Synopsis of “The Street”

Aram, a young writer of playful one-word poems, searches for intimacy while living in a small New York City apartment on W. 85th Street. What he finds are awkward romantic encounters, including a one-night stand with a waitress and a humorous brush with amateur porn. A decision to begin therapy and Aram’s quiet connection to the homeless man living on his street help him make sense of his misguided attempts at intimacy. Meanwhile, a chance opportunity to audition for a remake of “The Graduate” takes him to Los Angeles where he briefly flirts with becoming an actor. Instead, unexpected insights inspire Aram to begin writing an autobiographical novel and embark on a new life.

Director’s Statement

I first stumbled upon “The Street: An Autobiographical Novel” while working at the Strand bookstore in the summer of 1989. I was going to college in suburban northern California where I felt homesick for New York City and the urban world I was used to. The author, Aram Saroyan, was living in northern California during the 1970s when he wrote the book, homesick for the year that he lived on West 85th Street in the mid 1960s. The novel captures not only the particular feeling of growing up in New York City, but also that moment, just on the verge of adulthood, when one’s family becomes not simply Mother, Father, Step-Father, Sister, but separate people with flaws, idiosyncrasies and frailties. My adaptation of “The Street” tries to capture all of these things while telling the gently comic story of a young man’s struggle to find love.

Biography

Noam Christopher is a screenwriter and director. After attending Stanford University, he received his MFA in Graduate Film Production from NYU where he was awarded a Teaching Assistantship. Christopher’s debut feature film, “The Street,” premiered at the IFP New York Market and screened in competition at the Austin Film Festival. He recently completed two original screenplays – “true,” a story about the destructive and redemptive power of sex, and “Hand Made,” an urban fairy tale about a young Latino man who goes to Italy to learn the art and craft of shoemaking. Born on a farm in Central Pennsylvania, Christopher has lived in New York City most of his life.

Cast and Crew List for “The Street”

Crew

Writer/Cinematographer/Director Noam J. Christopher
Producer Nina J. Christopher
Editor Jonathan Knight and Noam J. Christopher
Casting Zoe Rotter
Sound Recordist/Music Supervisor Michael Giltz

Cast

Aram Jamie Iglehart
Lucy Laura Knight
Mom Lee Bryant
Walter George Pollock
Homeless Man Stuart Rudin
Pop Robert Christopher
Vincent Evan Zes
Therapist Frima Christopher
One Night Stand Diahnna Nicole Baxter
Gailyn/Woman Upstate Eliza Bishop
Karen Katz Amy de Lucia
Suzannah/L.A. Audition Partner #1 Siân Heder
Kim/L.A. Audition Partner #2 Mary Kate Schellhardt
Lonely Gay Neighbor John Keating
(Arrested Neighbor) Phil Colbert J. Kyle Manzay
Phil’s Girlfriend Meredith Ross
Police Officer Jim Ward
Police Officer Paul Hroncich
Christian/Lucy’s Lover John Jeffrey Martin
Waitress Maria-José Davó