triggerhappymedia

and I’ve been up to…

…post-production for a documentary that will air on the History Channel. That’s all I can say for now. But the subject is amazing and I am incredibly excited about it!

… directing my own short documentary. I was given the opportunity to film (with a Flip MinoHD, the smallest HD camera available- it’s the size of an iPod) right here in Brooklyn. I will be editing it over the next few weeks, and hope to have something to show soon.

…working at the Food Bank For New York City. Approximately four million New Yorkers experience difficulty affording food, and the Food Bank’s soup kitchens and pantries serve 1.3 million-pretty staggering numbers.

In some triggerhappymedia-type news, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer, may be closing with speculation that it will be replaced by a mid-week magazine. As magazines stateside are faltering or failing, it’s interesting that Guardian News and Media would go that route.

In the meantime, I expressed my love for the current Observer Magazine (tucked away in every Sunday edition) to my friend who arrives today from London. She has been collecting them for me week by week in case they are, in fact, the best of the last.

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Trigger: Guardian Media admits The Observer may be closed

Skid Row
Festival circuit
2007, USA

Oh la-la-la, Pras Michel from the Fugees made a documentary about homelessness in Los Angeles. He spent nine days on the street with hidden cameras in his jacket.

What I learned:

• Los Angeles is the homeless capital of the US.

• 80,000 people live on the streets- twice as many as in New York City.

• The area known as “Skid Row” has the largest stable number of homeless; 11,000 live in a five-block radius.

• Over 5,000 are under 18.

• 80-90% are drug addicted.

I have to give Pras credit for literally putting himself out there. But the film was too scattered to leave a lasting impact. I couldn’t help but think that it lacked the urgency of When I Came Home, a documentary focused on homeless Iraq War vets.

After the screening, I asked Orlando Ward of the Midnight Mission shelter if, like after the Vietnam War, veterans are again seeping into LA’s homeless population.

“Absolutely we’re seeing Iraq War veterans. The difference between them and the vets who came back from Vietnam is that they are younger. And from our side we know more about things like stress disorders and other mental illnesses. We’re trying to tackle this issue before more troops come back, so we can be prepared for them this time.”

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Trigger: Skid Row official site

“In 2002, filmmaker Dan Lohaus set off across the country to document the lives of homeless Vietnam veterans and to listen to their stories. They spoke about returning from combat in Vietnam with overwhelming feelings of guilt and rage, about their nightmares and flashbacks, and about how difficult it was to simply readjust to a ‘normal’ life in America.

[N]early every homeless Vietnam veteran raised concerns about the new generation of soldiers returning from combat in Iraq.

When, in late 2004, Lohaus found Iraq War veteran Herold Noel suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and living in his car in Brooklyn, When I Came Home became a film about history repeating itself.”

This documentary standout debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival almost one year ago. Since then, President Bush has committed more troops to Iraq, and 1.6 million new veterans have returned home.One organization, the IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America), is dedicated to ensuring that policies are put in place that will provide for both troops and veterans. A huge part of their mission is connecting the average citizen with servicemen and women. In doing so they hope that “an America living life uninterrupted” will wake up to what’s going on in Iraq.

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Trigger: IAVA promo video
Quote: “It doesn’t matter if you’re pro-war or against the war or still trying to sort it out. Everybody in America has a moral obligation to take care of the people who served.”