Amatullo makes directorial debut at 2021 Chelsea Film Festival: Surviving on LES

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- SURVIVING ON LES, Tony Amatullo's first feature film, has been named an Official Selection of the 2021 Chelsea Film Festival. SURVIVING ON LES tells the story of one long-time Lower East Side shop owner and his attempt to stave off gentrification, keep the doors to his haberdashery open and keep his traditions alive—albeit with a little help from some very non-traditional friends. And Amatullo's directorial debut, co-produced with Israeli producer David C. Lewis of DCL Media, is off to a strong start.

IMBd writes: "Surviving on LES is a deep dive into a unique New York City universe undergoing a dramatic change. The Lower East Side of Manhattan is a space in cultural conflict and its inhabitants are our window into this experience. The old guard is navigating the transition from the golden age of immigrants and mom and pop grocers to Matcha cafes and designer shops. Can the long-time residents of the Lower East Side co-exist with the gentrified hipsters staking out their own territory?"

Amatullo currently has SURVIVING ON LES in development as a spin-off for theatrical production and two books under option:

• Saeida Rouass' Assembly of the Dead, which she and Julia Hoff are adapting as a streamer series and Amatullo, Rouass, Hoff and academy-award winning writer, director and producer Bobby Moresco will shoot in Morocco.
• The biography of the extraordinary life of Elaine Black Yoneda by Rachel Schreiber, that will be published in December 2021 by Temple University Press and is being developed as a feature film.

Amatullo spent a number of years in Los Angeles, working on both the production and studio sides of the film industry, but it took his moving back to New York City, his roots, for him to finally direct his first feature film—SURVIVING ON LES.

"This film tells a New York story close to my heart," says Amatullo. "The Lower East Side has been the starting point for generations of Irish, Italian and Jewish immigrants. As a boy growing up in the city, I would visit Orchard Street with my parents on Sundays to buy everything from shoes to pickles—and had some of the most amazing interactions with the shop owners and sales people. They were masters of customer service and closing a sale."

SURVIVING ON LES premiers at the Chelsea Film Festival and streams online 24/7 from October 14-17, 2021. Passes are on sale now. Watch the trailer. Director, Tony Amatullo; Writers, Tony Amatullo, Marla Roberts, David C. Lewis; Executive Producers, Tony Amatullo, David C. Lewis; Co-Producer Joe-O'Donnell.

Media Contact:
Barbara Worton
Associate Producer SURVIVING ON LES
[email protected]
http://www.chelseafilm.org (for information on Chelsea Film Festival)

Media Contact

Barbara Worton, [email protected], +1 2018053176, [email protected]

SOURCE SURVIVING ON LES