Standing By Yourself
Encyclopedia
Standing By Yourself is a 2002 documentary
that marked the directing debut of filmmaker Josh Koury. Set in Clinton, New York
, a suburb of Utica
, the film follows Koury’s maladjusted teenage younger brother and his rambunctious best friend Josh, who share social and economic frustrations of living in a small working class neighborhood. They express their pent-up energy and anger through pranks, loitering and mild acts of rebellion, but their friendship is ruptured when Josh’s behavior spirals out of control and he gets in trouble with the law. By the film’s end, the once-inseparable friends barely know each other as they move into different social spheres.
Koury began Standing By Yourself as a 20-minute senior project at Pratt Institute
. The film was expanded to 57 minutes for presentation at the 2002 Slamdance Film Festival
, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. The total budget for the finished film was reportedly U.S.$1,000
Standing By Yourself had its theatrical debut in New York in May 2002, where it received strong reviews for its harsh glimpse of alienated and seemingly self-destructive youth. Dave Kehr
of the New York Times praised it as “quietly devastating” while Scott Foundas of Variety
stated that Koury’s work “has its finger on something particularly potent” and Donald J. Levit of ReelTalk Reviews stated “Koury's unsparing art mirrors life, and one must shudder for the future.”
Standing By Yourself played on the festival circuit in 2002, but did not have additional theatrical engagements. To date, the film has not been released on DVD. Koury went on to co-found the Brooklyn Underground Film Festival
, and returned to filmmaking in 2008 with the documentary We Are Wizards.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that marked the directing debut of filmmaker Josh Koury. Set in Clinton, New York
Clinton, Oneida County, New York
Clinton is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 1,952 at the 2000 census. It was named for George Clinton, a royal governor of the colony of New York....
, a suburb of Utica
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
, the film follows Koury’s maladjusted teenage younger brother and his rambunctious best friend Josh, who share social and economic frustrations of living in a small working class neighborhood. They express their pent-up energy and anger through pranks, loitering and mild acts of rebellion, but their friendship is ruptured when Josh’s behavior spirals out of control and he gets in trouble with the law. By the film’s end, the once-inseparable friends barely know each other as they move into different social spheres.
Koury began Standing By Yourself as a 20-minute senior project at Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
. The film was expanded to 57 minutes for presentation at the 2002 Slamdance Film Festival
Slamdance Film Festival
As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent in the film industry; it is also the only major film festival fully programmed by filmmakers. Slamdance counts among its alumni many notable writers and directors who first gained notice at the...
, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. The total budget for the finished film was reportedly U.S.$1,000
Standing By Yourself had its theatrical debut in New York in May 2002, where it received strong reviews for its harsh glimpse of alienated and seemingly self-destructive youth. Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr is an American film critic. A critic at the Chicago Reader and the Chicago Tribune for many years, he writes a weekly column for The New York Times on DVD releases, in addition to contributing occasional pieces on individual films or filmmakers.-Early life and education:Dave Kehr did...
of the New York Times praised it as “quietly devastating” while Scott Foundas of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
stated that Koury’s work “has its finger on something particularly potent” and Donald J. Levit of ReelTalk Reviews stated “Koury's unsparing art mirrors life, and one must shudder for the future.”
Standing By Yourself played on the festival circuit in 2002, but did not have additional theatrical engagements. To date, the film has not been released on DVD. Koury went on to co-found the Brooklyn Underground Film Festival
Brooklyn Underground Film Festival
The Brooklyn Underground Film Festival was an annual showcase of typically low-budget, under-distributed or amateur videos and metavideos. The festival was initially held in DUMBO, Brooklyn and later moved to Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The festival ran from 2002-2007.The...
, and returned to filmmaking in 2008 with the documentary We Are Wizards.
External links
- Standing By Yourself at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- Film ThreatFilm ThreatFilm Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
interview with Josh Koury on the making of Standing By Yourself: http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=interviews&Id=334