'Neighborhood Narratives' DVD in Your Library

Neighborhood Narratives DVDs are available for donation to community libraries and organizations. To request a copy for your collection or archives, email kristenlauthshaeffer@gmail.com. The DVD has recently been incorporated into the collections of a number of libraries throughout the city, including many Carnegie Library branches.

‘Greetings From Pittsburgh: Neighborhood Narratives’ Available on DVD December 12

Last year, Pittsburgh audiences fell in love with Greetings from Pittsburgh: Neighborhood Narratives—a collection of nine short films celebrating the city’s diverse neighborhoods. Now, with the holidays just around the corner, the beloved film will be available for purchase on DVD Saturday, Dec. 12.

For just $10, the DVD can be purchased exclusively at the Dreaming Ant, located inside the Crazy Mocha coffee shop in Bloomfield. The DVD also includes a special bonus documentary about the “making of” Neighborhood Narratives.

“All nine short films were written, directed and produced by local filmmakers,” explained Andrew Halasz, co creator of the project along with Kristen Lauth Shaeffer. “We wanted to provide some insight into how everyone came together to bring Neighborhood Narratives to Pittsburgh—from selecting the filmmakers to raising the funds for production to compiling the films for screenings throughout the city. It’s a really positive story that speaks highly of the Pittsburgh film community and the city in general.”

Helping the Homeless

Neighborhood Narratives not only makes a great stocking stuffer, but all proceeds from the DVD sales benefit Operation Safety Net^®, Pittsburgh Mercy Health System’s award-winning medical outreach program for the unsheltered and transitional homeless population in Allegheny County.

“We were honored to learn that Neighborhood Narratives decided to donate the proceeds to Operation Safety Net,” said Dr. Jim Withers, founder of Operation Safety Net. “This gift couldn’t come at a better time, as the winter months are particularly harsh for the homeless. This support will go a long way toward improving the well being of Pittsburgh’s street homeless population.”

Operation Safety Net is a non-profit organization dear to the heart of Ray Werner, one of the filmmakers involved in the Neighborhood Narratives project. His short film, Tommy and Me, centered on a fictional homeless character in the Strip District. Werner dedicated his film, as well as all proceeds from the Strip District screening, to Operation Safety Net.

Greetings from the Three Rivers Arts Festival!

Greetings from Pittsburgh: Neighborhood Narratives will be screening for free as a part of the 2009 Three Rivers Arts Festival!

Harris Theater, Downtown
Saturday, June 06, 2009 - 5:15 PM
Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 6:00 PM
Saturday, June 13, 2009 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 4:00 PM

‘Greetings from Pittsburgh: Neighborhood Narratives’ Premiers to a Sold-Out Audience at the Regent Square Theatre

The Regent Square Theatre welcomed a full house on Sept. 25, 2008, when “Greetings from Pittsburgh: Neighborhood Narratives” made its much-anticipated debut. Neighborhood Narratives is a collection of nine short films – written, directed and produced by Pittsburgh’s own – highlighting the city’s unique neighborhoods through creative storytelling.

“This was a project that emerged after Kristen and I saw ‘Paris Je t’aime last year,'” Andrew Halasz, project co-creator along with Kristen Lauth Shaeffer, told the audience before the show began. (“Paris Je t’aime” is a compilation of 18 short films celebrating the neighborhoods in Paris, France.) “We thought, ‘Why don’t we do this in Pittsburgh?’”

Audience members were glued to the screen as Neighborhood Narratives took them on a sometimes amusing, sometimes dramatic, but always interesting ride through neighborhoods such as Bloomfield, Oakland and the Strip District.

Following the premier was a reception at the Concept Art Gallery where audience members had the opportunity to meet some of the filmmakers and actors involved with the project.

“This was the biggest thing that I was ever a part of,” said an excited Timothy R. Hall, whose short film, “What Green Could Be,” told the story of a young man who grew up in the Hill District.

Hall was right – if its sold out premier was any indication, Neighborhood Narratives was going to be huge.

“We had such a great turnout,” said Shaeffer, referring to the crowd that gathered for the premier. “It made us so happy to see that Pittsburgh supported our film because that’s really who this was for.”

