Watch: Greetings from Asbury Park

Synopsis of Greetings from Asbury Park:
“Angie, 91, lived through three decades of rust, riot and ruin in Asbury Park, the one-time postcard paradise. Now the tiny bungalow that she has called home, for half her life, will be seized by eminent domain.

“Hundreds of homes, apartment buildings, local businesses, are boarded up, ready for the wrecking ball. In fact, 29 city blocks — 56 acres of waterfront property and historic boardwalk attractions— now belong to a private developer and will be razed to make way for 3,100 luxury condominiums, an ersatz city within a city.

“Angie is wholly confused by this strange twist of fate. She appeals to the Mayor, to the City Council. Her voice quivering with sadness, her pleas ring out across a vast emptiness. Her neighbors lived here. Where did they go? she wonders.

“But this is welcome progress, and terrific tax revenues, say city officials. The revitalized Asbury Park will be a thrilling combination of SoHo and South Beach.

“Dana Berliner, a senior attorney for the Institute for Justice tells us New Jersey leads the nation in eminent domain abuse. Scholars and experts on community development point out that this plan indeed exacerbates the tension and division of race and class and threatens the very identity of this little shore resort.

“Meanwhile, the bulldozers are in Angie’s backyard. A prayer group holds a vigil in an abandoned lot. We visit numerous families – a Pakistani couple who run a motel, a law student with an apartment overlooking the ocean, a widow living with her six grandchildren in her childhood home. They are devastated by their impending loss.

“Angie picks up the real estate listings, and scans them with her magnifying glass. Where can I afford to go, she wonders. Angie’s attorney arrives and tries to explain her options: a court case. The outcome: Maybe enough money for half a studio apartment. The reality: She is facing her last summer in this house.”

About:
“Director Christina Eliopoulos, whose family immigrated to Asbury Park in 1917, was born and raised there. As a journalist and  filmmaker, her work has always been informed by her Greek-American heritage and her childhood in this storied resort.

“In March of 2005, Ms. Eliopoulos was named Artist in Residence at the Two River Film Festival at Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey. During her tenure as Artist in Residence, Ms. Eliopoulos was a frequent guest lecturer and trained four student interns as researchers, production coordinators, and assistant editors. The University invited the Director and her staff to the Plangere Center for Instructional Technology, donating the use of the University’s state-of-the-art editing facilities.

“In the film, the camera is both impartial observer and provocateur. The camera captures the sensibility, the history and the power dynamics of a small town. Rare archival footage, newsreels, postcards, home movies and photographs dating back to 1875 are woven throughout, becoming a leitmotif of the consolation and corruption of beautiful memories. Often, they are employed to illustrate a deeply intimate personal recollections. The story is filmed on 16mm color film, 8mm film and digital formats. The extraordinary texture of this city — life both within and beyond the postcard image — is lovingly brought forth by cinematographer Mai Iskander.

“An orchestral score by Composers George Vahamonde and Nik Everett employs the evocative strains of acoustic guitar, piano as well as toy instruments and music boxes to recall the mythic ideal of Asbury Park. Two rare, turn of the century piano compositions, On the Boardwalk in Asbury Park and Wear A Boardwalk Smile, long considered lost artifacts, were found and recorded for the film.

“Other creative collaborators are Executive Producer Ken Barrows and Producers Bill Blum and Kerry Margaret Butch. The film was cut by award-winning Editors Sophie Scoufaras and Patrick Perrotto, with Story Editor David Meneses consulting.

“The film is fiscally sponsored by Women Make Movies, a national non-profit media arts organization dedicated to the production and promotion of films by women directors, producers and cinematographers. The organization’s distribution division releases films in theatres and specialty art cinemas across the country. Likewise, the organization is a powerful champion of the arts in education, and has distributed over 500 of its films to universities, libraries and advocacy groups across the country and abroad.”

Viewing:
Greetings from Asbury Park is available for purchase by your local non-profit, school or library here.  The film will be playing throughout the next two years on PBS. For a short listing of upcoming screenings go here or check with your local PBS station for show times. Also, don’t forget that you have a voice. Feel free to contact your local PBS station or library to encourage them to screen this film.

Watch the trailer here

posted by: Tricia Rock