“Story Ave” is the first feature film by Bronx native Aristotle Torres. It follows a young buy growing up in Soundview who is battling grief and trying to find his way.
Photo courtesy Kevin Lorber
Imagine you’re a 17-year-old latch-key kid raised by a single mom and you’re in charge of taking care of your little brother who has cerebral palsy. One day he drowns in the tub on your watch and your mom blames you. And it lives in you, turning a knife in your heart, every day. You can’t quell the images of water overflowing from the tub and seeping through the bottom crack of the bathroom door. Every time you close your eyes, the placid expression of a drowned boy flashes in your mind.
That is the plight of Kadir (Asante Blackk) in the movie “Story Ave” (2023), created, directed and co-written by Bronx native Aristotle Torres.
“Story Ave” is about loss, finding oneself, making decisions, taking accountability and controlling your own destiny. It follows Kadir, a mild-mannered young man who likes school and art — but the streets have a hold of him. All he wants is to be part of the graffiti crew OTL, Outside the Lines. Yet, when he is asked to rob someone at gunpoint by the crew leader SKEMES (Melvin Gregg) as an initiation, Kadir finds himself at a crossroads.
Riding the train at night, looking for his target, he meets Luis (Luis Guzmán), a widowed MTA worker with simple pleasures and a mysterious past. Kadir sticks him up on the platform of Story Ave – a fictitious train station along the 6 line, but a real avenue in the Bronx – where Kadir lives and where the story takes a turn.
Luis gives Kadir his wallet and his coat, then offers to buy him a meal and give him enough cash to find a place to sleep for the night. Since choosing a life of crime, Kadir is not welcome at home. Luis takes Kadir to the Caridad Restaurant, located at 1594 Westchester Ave., where several scenes of the movie are filmed and where Kadir finds…
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