I first caught Ramin Bahrani's gem at the Noga Hilton on Boulevard de la Croisette at Cannes last May, and odd place to view an eye-opening expose on a unique piece of Queens, New York. Chop Shop has finally landed a home in the U.S – will have a run at the Film Forum in late February thanks to Koch Lorber whio distributed his previous film. [Erratum: When I first wrote this I had gotten my distributors mixed up].
Recently nominated for the Someone to Watch Award at the Indie Spirits, Bahrani directed his debut film Man Push Cart a couple of years back to critical acclaim and is currently in post-prod with a great project called Solo that should hit festival circuit in 08'.
Chop Shop tells the story of Alejandro, a tough and ambitious street orphan on the verge of adolescence, lives and work in an auto-body repair shop in a sprawling junkyard on the outskirts of Queens, New York. In this chaotic world of adults, young Alejandro struggles to make a better life for himself and his 16-year-old sister, Isamar.
