Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Chop Shop director Ramin Bahrani is profiled in the latest issue of New York Magazine. Bahrani, who has been championed for updating the neorealist European traditions of Rossellini and Bresson, talks to reporter Logan Hill about the immense effort that goes into his deceptively simple cinema.

For Chop Shop, Bahrani put 12 year old actor Alejandro Polanco to work in an auto-body shop for six months, where he learned to paint, sand, and even drive. “People thought we were making a documentary about this kid who worked for Rob (Sowulski … the real owner of the auto-body shop who plays himself in the film),” said Bahrani.

Chop Shop screens Tuesday, March 4, 2008, 7:30 PM at Jackman Hall, Art Gallery of Ontario, part of this year’s Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival.