Justice through ‘the lens of small town values’

MONROE — A Monroe student filmmaker completed filming his thesis project this past weekend in the local area, calling it the first of many “soapboxes” he hopes to create in the future.

Alexandre Pulido, a 2008 graduate of Monroe-Woodbury High School and currently a student at Emerson University in Boston, is the director of “Hudson Valley Boys,” produced by Toreador Films, an amateur film company comprised of film and theater majors from regional East Coast universities.

Local venues, businesses, cast The film company shot at a variety of “recognizable Orange County locations” involving a number of local merchants and vendors in the creation of the film, which production officials said support the local economy. In return, they added, the film company has also received “generous support” from local merchants as well.

The cast and crew included area residents with Pulido as director/screenwriter; Justin Fernandez of Monroe as “J-Bo;” Theodore Jones of Monroe as “T’Bone;” Shawn Wood of Monroe as one of the grips; Evan Smith of Warwick as the key grip; and Josh Wechsler of Warwick as sound recordist/engineer.

The film is about two young men (J-Bob and T-Bone) coming back to their small hometown to deal with drug problems occurring there, Pulido explained.

“Hudson Valley Boys is a statement, sprayed in bullet holes across the side of a dilapidated pick-up truck, remembering a time long gone that, for many, is still going strong,” Pulido wrote in a note to The Photo News. “A modern day perspective on a present day place anachronistically trapped in the past. It explores the relativity of morality and justice in the lens of small town values, and when, if ever, vigilantism can be the best solution to a problem.”

In a later conversation, Pulido said he pulled from his personal experience for much of the content.

“The two main characters (T-Bone and J-Bob) are based on my best friends from high school,” he said. “They come back from being away to deal with the problem of drug proliferation in their community. Along the way, they deal with issues of vigilantism. I saw those (drug) problems to an extent, but they were not kept out in the open. I noticed it more when I came back from college. “

‘A camera is a weapon’ Filming took place at Mr. Cone in Monroe this past Sunday as well as at The Tucson Café in Warwick and other venues in the surrounding area. “He (Joe Loscalzo at Mr. Cone) was so incredibly accommodating and incredibly nice,” said Pulido. “We were there a half hour longer than we thought. He insisted in giving ice cream to everyone. We wanted to buy it ourselves, but he said, ‘No, you absolutely will not.’”

Pulido also shot at the homes of some of his friends as well.

“I had some fun shooting at local venues,” he said. “It was very interesting for me and I had a lot of friends to help me out in a lot of different ways and I really appreciated it.”

Pulido said his film, scheduled for completion in December, has a purpose.

“Art is a statement,” he said. “An artist finds himself in the unique situation walking around at all times with a soapbox tied around his neck. Possession of this soapbox demands that a statement be made, and the ability to make a statement that many may hear demands that it be one worth telling many.”

But he wouldn’t reveal the lesson, noting he was more interested in seeing what viewers take away from it themselves.

“Filmmaking is war,” added Pulido. “A camera is a weapon. Words are bullets. This film is my soapbox. ‘Hudson Valley Boys’ is my statement.”

By Nancy Kriz