Film: Scott Carthy's short film championing New York's subway performers

A very professional beyond-his-years film here from Kingston University student Scott Carthy. For two days he followed some very fast-moving street performers around New York and discovered their talent and the jeopardy they have recently found themselves in. “Manhattan, since mid March, has seen an urgent reform, with arrests of performers using the cars as their stage trebling in a New York minute,” Scott told us. “Section 1050.6© of the New York city Transit Rules of Conduct states that performers are ‘free to use the subway stations, but can not operate within the cars themselves.’ Understandably this crack down has come as a result of complaints, but a bias becomes apparent as attitudes towards these dancers seem to be split right down the middle.”

It’s true. Anyone who gets public transport in a city will understand the equal measures of despair and admiration you feel when a performer enters your train carriage. It’s films like these that make you sway towards the latter, giving you an understanding of the true skills of these people and the history of what they do. “In a world were viral videos desensitise the public to extraordinary talent, I felt the need to show a more considered view point and this short film became the result,” Scott says. Three cheers to him for undertaking the rather dangerous and stressful job of following these guys around to make this timely and pretty beautiful film.