Documentary Film Starring SHI Resident Premieres in England
Charles Hurvitz with swag from the Oska Bright Film Festival
BRIGHTON, UK— In the Spring 2016 edition of the SHInsider we covered the premiere of the documentary Charlie by director Lev Omelchenko at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline. The film focuses on Specialized Housing resident Charles Hurvitz and explores his life as an artist and cherished member of his community.
In November of last year the documentary made its international debut in Brighton, England at the Oska Bright Film Festival. What began in 2004 as a small gathering of intellectually and developmentally disabled filmmakers trying to showcase their work, Oska Bright has since become one of the most popular and beloved film festivals in all of England, drawing thousands of filmgoers each year. Colin Hambrook, editor of Disability Arts Online, was one of those filmgoers in attendance for the 2017 festival and, as he reported on the DAO website, “I was particularly taken with Charlie—a film by Lev Omelchenko which opened the afternoon’s ‘Portrait of the Artist’ session. This 25-minute documentary takes the viewer on a journey around Brookline, Massachusetts as a way of getting to know one artist—known as The Mayor of Brookline (aka Charlie Hurvitz)—who has made it his role in life to make a friend of the whole community.” The Oska Bright judges were also quite taken with the documentary. Charlie was nominated for Best International Film.