Newburgh - Umar Abdul-Mutakabbir has been exposed to a great deal. Drug addiction, poverty, crime, and mental illness were routine ways of life for many who occupied his Brooklyn native backdrop. As a result, little seemed to surprise him.
However, a few years back, when the now Highland Falls resident returned to his New York City roots with his father, taking a stroll through Central Park, the 31-year-old was unable to erase one particular vision.
"This one couple was high on heroin, and I just remember the guy putting her on a train all by herself in that condition and each saying I love you," recounted Abdul-Mutakabbir. "I just couldn’t believe you could let someone go like that alone when you loved them; it really tugged at my heart, and I had to do something about it."
Abdul-Mutakabbir made true on that something in the form of a poem titled "Straightland." In just ten minutes he put pen to paper, detailing the specific lives of these two strangers who inspired the verse.
"Straightland is where drug addicts think is the perfect place once they get their lives together, everything is perfect and relaxed," said Abdul-Mutakabbir. "But it’s really just the opposite, the beginning where all the hard work begins."
That same depth of commitment can be said for this first-time screenwriter. Eventually, Adbul-Mutakabbir injected some dialogue into his poem and he had a play. He also had a connection. One of his good friends, life-long City of Newburgh resident, Shawn Strong. A video production student at Orange County Community College, Strong had some knowledge and experience with moviemaking. One night while at Abdul-Mutakabbir’s for dinner, he read his friend’s "Straightland" play and immediately saw its screenplay potential. Inspired by Strong’s commitment to serve as director and editor of the film, Abdul-Mutakabbir again got writing; this time completing the script in just over a few months. Strong assisted with the editing, and a year after "Straightland" the poem was given life, "Straightland" the screenplay was born.
The 90 minute film delves into the inherited heroin addiction of 25-year-old, inner city talented "Green Eyes." Surrounded by the reality of a dead father and incarcerated and Bipolar mother, Green Eyes feels defeated by his environment. However, at the same time support exists in the form of a caring and supportive female friend who he does not want to disappoint or hurt. He temporarily deals with the nagging, constant dilemma of going straight through his creative outlet, poetry writing and performing.
"Every talented urban youth is Green Eyes," said Strong. "A lot of what we are trying to do with our films (working on some other shorts) are to point out the issues people don’t want to see."
With most of the cast members now finalized and the City of Newburgh set to be the chief shooting locale, Strong and Abdul-Mutakabbir face just one remaining obstacle before they can begin filming for their October target date: funding. So far, through barbeques, food sales and even shooting music videos for local artists, the filmmaker tandem has raised $1000, but that number remains far away from their $10,000 goal. More fundraisers are in the works, and donations, along with interested investors, are welcome and much appreciated.
For both Strong and Abdul-Mutakabbir the film work has little to do with making their own riches; rather it’s more about bringing to light the internal wealth of so many others who are too often overlooked in society.
"Green Eyes was able to feed off of the positive and use it as a motivating force," said Abdul-Mutakabbir. "He especially did it with his pen and creativity, drawing positive energy from his feelings and not drugs."
Strong added about the pairs’ film goal, "We want people to see things in life can be tough, especially in urban areas where there are a lot of obstacles, but there is also a lot of talent; there is always a light out there."
If you are interested in learning more about the film "Straightland" and/or making donations to or becoming an investor in the project, log on to: www.phanatiks.com.
