Fighting to survive in the shadow of NYC
With nearly two hundred machine shops selling parts, repairs and fixes in the small, 75-acre area, Wilmette Park, Queens, New York serves as the setting of “Foreign Parts,” which will be shown all weekend at True/False Film Fest.
“Foreign Parts” shines a forgiving light on the junkyard world by examining the every day struggles of the people in the community. It is here, on the muddy streets, where poverty and desperation come to a crossroads.
The quick fixes and car parts that are sold at the shops aren’t necessarily acquired illegally, but they often warrant a sniff from the NYPD. “Foreign Parts” shows the fragility of the community. It shows how, any day, a bulldozer will clear the shacks and shops in order to put in expensive apartments and shopping centers.
But the political presence is only a backdrop, co-director J.P. Sniadecki said.
“We wanted to give priority to the place as a character,” Sniadecki said.
Sniadecki said he and his co-director, Verena Paravel, wanted to show Wilmette as an organic character as much as the human beings who are followed. One of the reasons why the film does not follow only one or two characters consistently is because they are only a part of what is bigger: the community itself.
What “Foreign Parts” does best is expose a dark side of America, without sensationalizing it. The people of Wilmette work mostly seven days a week and some even live in vans during their off hours.
If anything, the film remains to be largely patriotic: It shows people struggling to stand on their own two feet while fighting an unforgiving upper class from moving in on their turf. It shows -- perhaps most at all -- that even when you’re down, you’re never out.
