perspective. They recorded some interviews with him, but soon realized it was his footage that was most compelling about the story. They scoured all of Scotti’s letters and journals (even some notes written on napkins) and then edited the footage, which was an enormous project, piecing his candid clips together in order to create a cohesive story.

MP: Basically when we made this film, we wanted the audience member to feel as uncomfortable as they (the soldiers) did when they were there. So we used a lot of horror film techniques. I mean, they never know when people are going to start shooting at them, so you’re always in suspense. It’s graphic, and we show everything. When the people are speaking Arabic to them, they don’t understand Arabic, and we chose not to use subtitles. One thing Mike said, that helped us, was, “You don’t know fear until another human being is trying to hunt you down and kill you.”

TLD: How involved was (First Lieutenant) Mike Scotti in the process?

MP: He was very involved, I mean it was all his footage and his notes. We tried to get him to write down everything he could, at first…a lot of these guys have post traumatic stress syndrome, they block out a lot of stuff that happened to them, so you really have to get them to – write it all down. Sometimes we’d ask him about something he had written (while he was over there) and he’d say, “I don’t remember that.” And then we’d talk about it more and it would start to come back.

TLD: What was it that interested you most about this story?

MP: Nobody’s really done a war film in that first person angle, it’s unique. I think we have something that is really rare – candid. Also it’s not for or against anything. We wanted it to be sort of a blue collar movie, not about the bigger picture but about the guy that has to go do what he’s ordered to do. The job.

TLD: How was he able to shoot all that footage? Didn’t the military mind these guys having video cameras out there?

MP: Well, this was the 2003 invasion so it was the first time soldiers could bring small video cameras on to the battle field, I mean in the Gulf War, the cameras were still too big to carry around, so it didn’t cross anyone’s mind and while they were filming, nobody said anything. And in fact, his job was a forward observer, so he’s way up front and he basically calls in artillery. If he wasn’t using his camera, he’d be just using binoculars. It actually helped him do his job, he just had it around his neck…After Abu Ghraib, with the pictures, everything changed. Now they have rules.

TLD: He was happy with the final product?

MP: Very happy. He feels like this is a real (portrayal) of what goes on.  That it’s not a Hollywood movie (version) or a journalist’s version. We’ve screened it for a lot of veterans and they’ve told us they feel this really showed what they really experienced. Because they have trouble explaining it to their families. And a lot of these guys, they have a trust issues, I guess, with the press, they feel it’s a bit of a p.r. machine.

TLD: Did making this film change your perspective on the war in any way?

MP: Well — yeah. Seeing what they went through – for something that wasn’t there… I think they feel a little betrayed. They lost friends. A lot of people died for other than what they were told. But we didn’t want to make the movie about that. (We’ve found) both sides use it to strengthen their argument (either for or against the war). Arguments have broken out after the screenings. They take away what they want from it.

Iraq war films are an increasingly unpopular genre (although Marc hopes Kathryn Bigelow’s recent Oscar sweep with the fictional war film, The Hurt Locker, may have turned the tide.)  The filmmakers knew they’d have trouble finding someone to distribute Severe Clear so they decided to do it themselves. They’ve launched an all-out Do-It-Yourself, grassroots marketing campaign – competing with films like Avatar and Alice in Wonderland for screens across the country. Make sure to go out and support the filmmakers. The length of their run will depend on how many seats they fill on opening weekend.  They are hoping for a successful run at the Angelika to keep their momentum going. Buy tickets here. Watch the trailer below:

Last night, Lower Manhattan’s political establishment and more than 900 supporters came to the enormous Jing Fong Restaurant on Elizabeth Street to celebrate Asian Americans for Equality’s 36th anniversary. Among the attendees at their annual Lunar New Year Celebration: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, State Senator Daniel Squadron, [...]]]>

Sheldon Silver, Margaret Chin, Chris Kui, Wendy Takahisa

Last night, Lower Manhattan’s political establishment and more than 900 supporters came to the enormous Jing Fong Restaurant on Elizabeth Street to celebrate Asian Americans for Equality’s 36th anniversary. Among the attendees at their annual Lunar New Year Celebration: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Councilmembers Margaret Chin and Rosie Mendez and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

Chin and Stringer were AAFE’s “Dream of Equality” honorees.  In the photo above, Silver is presenting the award to Chin (AAFE Executive Director Chris Kui and President Wendy Takahisa also pictured). Chin was a founding member of AAFE, and until her election last year, the organization’s deputy executive director.

