Documentary depicts struggles of Queens hospitality
workers during the height of the pandemic
JULY 2 0 2 1 I BOROMAG.COM 21
BY JULIA MORO
Photos courtesy of "Last Call" A film documenting the hard
times many in the restaurant
and bar industry faced during
the COVID-19 pandemic
premiered on July 3 at the
Queens World Film Festival.
“Last Call: The Shutdown of
NYC Bars” was filmed at the height of
the pandemic after all indoor dining was
banned by Governor Andrew Cuomo in
mid-March last year. The documentary
shows the heartbreaking mental, social
and economic impacts the pandemic
had on the hospitality industry.
The bar and restaurant industry are essential
to New York City’s tourism industry,
which brings in $46 billion a year. In
February of 2020, over 315,000 people
were working in the hospitality industry.
By April, hospitality employment had
dropped to 91,000 jobs as restaurants
closed.
The film focuses on Queens as the
hardest-hit borough and highlights one
restaurant and employee in particular.
Jena Ellenwood, a bartender at The
Sparrow Tavern in Astoria, takes the audience
through her struggles with unemployment
and mental health during
social isolation.
At one point in the documentary, the
director, Johnny Sweet, asks her how
long she can last until her bank account
hits zero. As Ellenwood sits in her apartment,
wiping tears away, she says she
has three months.
Viewers are taken back to the anxietyinducing
time where nothing was certain
and the future was unknown.
Now, as almost 50 percent of New
Yorkers are fully vaccinated against COVID
19 and the industry is reopening,
the film can act as a reminder of what
the city endured.
“We owe it to all the people we lost
to document this and have this be a
reminder of what it was like,” said Lisa
Edward, the film’s producer.
The filmmakers also hope that people
can watch the documentary and have
a greater understanding and empathy
for hospitality workers.
“Not everyone could work from home
during the pandemic,” Edward said. “We
were not all having the same experience.
Hear the accounts and what people
were going through, there were a lot of
people going through really hard stuff.”
Ellenwood said that the film will also
provide comfort for those who struggled
with their mental health during
social isolation and who may still be
struggling with it.
“It’s OK to not be OK right now. We
don’t need to rush back to normal,” Ellenwood
said. “This has been a really
traumatic year.”
The documentary features testimonial
interviews from other workers and
business owners in the industry. There
are also hospital workers featured in
the film.
To put the film together, creators had
to get inventive with a two-story studio
that was adapted to be a no-contact
space.
One person upstairs remotely directed
and operated the lighting, cameras
and audio. Subjects would be interviewed
via Zoom in the studio, never
coming into contact with anyone.
“We really felt that what we were documenting
was essential. It truly became
a time capsule,” Edward said. “Everyone
needed a purpose and we felt like
documenting what was happening in
the moment was our purpose and we
did it in the safest way that we possibly
could.”
For more information, visit the lastcalldocumentary.
com or queensworldfilmfestival.
org.
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Jena Ellenwood sits in The Sparrow in Astoria during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
/BOROMAG.COM
