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Hart Island: How The Other Half Dies
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TYPE: Documentary Feature
GENRE: Documentary
STATUS: Production
LOGLINE
On a desolate island, ten miles North of Manhattan, inmates from Riker's Island Jail volunteer to bury the unclaimed, indigent, and unidentified dead of New York City.
SYNOPSIS
On a desolate island, ten miles North of Manhattan, inmates from Riker's Island Jail volunteer to bury the unclaimed, indigent, and unidentified dead of New York City. Over one million individuals have been interred on Hart Island since 1869. Now, families are working to improve the conditions of the cemetery.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
We are constructing this film with a combination of cinéma vérité, intimate interviews, and rare archival footage. The stories are deeply personal and heart wrenching. The narrative is clear and easy to follow but nontraditional in the sense that it includes a choir of voices echoing the fear of death and a plea for dignity. I pull inspiration from documentaries like, Shoa, The Look of Silence, and Titicut Follies. We also reference narrative films such as Carl Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc, a film that is a trial in portraits. I intend for the film to be poetic both narratively and visually. Hart Island and its secrets are revealed to the audience little by little as the subjects and the audience grows closer to the island, hand in hand. The story of Hart Island involves a web of individuals, agencies, and organizations. Understanding the system and tracing the remains of a single person often leads into a labyrinth of questions and documents. I have traced this experience of families trying to reconnect with the souls of their loved ones and created a visual essay that makes us all ask, “how would we want to be remembered?” The majority of the film is shot on tripod. The shots are carefully composed and the movement is intentionally minimal. The stagnancy of the subject’s experience is emphasized in the shooting. The mounting patience is expressed through the cinematography and the editing. Since the development we have visually referenced the work of Fred Wiseman, Leo Hurwitz, Jacob Riis, and Claude Lanzmann. Access to the unseen and unspoken is our greatest priority.
KEY CREW
Erik Spink - director/producer
Erik Spink is a producer at Vacant Light, a film and media production company based in New York City. Erik has worked in production and post-production for the past decade predominately in non-fiction storytelling. He earned his Bachelors of Arts in Cinema Studies at SUNY Purchase College and an MFA in Social Documentary Film from the School of Visual Arts. Erik’s work with non-profit organizations such as Positive Exposure- Faces Redefining the Art of Medical Education, The American Classical Orchestra, and the Project for the Advancement of our Common Humanity has been seen internationally and continues to promote positive change, education, and knowledge sharing worldwide. Erik was the co-producer for Amitabh Joshi’s documentary feature film, Tashi’s Turbine that premiered in 2015 and was broadcast on PBS’s The WORLD Channel. In 2016 Erik was the recipient of the A&E Indie Films Grant at the Paley Center For Media Documentary Pitch Forum for his forthcoming documentary Hart Island How the Other Half Dies. Erik’s work in documentary films has screened at festivals internationally and received support and recognition from institutions such as The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, The Ford Foundation, and The Center for Asian American Media. Erik serves on the faculty at the School of Visual Arts in the Social Documentary Film MFA program.
Amitabh Joshi - Co-Producer/Cinematographer
Amitabh Joshi is a director and cinematographer at Vacant Light, a film and media production company based in New York City. He received a BA in International Studies from Dickson College and an MFA from the School of Visual arts in Social Documentary film. He is now a member of the faculty at SVA. Amitabh is interested in social and cultural issues both in the United States and abroad. Amitabh was awarded the Princess Grace JustFilms Grant in 2012, The Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation grant in 2013, and Center for Asian American Media Documentary Fund in 2014. Tashi’s Turbine is his first feature length documentary. Tashi’s Turbine has been screened at festivals world wide, premiered on PBS’s The WORLD Channel, and is available for educational distribution through Documentary Educational Resources (DER). Amitabh has worked as a cinematographer for Art21 and numerous documentaries. Amitabh’s work aims to entertain and educate. Amitabh has built strong relationships with organizations such as Asia Society and various Himalayan studies programs to continue to educate and inspire with stories of Himalayan Culture. Amitabh has made it a mission to support other Himalayan artists and increase the representation of South Asian Artists in Western media. In 2016 Amitabh Joshi was accepted into Lincoln Center Film Society’s Artist Academy at the 2016 New York Film Festival where he received mentorship and was recognized for his work in the field thus far.
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