ramin bahrani

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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.

From Wikipedia … a chop shop is a slang phrase for a location or business which disassembles stolen automobiles for the purpose of selling them as parts.

A chop shop must be able to take apart a car without damaging the parts and keep them organized. Time is of the essence: more cars processed equals higher profits. Too many cars waiting to be processed require larger buildings which are often located in higher traffic areas. Larger buildings are more expensive and are not as easily rented without giving out more personal information and large deposits. Huge rooms full of cars waiting to be “chopped”, as seen in the movies, is not realistic. There is no advantage to a large inventory, as it can be done more efficiently in a “JIT” (Just In Time) manner by asking a thief only when cars are needed.

Ramin Bahrani’s film “Chop Shop” plays the Toronto Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, March 4, 2008, 7:30 PM.