'Down Orchard Street' is a revealing, brutally honest, and at times hilarious self-portrait
of many of the legendary Leather Shop owners and workers who reside on Orchard
Street in the Lower East Side of New York City. The project, produced and edited by
award-winning documentary filmmaker Courtney Fathom Sell (The Hole, My Dying Day) and Louis Ressy,
begun when Sell gave Ressy, an Orchard Street native, a video camera in which to document the
daily lives of his friends and co-workers. What unfolds, is a mosaic of New York City life, both told, as well as seen through the eyes of the ones who know it best in an unflinching, truthful, and in-your-face
manner. Fighting, practical jokes, and personal stories of sexual antics are all apart of
their daily lives and through the guerilla-style documentation; each subject opens up,
exposing their true selves in the most honest and truthful way without any hesitation.
For years, Orchard Street has been known for its Leather apparel stores and the
abrasive personalities who run and work at them. With gentrification slowly eating away
at the true core of the Lower East Side, 'Down Orchard Street' is a unique look at one of
the city’s' most historic yet endangered locations. Utilizing the everyday issues in which
the Subjects deal with, and the store workers as the main characters, 'Down Orchard
Street' spans out almost as a sitcom, and is a revealing, occasionally heartbreaking
glimpse into the true essence of the Lower East Side.
A Film by Courtney Fathom Sell & Louis Ressy
Music by Carl Simmons & Dusty Santamaria
Camera: Louis Ressy
Editing: Courtney Fathom Sell
30 min. / video / color
Orchard Street Productions. 2012
This film is not yet released.
For more info, please visit:
courtneysell.com