An hour and forty minutes long, the film opened with a story about the South Side and ended with the hosting neighborhood, Regent Square. Bloomfield, Downtown, the Hill District, Homestead, Lawrenceville, Oakland, and the Strip District were also featured.

Each story had its own unique style, and each successfully captured the personality of its characters and setting. At more than one point, the audience erupted into raucous laughter or enthusiastic applause. “Mombies,” filmed in Lawrenceville, was a mock-horror tale about the contagious nature of motherhood. The audience was in stitches as the main character went screaming down Butler Street with stroller-pushing mommies in pursuit. “Notes in the Valley,” on the other hand, had its viewers on the edge of their seats as a mysterious letter opened the door to an emotional past.

“I thought they did a really good job of pacing the movie to showcase the variety of genres touched on by the different films,” said Jason Sox, who attended the premier. “The drama was mixed between the humorous movies in a way that enhanced them both.”

The next screening of Neighborhood Narratives is scheduled to take place Oct. 3 at The Pump House in Homestead. Tickets are $5 each.

“We’re looking forward to sharing these stories with the rest of Pittsburgh,” said Shaeffer.

Timothy R. Hall: Hill District

What Green Could Be

Editor’s Note: As Pittsburgh celebrates its big 250, Andrew Halasz and Kristen Lauth Shaeffer have found their own way to commemorate the city – through a series of short films collectively titled Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narratives. To make their project even more interesting, Halasz and Shaeffer invited local filmmakers to submit story treatments highlighting one of the many diverse neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. This article is the ninth in a series profiling each of the filmmakers selected for participation.

Throughout the years, artists and historians alike have been drawn to the story behind Pittsburgh’s Hill District – and for good reason, as the area has seen a lot of change since its heyday in the 1930s and ‘40s, carrying with it a rich cultural history. In fact, the Hill, as it is fondly known in the ‘burgh, was once considered to be the center of African-American culture, steeped in art, literature and music. A decline in the steel industry, however, and the construction of the Civic Arena forced many residents to leave the neighborhood beginning in the ‘60s. Today, the area is slowly being revamped.

While numerous works of art chronicle the Hill’s history, local filmmaker Timothy R. Hall, 58, has opted to capture the spirit of the neighborhood in a unique and unconventional way – through a style of filmmaking known as “photo roman.” Tim’s film, part of the Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narratives project, portrays a very human element of the Hill using only still photos and sound to tell his story.

“It’s really a pseudo-biographical kind of thing,” said Tim about his narrative, What Green Could Be.

Like his creator, the main character grew up in the Hill District at a time when many people were leaving. Eventually, the pursuit of an education and later, a career, prompted him to relocate as well.

But if there’s anything we learned from the Wizard of Oz, other than the fact that it eerily syncs up to Dark Side of the Moon, it’s that sometimes you really do have to step away from the comfort zone to appreciate what’s in your backyard.

When circumstances bring the main character back to his birthplace, he is shocked to discover how much he missed it.

“It’s a growing process,” explained Tim. “As he slowly eases back into the neighborhood, he realizes that he has a different kind of appreciation for the Hill.”

The same is true for Tim, who also returned to the neighborhood he grew up in. While he appreciates today’s version of the Hill, he also confesses that it’s a “shell of what it used to be.” That contrast between the old and the new, and the emotional journey of the residents who lived the transition, is conveyed through his main character’s experiences.

“This takes all of that and nails it down to one person with experiences,” he said.

Tim is a passionate photographer, so using photo roman to tell his story was an obvious choice. He was very meticulous about how and when his photos were caught, and didn’t limit himself to one style either.

“It’s about images being caught the right way with the camera,” he said.

To do that, he would drive down Centre Avenue and make a note of the way things looked in certain light. Later, he would return to get his shot, using only the natural light provided.

Of course, What Green Could Be wasn’t his first photo roman. Tim also produced one about the intimidations of going back to school as an adult – a theme he can relate to, having recently graduated from Chatham University with a master of fine art’s degree in digital and film photography.

What Tim hopes to achieve with this photo roman, however, is to give another perspective on life in the Hill – through the ever-watchful eye of the camera.

“I want people to leave there [after seeing his film] thinking, ‘Hmmm … that’s an interesting variation on the theme,’” he said.