John Rice: Southside

Milk Crate

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 fifth in a series profiling each of the filmmakers selected for participation. Be sure to check back in two weeks for the next profile.

You don’t even need to live in the Southside to know that it’s nearly impossible to find parking there. All it takes is one trip to the Tiki Lounge – parking 10 blocks away in a dark, deserted lot with “Towed at Owner’s Expense” signs everywhere you look, but one other car to make you naively think it might be okay – and you’ll swear allegiance to the Port Authority and overpriced cabs forever.

For residents of the Southside, parking is a raging war with narrow one-way streets and territorial neighbors. Once an empty spot has been captured, the victor marks his / her prize with whatever’s available … say, a milk crate.

And it is from this milk crate, on this perpetual battleground, that John Rice, 52, draws inspiration and a title for his short film.

“Milk Crate” is the story of two Southside neighbors with nothing in common but a parking spot. When Charlie, a cantankerous old Polish guy, finds out that the young, Asian punk who has moved into the neighborhood has dared to move the milk crate designating Charlie’s spot, he is more than a little displeased. Naturally, conflict ensues as ethnic and generational differences come to a head.

“I went on the Internet and found a few Polish words that I wanted Floral Duster to use,” said John, referring to the scene where Floral Duster, a local woman who keeps a keen eye on the street confronts the new neighbor in her native tongue. “I lucked out because the actor who played Floral Duster [Lillian Misko-Coury] knew how to speak Polish already.”

In fact, John felt fortunate to have ended up with the cast he did. The film contains very little dialogue (most of which is peppered with Polish and Japanese), so the actors’ body language plays a key role in telling the story.

“I thought casting was going to be my biggest challenge, but it couldn’t have turned out any better,” he said.

The inspiration for “Milk Crate” was derived from John’s own experience as a Southside resident in the early ‘80s. He lived in a two-bedroom apartment on S. 15th street where the guy beneath him – also named Charlie – held the coveted parking spot hostage with a milk crate.

“When I heard of Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narratives, I thought, ‘Why don’t I expand on this,’” recalls John. “We actually shot the film one block away from where I used to live.”

A film instructor at Point Park University and former co-owner of a TV commercial production company, John is no stranger to film. However, this will be the first short film that he shot, wrote and directed since graduating from Penn State in ‘77.

“I really wanted to be a part of this project,” he admits. “I submitted three story treatments because I wanted to make sure that one of them got picked.”

Now in post-production, John looks back on the filming process with gratitude. Local residents / businesses were extremely cooperative during filming and supportive of his efforts, he says. Southside police from District 3 controlled traffic and Gmiter’s Funeral Home allowed residents and film crew to park in their lot so the filmmakers could control the parking at the location.

“I have a million people to thank,” he says, very sincerely.

86A

Justin Crimone and Jason Georgiades, both featured earlier on our blog, have wrapped production. Once again thanks to Timothy Hall, you can check out their production stills right here. Stay tuned for profiles and production stills from two additional wrapped productions, John Rice's South Side short, Milk Crate, and Jeremy Braverman and Nelson Chipman's Regent Square short, Regent Square. Congrats, filmmakers!

Justin Francart: Oakland

PPT

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 fourth in a series profiling each of the filmmakers selected for participation. Be sure to check back in two weeks for the next profile.

A leisurely stroll through Schenley Park, followed by intimate conversation at a local coffeehouse … an afternoon made for lovers.

Or, in this case … ex-lovers.

Local filmmaker Justin Francart, 25, chronicles the final farewell between an ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend through his short film, “PPT.” His film, set in the youth-ridden neighborhood of Oakland, breaks away from traditional tales of romance in that the young couple isn’t even a couple at all. They’re two people with a strong connection who get together for the last time before one leaves town.

“It’s sort of a bittersweet, after-the-fact love story,” explains Justin. “But there can be happiness in accepting the fact that you’re saying goodbye,” he adds.

While Justin’s story isn’t necessarily about Oakland – rather, it’s a story that happens to take place in Oakland – he chose this setting for a couple of reasons. First: It’s an adaptable neighborhood, meaning that there’s a lot that to work with in terms of scenery. Second: with Pitt and CMU right there, Oakland is a hub of younger people. And as Justin points out, “a lot of young love has blossomed there.”

