Soundview-based fi lmmaker premieres fl ic, ‘After Sandy’
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M 42 AY 31-JUNE 6, 2019 BTR
Post 19 Hosts John Fraser Bryan Plaque Dedication
John Fraser Bryan American Legion Post 19 held a plaque dedication ceremony on Saturday, May 25 at Woodlawn
Cemetery to pay tribute to slain World World I soldier John Fraser Bryan. Bryan, a member of the United
States’ Allied Expeditionary Force, lost his life in the Meuse-Argonne offensive of WWI.
(left) John Fraser Bryan Amercian Legion Post 19 Commander Earl Menard reviewed the post’s history.
(above) Commander Menard (l)
and the Color Guard opened the
dedication ceremony.
(left) Commander Menard (l)
and his fellow Post 19 veterans
paid their respects to John
Fraser Bryan at Woodlawn
Cemetery. Photos by Silvio Pacifi co
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A new fi lm debuting on the streaming
video service Netfl ix chronicles
the lives of Puerto Rican refugees living
in our borough after Hurricane
Maria.
‘After Maria’ follows the lives of
three Puerto Rican families living in
a motel near Mosholu Parkway and
Webster Avenue after being displaced
from the island by Hurricane Maria
and coming to New York to escape the
devestation.
It premiered on Netfl ix on Thursday,
May 24 and is now available for
streaming to its subscribers.
The documentary is the work of
Soundview-based fi lmmaker Nadia
Hallgren, who said she was motivated
to look at the issue in part due to her
own Puerto Rican heritage, and because
of her relationship with her
grandmother, who migrated from the
island years ago.
It focuses on three women who became
friends while living on the same
fl oor of a motel after leaving the island
because the response from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency was
insuffi cient, said Hallgren.
“It is a story about these mothers
trying to cope in this new environment
and the beautiful friendships that they
build,” said Hallgren.
The 36-minute original Netfl ix
movie was fi lmed May through Sep-
Director Nadia Hallgren, a fi lmmaker from
Soundview, completed photography on ‘After
Maria’ in September 2018.
Photo courtesy of Netfl ix
‘After Maria’, a Netfl ix original documentary
that premieres on Thursday, May 24, chronicles
the lives of three families who moved
to the borough from Puerto Rico following
Hurricane Maria. Photo courtesy of Netfl ix
tember 2018, and got a very positive
reaction at the Tribeca Film Festival,
where it was selected, said its director.
“It tells the story of regular people
who meet after a natural disaster,”
said Hallgren.
She added it also explores the ways
in which many believe FEMA didn’t
offer the same level of support to people
in the commonwealth of Puerto
Rico as it did to those faced with similar
natural disasters in mainland U.S.
The director believes that since
Hurricane Katrina, the federal government
has provided high levels of
support to victims of natural disasters,
except in the case of Hurricane Maria,
which primarily affected Puerto Rico.
The fi lm highlights how each of
the families faced a crisis after their
FEMA assistance for victims ran out,
and homelessness became the only option
for all three.
“They felt the real fear that anyone
would feel about being homeless,” said
Hallgren, adding “it was incredibly
stressful for all of them.”
In many other states, which don’t offer
homeless assistance, they wouldn’t
have had a roof over their heads at all,
said the fi lmmaker.
The families are also dealing with
a jarring change in their lifestyles,
much of which is portrayed in ‘After
Maria.’
In Puerto Rico the women, and in
two of the families their husbands as
well, had jobs and a home, as well as a
more stable home life.
The fi lm focuses on the joy,
strength, and resiliency that these
women showed in terms of the serious
adversity that they face, said the fi lmmaker.
“It was inspiring,” said Hallgren
of how the women cope, adding how
grateful she was for the access the
women gave at a time when they were
very vulnerable.
Hallgren said that when she completes
a photography project on ‘After
Maria,’ she plans to pursue a fi lm fellowship
in California.