Based on a story by Pete Hamill, two friends from a Brooklyn grammar school reconnect and realize the impact they and their work had on each other. A Poet Long Ago, directed by Bob Giraldi, screens at FilmColumbia in Chatham, NY during their shorts program on Sunday.
In the film, Sonny, a sanitation worker, and Malloy, a newspaper writer, meet by chance and reminisce about their grammar school days together back in 1970s Brooklyn. Immediately an old wound is opened; flashbacks show how the least likely of the pair had his astonishing gift of writing poetry beaten out of him forever by the narrow-minded father hell-bent on protecting him.
Bob Giraldi is a longtime director who has done everything from directing the film, Dinner Rush, to directing the music video for Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Pete Hamill is widely known for his contributions to the New York Post and the New York Daily News as a columnist and editor.