In-between the speeches and presentations, guests munched on fried crab and other dishes, and witnessed the famous unicorn dance. AAFE, founded in 1974, is an affordable housing developer and community development organization based in Chinatown and the Lower East Side.

New bike lanes, pedestrian friendly street improvements – more from Wednesday’s CB3 hearing (Streetsblog).

Senator Squadron’s school overcrowding bill: DOE will review it but suggests no change is needed (Downtown Express).

Robert Knakal: why rent control laws must be reformed (Observer).

Pulino’s [...]]]> The Lower East Side/East Village has the third most 311 noise complaints in the city (Brick Underground).

New bike lanes, pedestrian friendly street improvements – more from Wednesday’s CB3 hearing (Streetsblog).

Senator Squadron’s school overcrowding bill: DOE will review it but suggests no change is needed (Downtown Express).

Robert Knakal: why rent control laws must be reformed (Observer).

Pulino’s revealed! (Eater)

Chef/restauranteur Scott Conant reflects on how the Bowery has changed (NBC New York).

Eddie Huang of Baohaus blogs, hilariously (Fresh Off the Boat).

Cosmos Parcels becomes Hanley’s, “a backyard beer and pizza joint next to a full-on bar next to a beer and sausage joint,” (Jeremiah).

A slick video explains what the new NYT/NYU East Village web site is meant to achieve (Vimeo).

Twitter’s fake Shelly (NBC New York).

We begin our day with a vintage photo depicting the construction of Luther Gulick Park in the 1930’s. Last night, a group of residents campaigning to give the park a major facelift, after years of neglect, updated Community Board 3. We’ll check [...]]]>

Archival photo from NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation

We begin our day with a vintage photo depicting the construction of Luther Gulick Park in the 1930’s. Last night, a group of residents campaigning to give the park a major facelift, after years of neglect, updated Community Board 3. We’ll check in on their progress later today. Also last night, Asian Americans for Equality celebrated their 36th anniversary with 900 supporters in Chinatown. Later today, the City Council will examine the MTA’s controversial proposal to charge students to get to school. And, of course, we’ll have the weekend guide. Whatever you’ve got planned, you might want to do it indoors. The forecast calls for rain showers through Sunday. The high each day will hover in the high 40’s.

The Lower East Side is constantly abuzz with gallery openings, and I’m sure this week’s warm spring-like weather got a lot of [...]]]> This week, Arts contributor Ashlie Cotton has highlighted a few note-worthy openings in the neighborhood. If you are a local artist with a show opening in or around the LES, please let us know.

The Lower East Side is constantly abuzz with gallery openings, and I’m sure this week’s warm spring-like weather got a lot of people in the mood to check out some of the neighborhood’s most interesting new shows. Here are a few suggestions. Start off at Heist Gallery (27 Essex) tonight from 6-8PM and catch the vibrant and hilarious show, “Cake Mix.” New York based photographer Dustin Wayne Harris presents pictures of cakes baked for him by women he has dated.

For Harris, the cakes are comparable to a Rorschach test. Believe it or not, he practices the unique art of “cake reading,”  in which he can predict the outcome of a relationship.  I, for one, will never be able to bake a cake for a dearly beloved in the same way again.

On Friday, there is an exciting group show, “Friends in High Places,” opening at  Christopher Henry Gallery (127 Elizabeth Street), from 6-9PM. 17 artists present work in abstract painting or sculpture. The show also deals with the idea of networking in the art community, as a small number of participants recommended artists for the show, who in turn made recommendations of their own.  One artist deserving special attention:  Ernesto Burgos, who presents a sculpture that invigorates the  gallery with its jagged geometric shapes and its monotone color pallet.  Another intriguing use of abstraction comes from artist Angie Drakopoulos,  who creates work  that is both scientifically symmetrical and cosmically beautiful, resembling some sort of exotic amoeba.

Another tantalizing opening on Friday:  “Noiseless,” by Italian artist Cristiana Palandri at Scaramouche Gallery (55 Stanton) from 6-8PM. The show includes an installation by the artist, made specifically for the art space, as well as drawings and  sculptures.  Palandri’s work integrates human hair and animal bones;  creating an effect that is beautifully natural and organic, and at the same time, “hauntingly reminiscent of death and decomposition.”

