Film Fest: New doc on how LBI rebuilt itself after Sandy
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
"That's not how we think of middle class, but it is very, very fragile."
UPROOTED: Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman’s documentary This Time Next Year tells the stories of Jersey Shore residents trying to get back to normal.
Just 18 miles from tip to tail, Long Beach Island, N.J., accommodates as many as 100,000 visitors during the busiest summer months. In the off-season, however, it’s home to a tight-knit population of roughly 20,000 that chooses to live in this seaside community for simple reasons: to surf the Atlantic Ocean, run a small business or simply enjoy the calm of endlessly crashing waves.
Shot over the 12 months after Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast in 2012, This Time Next Year focuses on how these residents set about resurrecting their homes and businesses — many of which were destroyed beyond repair. The documentary will screen on Sunday as part of this year’s Philadelphia Film Festival.
To capture the bleakness of the situation, co-directors/spouses Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman put boots on the ground, taking an engaging and personal look at how LBI, in Reichert’s words, “got stronger in the wake of the storm.”
“We wanted to show what ‘home’ meant,” says Zaman. “They are all trying to get normalcy back, both psychologically and economically.”
Most residents were left without electricity, for as long as six months in several cases. Some resorted to living on the second story of their houses, cooking off hot plates in their bathrooms. The least fortunate had their residences rendered uninhabitable.
Reichert, whose family hails from Ocean County (the filmmakers got engaged on LBI, too), worked personal connections to seek out intimate stories. A cousin put the directors in touch with Joe Man-gino, responsible for forming Stafford Teachers and Residents Together (S.T.A.R.T.), a clean-up coalition that helped stranded res-idents clear damaged property, among other difficult tasks. S.T.A.R.T. proved so effective that FEMA began directing people there to have their concerns heard. Another resident, Eileen, worked tirelessly for nine months to get her family-owned deli operational in time for the summer.
One of the film’s most resonating points is how these once-comfortable residents are forced to cope with insecurity. “One wave comes and shatters the stability of these people.” says Reichert. “That’s not how we think of middle class, but it is very, very fragile.”
Says Zaman: “They have to reconcile with the fact of living here is a risky situation. [But] it’s just natural to feel a connection to a certain place — their families and businesses are there. The ocean is part of their daily life.”
This Time Next Year screens Oct. 19, 20 and 22, Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ranstead St. The Philadelphia Film Festival runs Oct. 16-26. Showtimes and other info at filmadelphia.org.
