Voices in the Tunnels (documentary)
Encyclopedia
Voices in the Tunnels is a 2008 documentary
directed by Vic David, a New York
filmmaker and a graduate from New York University. This documentary explores the lives of people who lived in the New York subway
tunnels.
, who had researched the mole people
after hearing about the urban legend of their existence while tutoring a student and she researched it out of curiosity only to find that it was not a myth, but a fact. After reading this book, director Vic David and writer Eric Oberholtzer interviewed her for this film and then went down to the tunnels where they found people who made homes in those tunnels and had an entire society with their own lifestyles and laws that all who lived down there followed.
The locations of the film were in the home of Jennifer Toth, who told the story of why she had chosen to research this topic and why she was interested enough in it to write a book about it. Other locations include unspecified locations in the tunnels and one scene inside of the subway after getting out of the tunnels.
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
directed by Vic David, a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
filmmaker and a graduate from New York University. This documentary explores the lives of people who lived in the New York subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
tunnels.
Background
Voices in the Tunnels was released in 2000 before cameras were installed in all parts of the subway tunnels in Manhattan. Previous to this film being made, a book titled The Mole People was written by American author Jennifer TothJennifer Toth
-Biography:Born in 1967 in London, she studied history, political science and philosophy in London, New York and St. Louis. After a 1987-8 internship at Gateway Heritage , the periodical of the Missouri Historical Society, she graduated with a MA in journalism from Columbia University...
, who had researched the mole people
Mole People
Mole people is a term used to refer to the homeless people living under large cities in abandoned subway tunnels and shafts.- Urban folklore :...
after hearing about the urban legend of their existence while tutoring a student and she researched it out of curiosity only to find that it was not a myth, but a fact. After reading this book, director Vic David and writer Eric Oberholtzer interviewed her for this film and then went down to the tunnels where they found people who made homes in those tunnels and had an entire society with their own lifestyles and laws that all who lived down there followed.
Production
The crew made several trips into the tunnels by sneaking in while the train had just passed to avoid collision. While there, they travelled light packing only cameras and batteries to be able to travel quickly in the case of a train coming so they would be able to jump out of the way in time. While there were many interviews conducted, not all people were recorded on camera for various reasons including paranoia and simply not wanting to be caught on camera.The locations of the film were in the home of Jennifer Toth, who told the story of why she had chosen to research this topic and why she was interested enough in it to write a book about it. Other locations include unspecified locations in the tunnels and one scene inside of the subway after getting out of the tunnels.
Release and reception
The reception of the original film was generally positive even going so far as winning a Telly Award with minor criticism about the people living there being made out to appear as inhuman, but with the re-release of this film, those shortcomings were improved.External links
- http://www.journeyman.tv/59381/documentaries/voices-in-the-tunnels.html