HEAT - DOCUMENTARY

CURRENTLY RAISING FUNDS FOR POST-PRODUCTION

“To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul.”

― Simone Weil

LOGLINE

HEAT explores the extraordinary and ordinary moments of three women who live in L.E.S projects. When the push towards privatization of public housing deepens, each woman grapples with the meaning of home.

INTRO

Hello, my name is Aicha Cherif, and I recently graduated from Barnard College this past Spring. I am currently working on my third documentary which is inspired by the neighborhood I grew up in, the Lower East Side. HEAT is fully independent and made up of a team of young people, artists, educators, and LES residents. This process has been a labor of love and exploration.

I intend to humanize the complex issue of privatization through storytelling. I never felt the stigma of public housing until I realized that not everyone's landlord was the government. The thought of public housing becoming private will directly impact my family and many other NYCHA residents. It has been the only way living in New York has been affordable. NYCHA residents have fought against private corporations and will continue to do so. The future of NYCHA will impact all NYC residents and the future of social policy in America.

So far, we have independently raised $6,700 and the rest of our shooting expenses have been covered out of pocket by crew members. We desperately want to share the story with you all and must secure funding for post production. While filming, our first shooting date moved me beyond what I could imagine. I realized that I needed help from my community to allow the story to flourish.

SYNOPSIS

Over 40,000 residents in the LES are specifically vulnerable to displacement as gentrification continues to change the social and political landscape of the neighborhood. The NYT released an article last month on NYCHA’s $1.5 billion plan to demolish and replace rotting public housing buildings. Public housing in New York emerged from decades of struggle to improve the housing and communities of the poor and working class. The shift towards privatization will impact marginalized communities of color.

Systematic and personal struggles in HEAT will neither be ignored nor glamorized. Instead of defining the LES solely by its struggles, I am more interested in exploring how we respond to the daily and looming obstacles we face. While the addictive energy of LES in the summertime will be palpable, the film will also incorporate a subtle, underlying bleak tone due to the rise of privatization. The future of our main subjects remains uncertain as the socio-economic landscape of the city continues to shift.

The Lower East Side was (and still is) a bastion for immigrants from around the world. At its core, the film invigorates the energy of "old New York." HEAT will utilize documentary techniques to purposefully tell a much larger story of the lived experiences of public housing residents. Summer is an anchor point to explore themes of home, collective struggle, and nostalgia.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

I came to the L.E.S. as protection against gender-based violence in 2002. I joined my grandparents, who had been living in New York since the late 1980s. My grandfather, Zakaria Fofana, migrated from Guinea to NYC on his own. In 1984, the Guinean military seized power and ransacked his neighborhood. One of his first jobs was at the (now closed) Todaro Bros., an Italian grocery built in 1917. He was then a Taxi driver until 2005. Through government assistance, he ended up at 189 Allen Street in a public housing development in the mid-90s. My grandmother, Aissatou Toure, arrived in 1994 and started her career as a hair braider in Brooklyn and Harlem.

The photos above are from my family photo book, primarily documented by my grandparents. I feel honored to have access to these photos and want to continue the legacy of documentation of families, spaces, and homes. Out of all the places my grandparents could have ended up, I am so grateful it was the Lower.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

I began creating documentaries to understand the deep crevices of our humanity and social conditions. Actively aiming to be authentic through storytelling requires courage. A process that is never easy for those in front of and behind the camera.

My second documentary, I AM THE ONLY ONE, taught me how to be vulnerable. I became the subject and exposed aspects of myself that most people do not see. This experience provided clarity, not closure. I now understand the deep richness of humanizing social issues through intimate and people-focused films. As someone who grew up in public housing in the LES, I am less interested in defining people or a community based on their struggles. My intention with HEAT is to showcase a neighborhood filled with rich and textured history through my lens.

BUDGET / DISTRIBUTION

HEAT is a fully independent film that will rely on your support to be completed. Our total budget is $28,672.17. Thus far, we’ve independently raised $16,068.30 through crowdfunding and independent donors. We are hoping to raise the remaining $12,603.87 for post production. We are offering Executive Producer credits for donations above $5,000.

We shot for a total of 11 shoot dates this past summer, and spent $12,172.17. Below is a breakdown of production.

Below is a breakdown of post- production

We plan on applying and screening our film at micro/macro film festivals such as Tribeca Film Festival, New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center, NYC Independent Film Festival, The Lower East Side Film Festival, and more. Our plan is to spark conversation between festival goers and LES Natives.

We also plan on doing free community screenings for the neighborhood at the Lower East Side Girls Club. We want to make sure people in the community are able to watch this film. Our final plan is to distribute HEAT to a streaming platform or online for broader reach.

TEAM BIOS

DIRECTOR

Aicha Cherif (22) is a New York-based director, producer, and artist inspired by intimate and people-focused storytelling.

Aicha became interested in film as a medium to impact social change after being selected for Glamour Magazine’s initiative, The Girl Project. Her directorial debut, CUT received the Global Impact Award at the Girl Impact The World Film Festival in 2018. The documentary sheds light on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Guinea and America. In 2017, Aicha was accepted to be a Tribeca Film Fellow. There, she directed her second short film, I AM THE ONLY ONE exploring the effects of family separation on her relationship with her mother.

Since then Aicha has worked with brands such as Nike, Snapchat, LG, and more as a commercial director with a focus on docu-driven narratives.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Kunga Choephel (23) is a Director/Cinematographer hailing from Queens, NY. His works have all carried strong undercurrents of identity and family. By pulling inspiration from his unique experiences as a Tibetan immigrant living in America, he hopes to explore the universal highs and lows everyone faces. His works have screened at Short of the Week, NFFTY, and Tide Film Festival among many others.

EXEC PRODUCER

Kelly Adams is a documentary filmmaker and freelance video producer based in Inwood, Manhattan. She received her Master’s in the Culture and Media Program at NYU, where she focused on participatory and community media projects. She has spent the last 7 years working at the Lower Eastside Girls Club, where she manages digital media youth programs and oversees production for the organization

EXEC PRODUCER

Destiny Mata is a Mexican American photographer and filmmaker based in her native New York City as she focuses on issues of subculture and community. After studying photojournalism at LaGuardia Community College and San Antonio College, she spent 2 years as Director of Photography Programs at the in Lower East Side Girls Club Mata and has had work published and featured in The New York Times, The Nation, VICE, The Culture Crush, and Teen Vogue. Mata has recently exhibited La Vida En Loisaida: Life on the Lower East Side at Photoville Festival 2020. She has taken part in a group exhibition at ICP Concerned Global Images for Global Crisis at the International Center of Photography 2020, Magnum Foundation US Dispatches Grantee 2020, Mexic-Arte Museum, Young Latino Artists 21: Amexican@ 2016 and in 2014 she exhibited photographs of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy at the Museum of New York City’s, Rising Waters: Photographs of Sandy exhibition.

PRODUCER

Lola Kenet (21) is a producer and director from NYC. She has had a passion for movies since she was 10 and got her start in production through the Tribeca Film Institute as a 2017 Tribeca Film Fellow. Since then she has produced several narrative and documentary films and is currently associate producing a doc from Emmy-nominated director Peter Barton. Lola’s goal is to create character-driven stories that leave viewers with a better understanding of themselves.

PRODUCER

Siena Mills (22) is a creative producer and writer based out of New York City. She is primarily drawn to raw stories that reflect the beauty and struggles of everyday life. After recently graduating from Barnard College and spending two years at Saturday Night Live in the talent department she will continue to broaden her business knowledge at Creative Artists Agency in the film department.

This film means so much to us, all donations are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!