Online Film Debut: Suburban Teenage Angst in 1969

Online Film Debut: Suburban Teenage Angst in 1969

NEW YORK, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- A short subject film about adolescent hope and despair, love and alienation shot in Great Neck, Long Island in 1969, and widely distributed among the nation's schools, has debuted on the Internet.

"Page 2," written and directed by Andy Plesser, a 1970 graduate of Great Neck North, is a ten minute black and white short film performed by high school juniors with music composed and recorded by musicians in Plesser's class.

The film was shot entirely in Great Neck, New York and edited in New York City at the Young Filmmaker's Foundation. "Page 2" was widely distributed in the early '70's to child guidance professionals around the nation. The film's look at alienation, hope and drugs was used to foster dialogue between adults and young people about the challenges of adolescence during those heady times. Some 200 prints of the film were distributed nationally.

"I had always been interested in the visual arts and started to experiment with my family's 8mm camera, creating little stories and visual montages. With a personal experience of love lost, confusion and alienation, I decided to create a story about my experiences in a scripted, produced film. I turned to the gym coach who leant me the team's 16 mm camera. I cast my classmates and parents. Everyone was extremely enthusiastic," said Andy Plesser.

In early 1969, Plesser showed a rough cut of the film to the director of the Young Filmmakers' Foundation in New York, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering filmmaking in teens as a means of self expression. The group was based on Rivington Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Plesser did the post production work there.

"The Internet has allowed me to share the film with hundreds of my high school classmates who stay in touch via e-mail. Many have enjoyed it. I hope the film will provide insight for people from our town and beyond into issues facing young people today. Many of the issues remain the same, after 37 years," says Plesser.

The film is hosted on YouTube and requires no special download to view. It can be seen at http://plesserholland.com/page2.htm

Plesser runs Plesser Holland (www.plesserholland.com), a public relations company in Manhattan, and is the author of a blog on media and technology, called Beet.TV (www.beet.tv)

Source: Plesser Holland

CONTACT: Kate Lyon, +1-212-420-8383, ext. 106, or klyon@plesser.com

Web site: http://www.plesser.com/
http://plesserholland.com/page2.htm
http://www.beet.tv/

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