An Intrepid Radio Host Takes To The Streets Of New York In ONE OCTOBER

Filmed entirely in October of 2008, a time when gentrification is rapidly displacing the working and middle classes, Wall Street is plummeting, and then-Senator Barack Obama is making his first presidential bid, ONE OCTOBER is a lyrical time capsule that captures the heart and spirit of New York. When seen from our current vantage point, the film foreshadows the roiling political upheaval spreading across the country today in 2018. Directed by Rachel Shuman and executive produced by three-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton ("Primal Fear," "American History X" and "Birdman"), this captivating feature documentary, which had its World Premiere at the 2017 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, chronicles intrepid radio host Clay Pigeon as he talks to a beautifully diverse cross-section of people throughout the city, exploring a microcosm of themes and issues including race, religion, economics, politics and culture. With today's news filled with ratings-hungry, sensationalist headlines and political pundits yelling over one another, Pigeon is quite the antithesis with his man-on-the-street style interviews, offering an authentic, warm-hearted and more humanitarian approach to journalism.

Maysles Cinema in Harlem, NYC, where several of the scenes in the documentary were filmed, will host a week-long theatrical release of ONE OCTOBER, screening along with the short documentary THE MONOLITH, directed by Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr., about pioneering NYC artist Gwyneth Leech, starting Friday, May 11. For tickets to Maysles Cinema, visit http://bit.ly/2I8fEnC. ONE OCTOBER will also be released nationally on VOD on May 11 via Passion River Films on iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Microsoft XBOX and other digital platforms. The film will also screen nationwide in select cities. For more information on ONE OCTOBER and a full list of upcoming screenings, visit: http://oneoctoberfilm.com/.

ONE OCTOBER begins with Pigeon, a radio host from WFMU in Jersey City, NJ, who takes to the streets of New York City to talk to everyday citizens about their lives, their dreams and their relationships in the face of uncertain change in a transforming city. As part of what he calls a "radio experiment," this transplanted Iowan roams the streets bearing a handheld recorder and a kindly probing nature: "Has he popped the question?" "When is the last time you've had a regular roof over your head?" "Do you love America?" These revealing interviews are woven between vivid scenes of New York's eccentric byways, which together reveal a city-and a nation-at a crossroads.

During his neighborhood rambles, Pigeon meets people like Kristin, an optimistic young woman who has just arrived from the Midwest; Mark, a union construction worker still dusty from his workday and deeply in debt; Nicole, a transgender woman looking for an accepting community; and Stacie, a single mother in Harlem worried about gentrification.

Pigeon's encounters interweave with observational passages that poignantly reveal urbanist and author Jane Jacobs's (The Death and Life of Great American Cities) idea of the "ballet of the good city sidewalk": rollerskaters wind their way through Central Park, city dwellers seek blessings for a motley group of pets on St. Francis Day, observant Jews toss breadcrumbs into the Hudson River on Rosh Hashanah, and Muslims mark the end of their Ramadan fast with Eid al-Fitr prayers and expressions of forgiveness. Amid these celebrations of daily life we see the shifting landscape of the city: big-box stores and mega-chains rapidly replace independent businesses, giant glass buildings are erected where flea markets once stood, and luxury condos loom over small brick tenements.

Nuanced, cinematic and often humorous, ONE OCTOBER charts the chasm between one's desires and one's means, explores the urgent need to conserve the old amid the glorification of the new, and affirms the notion that a varied streetscape is essential to the health of a dynamic metropolis.

"I wanted to make a film in response to the homogenization and hypergentrification of neighborhoods in New York City and chose to set it in October 2008, a tumultuous moment when the housing market collapse was becoming a worldwide economic crisis and much of the country was swept up in Obama's presidential campaign," said ONE OCTOBER director Rachel Shuman. "In retrospect, almost exactly a decade later now, I am releasing the film in another period of change in our country, and I hope that it will present a story of diversity and resiliency that unites people."

Edward Norton is an environmental, social and civic activist who has substantially contributed to the development of the cultural and civic life of the city. When asked why he wanted to become involved in this film, Norton stated, "Like E.B. White's classic 'Here is New York,' ONE OCTOBER captures the complexity of our culture at a moment in time and distills the zeitgeist of optimism and hope surrounding the election of Barack Obama. Viewed today, it's especially poignant and inspiring."

