Sweet Soul in Exile is an odic encapsulation of the eviction of prominent sculptor, Deborah Masters from her loft of twenty years at 475 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn NY.

Interview with Director Tyler A. Chase and Producer Lisette Cevallos

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I filmed a key group of artists for nine years from a building called 475 Kent Ave., Brooklyn, NY for a movie called Blues for 475, about the surprise mass eviction (pre-emptive forced eviction) of 300 artist families in one day and the aftermath. Deborah Masters is one of the three individuals. When I learned that she was being evicted by the new owners despite being a founder of the building, I grabbed my camera and drone on the day that she was moving out, and filmed the event as it was happening.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

Whether you are a part of the 1% or the 99%, it is important that you are aware of the lives that are being forever changed by displacement and the tear in the fabric of society that is being caused by greed. Deborah is a renowned and successful artist and yet this happened to her so it could happen to you.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Real estate has been and will continue to be a very lucrative business all over the world. I believe that having a home is not a luxury but a human right and that until this is accepted, there will never be peace and true prosperity.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

It was not planned and it followed it's own course. When I added the music in honor of Jazz Pianist, Connie Crothers, it became something totally different. I strived to make it into an ode to the loss of our artists.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

I was surprised by the attention that it received considering we did it on our own and have no public relations team. People tend to be both angry and sad when they see it. They ask about Deborah and want to know more about this ongoing situation. Many are surprised that this could happen.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

I was surprised at the many festivals and the positive feedback because it's such a short film.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I want to bring attention to the Wild West attitude of our government leaders who are put into power by real estate moguls and developers. The elephant in the room is the human rights violations that are being committed and ignored by society.

Director, Tyler A. Chase with sculptor, Deborah Masters

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Journalists

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I would like the audience to live in my shoes and walk away with the urgent anguish that I experienced while filming this wonderful woman, Deborah Masters being cast away like so much rubbish. I want them to meet the amazing individuals I met while filming Blues for 475 and A Castle in Brooklyn – King Arthur.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Perhaps it will be about the possibility of putting a cap on rents and curbing the greed in the worldwide housing crisis. Housing as a commodity is causing mass displacement.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

We just completed the feature documentary, A Castle in Brooklyn, King Arthur and are working to complete Blues for 475 this year. There is a short called, To Connie with Love, my requiem for Jazz pianist, Connie Crothers; the feature documentary, Touched by Duse, with Ellen Burstyn, Paul Sorvino, Elizabeth Ashley and many other film and theater greats is pending a shoot in Italy; Let Them Eat Geese, about the mass killings of Canada Geese and Mute Swans is in development/filming. Finally, I have the outline to a feature narrative film based on true events that I wish to embark on

Interview: June 2019

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Sweet Soul in Exile

Sweet Soul in Exile is an odic encapsulation of the eviction of prominent sculptor, Deborah Masters from her loft of twenty years at 475 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn NY.

Length: 7:51

Director: Tyler A. Chase

Producer: Lisette Cevallos

About the writer, director and producer:

TYLER A. CHASE - Auteur of two award-winning short films, Animal Crackers (Pentimenti) and Sweet Soul in Exile. Her company, L’Orage Productions, participated as an NGO at the United Nations in Geneva, where her work was screened as testimony for the UPR of Human Rights Violations in 2010. She spoke on the panel. Tyler just completed the feature, A Castle in Brooklyn - King Arthur, a multi-year project about Brooklyn’s, Broken Angel building.

LISETTE CEVALLOS is th producer of award-winning short films, Animal Crackers (Pentimenti) and Sweet Soul in Exile as well as the current feature documentary, A Castle in Brooklyn, King Arthur. She began as a visual artist working with Tyler A. Chase in theater. After graduating NYU Film Program, Lisette became involved in film projects at L’Orage Productions as a producer, administrator and in as many capacities as needed for all of their current projects.

Key cast: Deborah Masters

Looking for: journalists, distributors

Facebook: Sweet Soul In Exile

Twitter: @LORAGELtd

Instagram: @bluesfor475movie

Hashtags used: #SweetSoulinExile #Bluesfor475 #475Kent #TylerAChase #LORAGEProductions

Website: www.bluesfor475-movie.com

Other: IMDb

Made in association with: A L'Orage Production

Funders: Ourselves and our Fiscal Sponsor.

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? At the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival.