Prince of Broadway USA
2008, 100min.
Prod.: Darren Dean, Script:Sean Baker, Darren Dean,Dir./Dir. of Phot./Edit. Sean Baker, Prod. Design: Stephonik Youth Baker, Sound: David Grohman
Cast:Prince Adu, Karren Karagulian, Aiden Noesi, Keyali Mayaga, Kat Sanchez, Victoria Tate.
Prince of Broadway is the story of Lucky and Levon, two men whose lives converge in the underbelly of New York's wholesale fashion district. Lucky, an illegal immigrant from Ghana, makes ends meet by soliciting shoppers on the street with knock-off brand merchandise. Levon, an Armenian-Lebanese immigrant, operates an illegal storefront with a concealed back room where counterfeit goods are showcased to interested shoppers. Lucky's world is suddenly turned upside down when a child is thrust into his life by a woman who insists the toddler is his son. While Lucky copes with his new domestic dilemma, Levon struggles to save a marriage that is falling apart. The seedy side of the wholesale district is revealed through a journey that continually confronts the interplay between what is fake and what is real. Set in the shadow of the Flatiron building and soaked in the colorful bustle of Broadway, the film is as much a brutal drama as it is a tender comedy. Shot in a fast-paced guerilla style that is akin to the hustler lifestyle, the film reveals the lives of immigrants in America seeking ideals of family and love, while creating their own knock-off of the American Dream.
Awards
Jury Prize – Best Feature Film (Sean Baker, Woodstock FF, 2008); Jury Special Prize (Sean Baker, Torino IF of Young Festival, 2008); Best Dramatic Feature – Best Film (Sean Baker) (Los Angeles, 2008);Special Mention - Filmmakers of the Present (Sean Baker, Locarno IFF, 2008);Audience Award (Belfort Entrevues FF, 2008); Golden Lady Harimaguada (Las Palmas FF, 2009); Best Feature – Narrative Competition (Los Angeles Pan African FF, 2009); BIFF Award - Best New Filmmaker - Narrative Competition (Sean Baker, Boulder IFF, 2009); Best American Indie Feature (Cleveland FF, 2009); Grand Jury Prize (Sacramento FF, 2009); Grand Jury Prize (Florida FF, 2009).
Production Company
Cre Film
www.princeofbroadway.com
| Baker, Sean  Sean Baker (born 1971, Summit, New Jersey, USA)
Raised in New Jersey, studied at New York University Film School in the 1990s. Commercials gave him his first experience of directing, after which he wrote and made his first feature film, Four Letter Words (2000), about a group of high-school friends' reunion to recall the past and try and envisage their future. He next co-created the television series, Greg the Bunny (2002 and 2005) before making Take Out (2004), a social drama about Chinese immigrants in New York.
Filmography
Four Letter Words (2000), Greg the Bunny (2002, 2005, TV series), Take Out (2004), Prince of Broadway (2008).
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