Sheldon Silver and Michael Bloomberg on the WTC: Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority have one day to “fulfill their moral obligation to the city.” (NYT)

Fighting proposed cuts to New York’s senior centers (New York Nonprofit Press).

The State Liquor Authority wants “broad new powers.” (The Capitol)

Chris Santos of Stanton Social: preparing to open his new [...]]]>

Sheldon Silver and Michael Bloomberg on the WTC: Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority have one day to “fulfill their moral obligation to the city.” (NYT)

Fighting proposed cuts to New York’s senior centers (New York Nonprofit Press).

The State Liquor Authority wants “broad new powers.” (The Capitol)

Chris Santos of Stanton Social: preparing to open his new LES restaurant in August (NYT).

We have one more day to enjoy the mild weather. It’ll be cloudy today with a high of 58 – and then – the rain returns. The forecast calls for showers throughout the weekend, beginning tomorrow. Last night, the Department of Transportation briefed [...]]]>

DOT planners hope to divert bicyclists away from Delancey Street

We have one more day to enjoy the mild weather. It’ll be cloudy today with a high of 58 – and then – the rain returns. The forecast calls for showers throughout the weekend, beginning tomorrow. Last night, the Department of Transportation briefed CB3 on several construction projects across the neighborhood. From the Bowery, to Delancey to East Houston and the Manhattan Bridge there’s going to be a staggering amount of road work being done in the next couple of years. We’ll have a summary later this morning. Today we are interviewing members of the Urban Youth Theater, in advance of their performance tonight at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Also tonight at the new York Public Library, the Lower East Side History Project presents a panel conversation, “Preservation Efforts on the LES.” Have a good Thursday.

There were signs this week that the painstaking community-driven process to come up with a development plan for the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area may finally be picking up speed.  In a presentation before Community Board 3, city officials outlined a four month process, beginning in April, designed to [...]]]>

Photo by A Jesse Jiryu Davis

There were signs this week that the painstaking community-driven process to come up with a development plan for the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area may finally be picking up speed.  In a presentation before Community Board 3, city officials outlined a four month process, beginning in April, designed to produce a consensus proposal. To assist with the delicate negotiations ahead, the city has agreed to hire an urban planner and facilitator,  who will work intensively with CB3’s SPURA task force.

The committee has been deliberating for more than a year, laying out the general principles they hope will guide the redevelopment of 10 city-owned parcels near the Williamsburg Bridge. City planning officials have been sitting in on some of their meetings, and have been available to answer questions and provide information. But up until now, they have not been actively involved in guiding the process.

Now they seem prepared to play a more central role. Monday night, David Quart of the NYC Economic Development Corp. proposed hiring an urban planner named John Shapiro, the chair of the Pratt Institute’s Center for Planning and the Environment. Shapiro served in a similar capacity during the equally contentious redevelopment of the Cooper Square Urban Renewal Area several years ago. Back then, the New York Times reported Shapiro had been hired to do “conflict resolution with various factions.” City officials did not use that term this week, but that’s essentially what he’s being brought in to do again.

During Monday’s presentation, Quart also laid out a suggested timetable for completing the process. It calls on CB3 to approve a plan by the end of the summer, to hold public hearings in the fall and to forward the proposal to the city, so that an exhaustive environmental review can begin. Next would come the land review procedure, requiring approval of the City Planning Commission and the City Council. Finally, the city would issue a “Request for Proposals,” inviting developers to bid on the project.  If all goes according to plan, it’s possible that could occur bt early 2012.

Monday night, there was also some insight on the city’s thinking about financing the project from Holly Leicht, deputy commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development. City officials are working on the assumption that no government subsidies will be available to help pay for things like community facilities and affordable housing. But acknowledging the desire for “community amenities,” Leight indicated the SPURA parcels could be sold “below market rate.” In other words, the city appears amendable to giving developers a relatively good deal in exchange for providing things the community wants. She added, “we’re probably not talking market rate but we’re not talking about selling the land for a dollar either.”

In the end, CB3 agreed the “next steps” proposed by the city make sense. They also agreed to dedicate one meeting each month (through July) to the SPURA issue. We’ll have more about that schedule later.