The Hole (2010 film)
Encyclopedia
The Hole is a short documentary film
by Filmmakers Courtney Fathom Sell
and Billy Feldman completed in 2010. The film explores a below-sea-level neighborhood on the Brooklyn-Queens border commonly referred to as The Hole. Infamous for being a location that corpses relating back to mafia murders had been discovered, as well as the Home of the Federation of Black Cowboys, the documentary touches upon various aspects of life in The Hole through interviews with individuals who still reside in the flooded location.
-Queens
border surrounded by rumors and mystery. Also known as the 'Jewel Streets', the area is partially flooded and linked to an extensive amount of controversy due to apparent mafia related murders and trash-filled landscape. Nearly cut off completely from the rest of New York City
, the neighborhood does not have a sewer system
but instead utilizes cesspools. The film features interviews with many residents of The Hole, explores the history of the Federation of Black Cowboys and their relationship with the neighborhood, and documents the landscape of the area.
neighborhood which caught their interest. Upon researching the neighborhood, the two filmmakers had trouble uncovering much information, as most of the stories came from word-of-mouth. While in pre-production stages, the filmmakers had trouble convincing others that such a neighborhood existed in New York City. They decided to travel down to the area where The Hole supposedly existed and once there, were so compelled by what they saw, decided to begin shooting immediately.
Shot over the course of one month by a small crew that included Sell, Feldman, and cinematographer
Ashley Connor, the documentary
explored the living conditions within the neighborhood. The crew spent most of their time speaking with residents in the location and shooting landscape scenery.
In an interview, Sell explained that:
The film premiered at the 4th annual Red Hook
Film Festival
on October 16, 2010 in Brooklyn, New York.In March of 2011, the film was officially released online.It will be presented in August 2011 at Rooftop Films summer screening series presented by IFC
.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Filmmakers Courtney Fathom Sell
Courtney Fathom Sell
Courtney Fathom Sell is an American filmmaker, musician, composer, writer and video artist who specializes in documentary films. He is the founder of Slumlord Productions, an independent film production company, and has shot a majority of his work on a Hi8 video camera.An advocate of D.I.Y...
and Billy Feldman completed in 2010. The film explores a below-sea-level neighborhood on the Brooklyn-Queens border commonly referred to as The Hole. Infamous for being a location that corpses relating back to mafia murders had been discovered, as well as the Home of the Federation of Black Cowboys, the documentary touches upon various aspects of life in The Hole through interviews with individuals who still reside in the flooded location.
Synopsis
The Hole, as it is referred to by local residents, is a five-block neighborhood on the BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
-Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
border surrounded by rumors and mystery. Also known as the 'Jewel Streets', the area is partially flooded and linked to an extensive amount of controversy due to apparent mafia related murders and trash-filled landscape. Nearly cut off completely from the rest of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the neighborhood does not have a sewer system
Sewerage
Sewerage refers to the infrastructure that conveys sewage. It encompasses receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, screening chambers, etc. of the sanitary sewer...
but instead utilizes cesspools. The film features interviews with many residents of The Hole, explores the history of the Federation of Black Cowboys and their relationship with the neighborhood, and documents the landscape of the area.
Production
While living in New Orleans, Sell and Feldman had overheard stories regarding the BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
neighborhood which caught their interest. Upon researching the neighborhood, the two filmmakers had trouble uncovering much information, as most of the stories came from word-of-mouth. While in pre-production stages, the filmmakers had trouble convincing others that such a neighborhood existed in New York City. They decided to travel down to the area where The Hole supposedly existed and once there, were so compelled by what they saw, decided to begin shooting immediately.
Shot over the course of one month by a small crew that included Sell, Feldman, and cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
Ashley Connor, the documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
explored the living conditions within the neighborhood. The crew spent most of their time speaking with residents in the location and shooting landscape scenery.
In an interview, Sell explained that:
"We wanted explore and fully document the area in a way in which we would allow all things to happen naturally. The Hole is such a surreal environment anyway, that even if you are to shoot a conventional documentary, it would still turn out to be a surrealistic film!
"
The film premiered at the 4th annual Red Hook
Red Hook
-Places:*Red Hook, Brooklyn, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City, USA*Red Hook, New York, a town in Dutchess county in the State of New York, USA*Red Hook , New York, a village in the Town of Red Hook, New York, USA...
Film Festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
on October 16, 2010 in Brooklyn, New York.In March of 2011, the film was officially released online.It will be presented in August 2011 at Rooftop Films summer screening series presented by IFC
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
.