About Clay Pigeon:

For 12 years Clay Pigeon was host of "The Dusty Show with Clay Pigeon," a one-hour weekly program on WFMU, an independent freeform radio station in Jersey City, NJ. Clay's all-analog shows have thousands of edits per episode that he lovingly and painstakingly produces by hand via tape-to-tape editing of interview material captured on microcassettes and eclectic turntable music and sound bites. About his show Clay says: "Man-on-the-street interviews explore all levels of humanity while hyperediting promotes renal retention in this all-analog cassette-based broadcast: Obscure vinyl, maudlin genuflection, downhome values." As of June 2017, Clay was promoted to host WFMU's popular Morning Show, which airs M-F, 6-9AM on 91.1 in the New York tri-state area and online at wfmu.org.

Clay was raised in Audubon, Iowa, where he developed a conversational interview style that has informed his work over the years. After broadcasting school, he migrated to Clearwater, Florida, where he DJ'ed at WTAN and 96FEVER and played in the rock band, Deloris Telescope. In 1998, Clay created a street interview-based program for WMNF in Tampa, which he continued to produce after moves to Los Angeles and Milwaukee. He relocated to New York in 2007, where he lives with his wife, illustrator Kirsten Ulve.

About Director, Editor and Producer Rachel Shuman:

Rachel Shuman is a documentary filmmaker and editor who has worked in New York City for 20 years. Her directorial debut "Negotiations" premiered at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. She co-directed "Art, Architecture, and Innovation: Celebrating the Guggenheim Museum," which aired on PBS and is now on view at the museum. Her editing credits include "Wallace" (Class 5 Films), "Peter Eisenman" (Checkerboard Films) and "After the Cup" (Variance Films). Rachel has also worked as an editor on nonfiction programming for A&E, History and MTV and she is proud to be a board member of the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship. Originally from Boston, Rachel received a BFA from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York.

About Executive Producer Edward Norton:

Edward Norton is a celebrated actor, director, writer and producer who has starred in more than 35 films. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards for his work in the films "Primal Fear" (1996), "American History X" (1998), and "Birdman" (2014). In addition to his work in feature films, he has produced award winning documentaries such as "By the People: The Election of Barack Obama" (HBO) and "My Own Man" (a Netflix Original).

Credits:

Director, Editor, Producer - Rachel Shuman

Executive Producer - Edward Norton

Producer - Garret Savage

Co-Producer - Ursula Liang

Cinematographer - David Sampliner

Written by - Annie Bruno, Whitney Henry-Lester, Rachel Shuman

Composer - Paul Brill

Featured Cellist - Dave Eggar

Consulting Producers - Cathryne Czubeck, Jessica Wolfson

Associate Producers - Aimee Arvan, Jessica Luoma, Sarah Rachael Wainio

Consulting Editors - Linda Hattendorf, Kristen Nutile

This project was completed with the support of the Women Make Movies Production Assistance Program

Produced with support from New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature

Documentary / 56 min. / English / 2017 / Digital (DCP, BluRay, H264)

Social Media:

Web: oneoctoberfilm.com

Facebook: /OneOctoberFilm

Twitter: @OneOctoberFilm

Instagram: @oneoctoberfilm

About THE MONOLITH:

Pioneering NYC artist, Gwyneth Leech, enters a midtown art studio only to find that her skyline view will soon be blocked by the construction of a high-rise hotel. But as the perspective out her window permanently shifts, so does the artist's point of view. THE MONOLITH is directed by Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr. ("The Woman Who Wasn't There"), produced and shot by Andy Bowley, EP'd by Andrea L. Smith. Rosie Walunas adeptly employed the Adobe Creative Suite to bring over 200 pieces of Leech's beautiful artwork to life using Animation, Motion Graphics and Compositing. Leech has exhibited her work across the United States and the UK in museums, commercial galleries, public art spaces, and alternative venues. For additional information on the artist, please visit: gwynethleech.com

Documentary / 10 min. / English / 2017 / Digital (Pro Res HQ)

About Maysles Cinema:

Maysles Cinema, at MDC, founded by the late documentary filmmaker and pioneer Albert Maysles (1926-2015) in 2008, is dedicated to the exhibition and discussion of documentary films. The Cinema is committed to a democratic experience, one where filmmakers are asked to attend the screenings of their work, and audiences have the opportunity to actively engage the films, subjects in the films, experts, and each other in post-screening forums. Coupled with our scheduled programming, we encourage the programming participation of local social and cultural organizations to deepen community involvement and provide exposure for under-represented social issues and overlooked artists and their work.

About Passion River Films:

Passion River Films is a film distribution company specializing in releasing films that engage with audiences and impact communities. We handle distribution to theaters, VOD, home video and to academic and digital markets. Passion River's uniquely diverse catalog features Academy Award and Emmy-winning films as well as films that have been recognized at Independent Spirit Awards, Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival and many other prestigious events.