For being a “last minute kind of guy,” Justin surprised himself with how far along the project is – he’s already wrapped up shooting the film and is well ahead of schedule.

“It’s weird for me because I’ve never been in that kind of a position before,” he admits. “I haven’t shot a film in five years, so I wanted to approach this as organized as I could.”

In fact, the last time Justin did any filming was when he was a production major at Ithaca University. He’s since transferred to Pitt and graduated with a degree in film studies. His mom was the one who spotted the ad for Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narratives.

“God bless her,” he laughs. “She’s always looking out for me to do something with my career, my life, anything related to my major.”

With a bulletin board full of ideas, Justin had no trouble coming up with a plot synopsis. He sat on the idea for a while, submitted his story at the last minute, and the rest is history. According to Justin, the actual filming couldn’t have gone any smoother thanks to a talented and committed cast and crew.

“It was pretty painless, and I was excited about that,” he said.

Most of the film was shot outdoors, so Justin had to rely on the unreliable Pittsburgh weather.

“I wanted an early summer, late spring shoot,” he said. “So I was praying it wouldn’t rain. We ended up having some really nice days.”

Jason Georgiades: Bloomfield

St. Joseph’s

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 third in a series profiling each of the filmmakers selected for participation. Be sure to check back in two weeks for the next profile.

They transform church parking lots into something magical, casting a spell thick with powdered sugar, flavored syrup, big spinning wheels and Chinese finger traps. Occasionally, they throw in the pony ride, ferris wheel or dunking machine.

But you can always count on the duck pond.

And no matter how advanced the world may claim to be, it can’t ever seem to suppress the childish thrill it gets when summer opens her doors to the fair.

So, naturally, when local filmmaker Jason Georgiades heard about Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narratives, he was drawn to the idea of crafting a story around St. Joseph’s fair in Bloomfield. After pulling in friends Chet Vincent and Russell Brandom, his idea became a reality. Chet and Russell wrote the script for “St. Joseph’s,” and Jason has already begun to turn it into a short film.

“You have such a great mix of people at fairs,” said Jason. “It’s almost like a dichotomy, a clash between old world Pittsburgh and the city’s youth.”

So, why Bloomfield?

“It’s a very rich neighborhood with a certain element of Pittsburgh in it,” he observed.

Somehow, Bloomfield has managed to strike a balance between traditional and trendy. A 22 year-old Bloomfield resident himself, Jason points out that the neighborhood not only retains its older residents, but also attracts the younger generation.

And St. Joseph’s fair brings them all together.

But Jason’s film will address more than the multi-generational melange that is Bloomfield. “St. Joseph’s” also captures the unexpected chemistry between two young people who meet at the fair – conservative, community-based Ann and hip, urban arts Charlie. While they couldn’t be more different, there is an undeniable spark between the two that can only be credited to the mysterious, meddling influence of the fair.

“There are some surprising connections made in that type of environment,” Jason points out.

The environment he refers to is that of a full-blown, bustling church fair – an environment, he admits, that will be difficult to recreate. But fortunately, Jason’s in for the long haul.

“Ten percent of the challenge is actually shooting the film, and 90 percent is problem-solving,” he says. “We’re hoping to get some stylistic shots of looking at a real fair.”

A studio arts major at Pitt, Jason plans to highlight a “whole different side of Pittsburgh” in his film.

“My generation is more temporary. I think there are a lot of people my age who view Pittsburgh as a loading dock or a halfway point,” he comments.

But as a young filmmaker and artist, Jason speaks from experience when he says that Pittsburgh is a great place to build your name cheaply. He’s already made several films, one of which was a Steeler documentary called “Steal Phantom.”

“I love Pittsburgh. My involvement in the Neighborhood Narratives project is the perfect example of what this city has to offer,” he said. “It’s important to be able to afford your lifestyle and expand on it. The opportunities here are endless.”

Our Oakland

Congrats to Justin Francart and crew, who wrapped production on their Oakland short, PPT, last week. Thanks again to Timothy Hall for taking production stills, which you can check out above.