Film: "Once Upon a Time on Staten Island"

Following the curious adventures of a typical 12-year-old Staten Island boy of 1951, this unique 60-minute film evokes memories of Staten Island's rural past at mid-twentieth century. It is essentially a nostalgic, looking-back-piece but also historical, environmental, documentary and cultural. Nevertheless, during its final 20 minutes, the film poses critical questions about the dubious benefits of redundant urban sprawl, with its attendant crowding and congestion and the traditional qualities of life we have traded for it. You need not have been a resident of Staten Island during mid-twentieth century to empathize with the film's message. The theme is universal and idiomatic.

The film includes hundreds of rare historical images and 16MM film footages, haunting, mellifluous musical scores highlight the nostalgic experience.